Sunday 16 September 2012

It's not that I'm getting older - it's...








Re:Caireaan's blog on  September 12th 2012... http://www.blogster.com/caireann/brain-farts


Doors
"Do you ever walk into a room with some purpose in mind — to get something, perhaps?
            — only to completely forget what that purpose was?  Turns out, doors themselves are to
 blame for these strange memory lapses."

Oh dear Caireaan, here comes an essay in reply because I found this blog so interesting, but...
I have been doing a lot of thinking on this very subject. I noted that young people, simple souls and children don't have this problem. Doors may also have something to do with it but what I found on doing some continual experiments on myself ( something one can do when living by oneself in the middle of nowhere) that it comes about by thinking of something, or more than one thing more emotionally important and they have a greater priority in my head which drowned/de-valued the thing I had intended to do as I walked towards it. And this was because as we get older our heads fill with more and more interesting 'stuff.'
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And as we get older many of our actions have become so familiar they are done either with habit or on instinct and without any conscious thought. When I am cooking my hand reaches for the salt and uses it. I know exactly where to put my hand to get it. But if I'm cooking when on holiday I have to consciously stop and think and look for the salt's position. When I come home from the holiday I stop in confusion for a day or so when I go to reach for the salt because I actually have to think and see it until it again becomes instinct. And why is it then I don't forget if I have already salted something because my head is always thinking of other things simultaneously now? Because, I noted, the brain from my constant repetition starts to form patterns in doing things. I don't have to think about it, the salt always goes in at a certain stage of cooking as did the stock as will the final tasting that all the seasonings etc are balanced just before serving.
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It seems as we age the body takes over the 'boring' stuff so that our brain and emotions are freed up to do more interesting things.
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More experiments: when I get into the shower I note I first wash my left arm, then my right arm, then to the neck and down to the rest of the body. I have at times consciously changed the order to break the habit just for fun, but it is not comfortable.
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I know about living in the moment. I can do it when doing something I need more concentation for, like mowing the lawn...but most times now it is much more interesting to play in my head and if I have to go into the bathroom four times before I remember it is because I want to turn the hot water cylinder to on/off , so be it. At the very least it is good exercise *grin*
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And the western world increase in alzheimers is maybe because we note we're getting forgetful of why we 'came into the bathroom' and we start to worry that we're getting alzheimers and it's the worry of getting alzheimers that actually starts creating the problem?
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5 comments:

  1. Hmmmm.....I'm not sure on this one. The human brain has a natural proclivity towards order. I think we just tend to notice it more as adults, particularly if we live in one place for a long period, we become settled into a routine. I think of it as being the brain's 'natural level' of OCD. There are times where the levels far exceed normal, and that's when we see the condition known as 'obsessive compulsive disorder', which is just an exaggerated form of a normal function.
    As for thinking yourself into alzheimers? It's known there are physical triggers, but I've not come across any studies that suggest this.

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    1. Thanks Mitchy. No I haven't seen any studies either, but I do know how much the body can react to what we think. It is just what I am noticing around me. I don't know about in the UK but our radio and tv programs seem to be full of the massive increase of Alzheimer, of the problems and cost of their care and then in the next breath they add the pros and cons of euthanasia. I don't worry about getting it, I am too busy :)) but I do note that it has become a worry for many of my friends.

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  2. A lovely post lois, and I tend to think along the same lines as you do. As for Alzheimers? Keep your mind and body active, especially the mind and you are a lot less likely to get. This is what I have seen on a TV docco about it and read.

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    1. Thanks for your reply.

      Glad to see you got yourself safely onto blogger.

      It still takes forever to load pages so please excuse me not getting here often.

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  3. Can you not get wireless or broadband where you are Lois?

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