(Foreword: this is the continuation of our response to Jonna of Tugbok, Davao's concern on her memories and worries.)
Dear Jonna of Tugbok, Davao,
Alright, moving on... Just remember that most of us when our worries are over, we calm down. Only then our memory comes back. The moral of the story is when you are worried, don't panic. Especially if you can't remember anything or everything is blocked out. Remember the more worried you are, the lesser your chance to get to your memory. So just breathe deeply and relax, and everything will just fall back into place.
Well, this happens a lot to students when they take their exams. Sometimes, they are just so tensed that everything will become blank. So if they feel their heart is racing and they can't remember a thing, all the need to do is just close their eyes, breathe deep and relax. Then they must go ahead to those numbers they think are easy to answer and just go back to those numbers they forgot the answer to avoid more anxiety. With this, as they have already calmed down, their memories may have returned and they will find it a lot easier to answer the questions than when they were in panic.
But there are some people who have chronic anxiety. This means that they worry even when all is well and if this continues, this will eventually affect their memory.
Anyway, whether your memory blues are situational or ongoing, there is help. You can do something to improve your working memory. This is by mindfulness meditation. Here, you focus attention on your breathing (or other activities) and settle your mind. Each time you feel that your mind is going to worryland, be sure to get back your attention to your breath. You can do this practice by doing both formal sitting meditations and informal actions performed mindfully, like walking, doing the dishes, or eating, or anything that you want to do. Do it more and more. If you can do this every day, do it. Research has shown that the more you practice this meditation, the more it can increase your focus. When you retrain your attention this way, the better chances that you can improve your memory and lessen your worry's grip.
Good luck!
Dr. Fritz
(Dr. Fritz Legarde Espedilla is an aesthetic dermatologist and surgeon and a clinical sexologist. She is also trained in hypnotherapy and Medical Acupuncture. She has been in the broadcast media for more than a decade and has written a book based on her 15 year stint with her radio program, "Healthy is Sexy Secrets ni Dr. Fritz." She is also a faculty in a College of Pharmacy. For your questions, you may send them to Dear Dr. Fritz, c/o Sunstar-Davao Publishing Inc., Ebro-Pelayo Building, Jacinto St., Davao City, (former Department of Foreign Affairs office), across Ateneo de Davao University and beside Holy Child School of Davao, or you e-mail them to dokfritz@yahoo.com. If you don't wish your letter to be published, we regret that we cannot answer them. Thank you for your understanding.)