Dissociation, Stress or Memory Problems?

Reader’s Question

Hello, I would like to know if I need therapy or not… Whenever I am alone at home, and when the time seems to pass by, I try remembering what I did during the day, but I can’t. But if someone reminds me, I know exactly what I did. Do I just have a bad memory or something worse such as DID??? I always ask myself and check my watch to see if I have any time lapses. I took the 28 question test for DID, and I got 27.

What do you think?

Our Consulting Clinical Psychologist’s Reply

The situation you are describing is not related to a Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). It’s also not so much of a memory problem as an attention problem. During a routine day, we are involved in a thousand activities and thoughts — most of them so small and routine that the brain doesn’t bother recording them accurately. At the end of the day, how many light switches did you use? How many people did you say hello to at work?

What you are experiencing is normal. The ability of others to trigger your memories of the day is also normal. For example, at the end of the day we probably can’t name all the individuals we talked with that day, yet if someone reminds us of a talk with them, the brain can recall that contact.

If you feel you are having more than an average degree of difficulty with this issue, stress is the likely problem, not DID. Stress has an impact on brain chemistry and likewise, on attention and memory functions. People in stressful situations and environments typically report problems with both attention and memory recall. When stressed, the brain runs too fast and is often so preoccupied with stress-related issues that it doesn’t record routine events very well. A stressed brain also doesn’t monitor our activities very well, producing forgetfulness and sense of being “scatterbrained”. Stressed folks forget their keys, can’t find their coffee cup, etc.

Therapy and counseling are helpful in identifying problems and reducing stress. If stress is an issue in your life, and thus probably decreasing your attention and recall, then therapy or counseling would be helpful.