this post was submitted on 29 Jun 2025
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I used to have a spectacular memory. The very first time I got Covid, though, it all went to shit. Maybe it's also just because I'm getting older, but I definitely feel like that original brain fog never went away.
Weirdly, it's not ALL of my memory that's shot, it's only proper nouns. Names of people, places, or things. I will forget the names of people who I've been working with for 3 years, the new brand of coffee I really liked when I'm at the store trying to buy more, or the name of the store I need to go to after work even if it's something obvious like Harbor Freight (Like I know I need to go buy a torque wrench, but where had I researched and decided was the right place to buy one?).
Numbers, facts, figures, physical properties... those all stick like glue. I can look at a machine at work, take it apart, then come back the next day and put it back together right without taking any pictures or notes.
I've started using a notes app on my phone and that's improved things a bit, but it's really irritating when I am sitting trying to remember something and it just will not come to me. I'd never experienced that in my life before, it's a little scary.
I've talked to a few other people before who all have similar selective amnesia like this after Covid, but with various different things that are easily forgotten. I find that really interesting and feel like it could hint at how different brains store information in different ways/places. People's names were always what I'd call the "most difficult" for me to remember, but I never had THIS much trouble with it, and the places and things were never a problem before.
That is scary mate, and you're thrown in the deep end with an issue you've not experienced. Have you posted in !autism@lemmy.world a lot of members there have memory issues and can give you ideas. Might be some other apps and shit
It's been a few years now, and it's not quite as scary anymore, more of a fact of life, my new normal. I've gotten some good mental tricks down for remembering people's names, and I've had a lot of good practice lately with all the new people I've been meeting. The first time I meet people, I basically just tell them straight up that I WILL forget their name, and I'm sorry, and the next time we meet I'll re-introduce myself, and it will take 3 or 4 tries to get it... And the re-introduction part of it really seems to help. I've been meeting a lot of people from Discord lately, and adding a username on top gives some other "hook" to catch, especially if it's a particularly funny username, which seems to help to add something more memorable to recall.
The places and things part has been relatively solved by me just keeping daily itineraries and lists when I have stuff to do, and long-term lists of things to remember. I'd never had to do that, so once I got over the initial "Well I Shouldn't HAVE to!", it just became part of the routine and works fine.
Nothing seems to be getting significantly worse, so I'm not spiraling down into some hellhole of non-recollection... I kind of see it as similar to losing a finger or something. Relatively minor, changes how you interact with the world slightly, but nothing earth-shattering.
Sounds like you've handled it amazingly! Well done