It is common for people of all ages to experience forgetfulness.  There is however, distinct differences between forgetfulness and memory loss.

 

Forgetfulness v Memory loss

The major differences between forgetfulness and memory loss are:

Forgetfulness is the experience of not being able to remember something at the specific time one wishes to BUT the memory comes back at some time later in most cases.

Memory loss describes the experiences of losing a complete memory or a significant memory and it cannot be recalled.  Memory loss can extend to names, addresses, appointments, location of items and how to get to places.

Some examples of the difference between forgetfullness and memory loss are listed below.

EXAMPLES OF FORGETFULNESS	EXAMPLES OF MEMORY LOSS
Forgetting where you left your cheque book	Forgetting which bank you do your banking with
Repeating a story to a friend or spouse	Repeating a story over and over in the same day to the same person
Forgetting what you ate for breakfast yesterday	Forgetting what you ate for breakfast 15 minutes after you ate it
Using calendars and lists to remind you	Forgetting to use a calendar or list & eventually not understanding the use of either of these
Being disorientated for a moment upon waking up in a strange motel room while travelling	Getting lost in your own home where you have lived for several years
Sometimes forgetting where you parked the car at the shops	Forgetting that you drove to the shops or you have a car
Forgetting the details of a holiday you took 10 years ago	Forgetting that you went for a trip last week
Worrying that you have memory problems	Becoming unaware and uncaring that you have memory loss

 Age Associated Memory Impairment

Age Associated Memory Impairment is a term used for decreased memory caused by the aging process.  Once again, there are differences between memory loss through the onset of dementia and age associated memory impairment.  If a person is increasingly unable to perform the following actions or processes below, this could be sympomatic that their inability is caused by more than just age associated memory impairment.

ACTION OR PROCESS                 

1. Can care for oneself
2. Uses  reminders
3. Able to follow instructions
4. Remembers

If you are concerned about your memory or the memory of someone close to you, we recommend following the three step process outlined in How is Dementia Diagnosed?