Memory Loss and Fuzzy-Mindedness

by Joi on March 7, 2006

Fuzzy-mindedness???

Most women experience some degree of memory loss before, during and after menopause. It’s a normal part of the whole freakish experience!

Forgetting where you put your keys, neglecting to write down checks used in the ledger, forgetting mid-sentence where your thought train was even headed…..all are part of the wild ride that women experience around this period of their lives. The fuzziness of mind is due to a combination of factors - chiefly, hormones and a loss of sleep. Also, quite frankly, this is usually the busiest time of a woman’s life. She’s often busy being everything to everyone, and at a time when she could use more help and support from others - she’s giving all she’s got to others.

The best course is to stay mentally active, maybe even kick it into a higher gear. It would be easy to collapse in front of the tv for 5 hours each night, then curl up with a romance novel for a few more hours - but then a trend will soon take root and while there isn’t anything wrong with television or even romance novels, they won’t exactly light a fire underneath one’s mental boiler. They won’t even light a spark!

Men aren’t off the hook, of course. Around this time in their own lives, they’ll find themselves searching for just the right word, hunting for their cell phone (Even having to call it to locate it!), etc. Again, business and loss of sleep can be responsible for a lot of the problems. Plus, a certain amount of memory decline is natural with age. All the more reason to keep fanning the fires.

So, what would fan the fires and light the much needed sparks?!
1. Crossword puzzles
2. Educational programs
3. Learning something new - take up painting, golf, photography, learn about a new culture, tackle a new language…
4. Historical novels or biographies
5. Taking in more art and culture
6. Writing - whether it’s an offline journal, or an online blog - it’s a great way to force yourself to think….I mean really think, and that is what it’s all about. That’s how our minds get their workouts!

It’s sort of like my arms. I was always athletic and active when growing up: Softball, tennis, volleyball, biking, swimming… Lately, I’ve noticed that arms that once served me (and tennis balls!) very well have become nearly worthless. An arm that once whirled a ball from third base to first so hard that the first base man’s leather popped now does well to open a jar of pickles! The reason is I stopped working at it. I stopped pushing myself, stopped working out - except for yoga… and that’s not exactly a strength-training exercise!

Women and men alike - if we stop working on any part of our beings, they’ll start to “slack off” - whether it’s a throwing arm or a mind - we have to keep pushing ourselves to be stronger, fitter, and better than we were yesterday.

I’m motivated, now, these arms had better look out! And by the end of summer, whoever’s on the other side of the tennis net had better look out - they may never see it coming.

Make each moment count double,
~Joi

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