If You Recall the Past in Detail, You'll be Less Depressed than if You Recall it Only Generally

Australian firefighters who experienced trauma were more likely to have PTSD if they couldn't recall the events specifically.
That is what the New York Times is telling us.

The Times reports: “People with P.T.S.D. tend to ruminate at a very categorical, general level about how unsafe life is, or how weak I am, or how guilty I am,” said the lead author [of the firefighter study], Richard Bryant. “If I do that habitually and then I walk into a trauma, probably I’m going to be resorting to that way of thinking and it’s going to set me up for developing P.T.S.D.”

Overgeneral memory can protect people from traumatic memories and such people have it easier than those who think back to the trauma specifically--in the short term.

Without detailed memories to draw upon, dispelling a black mood can seem impossible. Patients may remember once having felt happy, but cannot recall specific things that contributed to their happiness, like visiting friends or a favorite restaurant, according to the Times.

“If you’re unhappy and you want to be happy, it’s helpful to have memories that you can navigate through to come up with specific solutions,” Dr. Williams said. “It’s like a safety net.”

Mindfulness meditation can help people accept their negative memories and not ignore them, according to Dr. Williams. “I always tried to forget the past, the very bad past that made me depressed when my husband died,” said Carol Cattley, 76, who attended a mindfulness course here [Oxford, England] taught by Dr. Williams. “I’m much more interested in it now.”

[Image: Meditation by Alphonse Mucha]

The Memory Biz

Cancer Bitch is concerned with memory and its lack, and subscribes to Johns Hopkins' weekly health alerts about that and other subjects. Hopkins presented a Q and A (just one Q, one A) about memory workouts with Peter Rabins, M.D., M.P.H., Richman Family Professor for Alzheimer's and Related Disease'
Co-Director, Division of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neuropsychiatry at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He says, basically, we don't know for sure what will save your brain, but do what you like to stimulate your brain--after all, it couldn't hoit.

I just saw a TV special about a local "memory gym" where people go to work on improving their memories. Are these memory businesses just a fad or is there some real science behind them?

Dr. Rabins replies: Both. Emerging research suggests that remaining active -- cognitively, physically, and socially -- might lessen the risk of developing dementia or at least delay its onset. Doing the definitive scientific study would be very difficult and prohibitively expensive, though, so a clear-cut answer might never be available.

However, I believe the evidence is strong enough that people who want to do what they can to lower their risk of memory loss should consider some type of regular cognitive stimulation. Unfortunately, we have no real information and almost no scientific evidence to provide guidance on specific activities to improve memory. That is, we cannot say whether sudoku is better than group political discussions or trips to interesting and stimulating places such as museums, historical sights or the movies. And -- even more challenging -- we have no idea whether the activities that would benefit one person might not be helpful to another.

Given this lack of information, I recommend (with no scientific evidence!), that people who want to stave off memory loss use common sense. For example, the likelihood seems low that a person who never liked crossword puzzles will do them regularly and over time, so I recommend that people think about what they like doing and try to come up with activities that fit their interests and skills.

For some, the structure, peer interaction, and competition (with one's self or others) of a memory gym, computer program, or regular bridge game would increase the likelihood that they would continue with the activity. For others, the more solitary and less scheduled nature of the crossword or sudoku puzzle would work better. However, to insist that a person do any of these "for their own good" when they do not want to seems inappropriate to me.

Yes, we don't want people to feel guilty for not doing the day's crossword puzzle. It would be too ironic, anyway; there are people who do the crossword as a guilty pleasure.

O where o where has my memory gone?

[Black hole in my brain that sucks out memories of writers whose named begin with E; image from LSC/NASA]

I spoke at KAM Isaiah Israel Congregation not long ago. It's right across from the Obama residence, and while I was on the way there, I felt a little lump of pride/excitement that Our President lives (more like lived) right there. That he is from our city. That I know people who know him. That I heard him speak about three years ago or more, about 10 feet away from me. That I almost asked for his autograph then, though he might not have even been a senator yet. This is the difference between therapy and no therapy. I started therapy again in fall 2008 because I was at Grant Park on Election Night and didn't feel anything.

But back to the Jews. I spoke to about a dozen people or more. It started out as more then went down to a dozen. I read from my book about Passover and one title had Elvin Hayes in it. One guy said, irritated: I don't know who Elvin Hayes is!! As if he thought I wouldn't have explained it in the piece. He got up and walked out in a hurry, if not a huff. But maybe he was on his way somewhere.

After I spoke a woman came up to me and said we'd met before and mentioned Effie Mihopoulos. I said that I knew of Effie but she hadn't known me, and that I knew she had recently died. Then the woman said that Effie knew who I was and that Effie had introduced us, at a gallery in Wicker Park, and that I had spoken to Effie for about an hour then.

I did not remember. She said that Effie had had cancer but had decided not to get chemo. There is a hole in my brain, through which Effie fell through, as well as the meeting of this other woman, R., though her name sounded familiar. I felt very bad because I knew that Effie was dying but didn't send her a card or email because I figured she didn't know who I was.

Chemo brain, I explained apologetically.

At home I looked Effie up and she looked familiar in her photograph and I thought it was plausible that we'd conversed. But when? Where, exactly? What galleries have I been to in Wicker Park?

[Effie Mihopoulos, Chicago Examiner]

Spring Quarter started this week at Smart University and I told the class I knew everyone but E. Then E said she had met me, and reminded me when, and then slowly it came back to me. She also fell through the hole. Maybe it is reserved for women writers whose names begin with E.

My memory started fading when I was 30. That's almost a quarter of a century ago. Now I'm age-appropriately forgetful. Johns Hopkins tells me in a health alert about what is normal for a brain that's been around for fifty years:
Processing speed slows further. It takes more time to recall names and words.
Learning something new takes longer. Once learned, however, the information is usually retained.
Multi-tasking (doing several things at once) becomes more difficult.
Attention to detail wanes. You probably will remember fewer details of a novel, movie, or painting than a younger person would.
Placing an event in time and place becomes more difficult. You may remember the event but not exactly when or where it occurred.
Visuospatial processing is more difficult. This might translate into more trouble in copying three-dimensional designs or in reassembling an appliance.

I went to the gyne this week for a Pap smear and asked about suggestions for memory and also for relief for hot flashes. The nurse practitioner called back and suggested I take Cymbalta, Zoloft or Prozac for hot flashes. I am already taking the max amount of Effexor. I've tried Cymbalta. I used to be on Zoloft and Prozac; both interfere with the estrogen-blocking mechanism of tamoxifen. I've tried Strattera and Adderall for ADHD.I got my shrink to prescribe meditation for memory and focus. The nurse said I should ask my oncologist about improving memory. The onc spoke at the cancer Town Hall last year and all she recommended for memory-helpers was lists.

I used to be offended when people didn't recognize me. Now it seems that I'm the offender. Everyone looks familiar and everyone looks unfamiliar. Depends on how long I look at the face. I must brace myself; I'm going to a conference next week, where I will see people I know, people I don't know, and people I've forgotten. Please forgive me if I don't recognize you.