Why would someone suddenly lose their memory?

Stress, anxiety or depression can cause forgetfulness, confusion, difficulty concentrating and other problems that disrupt daily activities. Alcoholism. Chronic alcoholism can seriously impair mental abilities. Alcohol can also cause memory loss by interacting with medications.

What are the different types of memory loss?

There are multiple types of amnesia, including the following:

• Retrograde amnesia. When you have retrograde amnesia, you lose existing, previously made memories.
• Anterograde amnesia.
• Transient global amnesia (TGA)
• Infantile or childhood amnesia.
• Dissociative amnesia.
• Post-traumatic amnesia (PTA)
• Drug-induced amnesia.

Why do I have moments of confusion?

Confusion or decreased alertness may be the first symptom of a serious illness, particularly in older adults. Health problems that can cause confusion or decreased alertness include: Infections, such as a urinary tract infection, respiratory infection, or sepsis. Alzheimer’s disease.

Why do some people experience memory loss later in life?

It usually happens when several similar memories interfere with each other. A 2011 study, published in the journal Brain Research, showed that elderly participants had to activate more areas of the brain to perform a memory task than the study’s young subjects.

What happens to memory in the later stages of dementia?

Memory in the later stages. By the time the person reaches the later stages of dementia, they are likely to have significant memory loss and cognitive difficulties. Recent memories may be lost completely (for example, what they had for breakfast or when they last saw a friend) and they may only remember parts of past memories.

Do you have memory loss or memory distortion?

Healthy people can experience memory loss or memory distortion at any age. Some of these memory flaws become more pronounced with age, but — unless they are extreme and persistent — they are not considered indicators of Alzheimer’s or other memory-impairing illnesses. 1. Transience

Why can’t I remember things I want to forget?

Persistence Most people worry about forgetting things. But in some cases people are tormented by memories they wish they could forget, but can’t. The persistence of memories of traumatic events, negative feelings, and ongoing fears is another form of memory problem.