An anxiety disorder is a mental health condition involving excessive worry, fear, or anxiety that significantly interferes with daily life.
Besides persistent worry or fear, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition, text revision (DSM-5-TR) lists the following possible symptoms of an anxiety disorder:
- restlessness
- unexplained fatigue
- difficulty focusing on a task or feeling confused
- irritability
- muscle tension
- sleep disturbances
These may vary in frequency and intensity from person to person, and other symptoms are also possible.
Is memory loss a symptom of anxiety?
Memory loss is not part of the diagnostic criteria for anxiety disorders in the DSM-5-TR. However, anxiety may affect how your brain works, making some cognitive functions challenging.
Cognitive functions refer to your mental abilities, like reasoning, solving problems, planning, and remembering past or new information.
Anxiety-related memory challenges typically involve temporary and mild forgetfulness or having your mind “go blank” momentarily.
Difficulty focusing and concentrating on tasks is a common feature of anxiety. Heightened anxiety levels can divert your attention and disrupt the cognitive resources crucial for memory formation and consolidation.
You may feel distracted or absent-minded. This may sometimes make encoding new information and retrieving stored memories more challenging.
The less focused you are on a task, the less likely you will remember details about it later because your attention may have been elsewhere. But this is different than forgetting encoded information, which is what memory loss refers to.
Anxiety also involves a persistently activated stress response and the release of stress hormones, such as cortisol and adrenaline.
Extended exposure to these stress hormones may affect your hippocampus, a brain region that plays a vital function in memory formation. Over time, this may lead to structural and functional changes in the hippocampus, further affecting memory processes.
How to manage forgetfulness when you have anxiety
Anxiety-related forgetfulness is usually temporary but may still affect your daily life.
If you are experiencing memory loss and forgetfulness, and you believe it is due to anxiety, the following strategies may help:
- Creating a routine: Having structure may provide a sense of stability, making it easier to remember important information.
- Using reminders and organizers: Calendars, to-do lists, and smartphone apps may help you keep track of important events and deadlines, as well as everyday information you may need to recall later on.
- Practicing relaxation techniques: Mindfulness exercises like deep breathing, meditation, or yoga may help decrease cortisol secretion and improve focus, reducing anxiety-related forgetfulness.
- Prioritizing self-care: Getting enough sleep, eating nutrient-rich meals, and taking regular exercise may improve your cognitive function, including memory.
- Breaking up tasks: When facing overwhelming tasks, consider breaking them into smaller, manageable steps. This may help reduce anxiety and help you to remember and complete each step more easily.
- Reducing distractions: Noise, clutter, screens, and traffic may make concentrating more challenging. Cognitive overload may lead to more forgetfulness.
How is anxiety treated?
Depending on your symptoms and how much they interfere with your daily tasks, your healthcare professional may treat anxiety with psychotherapy, medications, or both.
Psychotherapy options for anxiety that may also help with forgetfulness may include:
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): This helps you identify and change negative thought patterns and anxiety-related behaviors.
- Exposure therapy: This involves gradual and controlled exposure to anxiety-provoking situations to reduce fear and anxiety responses.
- Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT): This focuses on accepting anxious thoughts and emotions while committing to value-driven actions.
Some medications used to treat anxiety may include:
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
SSRIs increase serotonin levels in your brain, which helps regulate your mood and reduce anxiety responses. They may help with cognitive challenges.
Common examples of SSRIs include:
- sertraline (Zoloft)
- escitalopram (Lexapro)
- fluoxetine (Prozac)
Common side effects of SSRIs may include:
- nausea
- difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep
- headaches
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