Becoming Forgetful: How Elderly People Deal With Forgetfulness in Everyday Life

Abstract

Studies show that complaints about being forgetful are weakly correlated with standardized measures of memory impairment. Little attention has been paid to those complaints in a healthy elderly population. Therefore, this qualitative, grounded-theory study investigated the experiences and consequences of becoming forgetful. In-depth interviews with 32 participants were conducted and analyzed. The findings show that forgetfulness became part of daily life through 3 strategies, conceptualized as doing forgetfulness: (1) reducing complexity; (2) creating and maintaining routines; and (3) dealing with feelings of embarrassment and shame. The well-being of people experiencing forgetfulness depended on how successfully they performed the strategies of doing forgetfulness. Gaining insight into this process allows health care professionals to assess the phenomenon early and to individualize counseling and further diagnostic procedures.

Everyday experiences of memory problems and control: the adaptive role of selective optimization with compensation in the context of memory decline

“…Modifiable factors, such as perceived control and the use of SOC strategies, may benefit individuals whose memory has declined by helping them feel confident and competent in their daily activities, select beneficial accommodative strategies, focus on relevant tasks, and engage in adaptive behaviors that are commensurate with their abilities. Previous work (Imhof, Wallhagen, Mahrer-Imhof, & Monsch, 2006) identifying that forgetfulness and complaints about memory are tied to worse quality of life, as well as increased risk of distress and anxiety (Mol et al, 2008) provide an impetus for continued research to identify potential risk factors for greater memory complaints in everyday life. Because environmental and developmental factors may result in weekly variations in perceived control, the use of SOC strategies may be particularly adaptive in that it helps people to compensate for short-term intraindividual variations in their perceived control as well as long-term age-related changes in working memory.…”

Forgetfulness and older adults: concept analysis

“…Emotional responses to forgetfulness in the references were fear, embarrassment, anger and low self-esteem (Imhof et al 2006(Imhof et al , Ö hman et al 2008. Cromwell and Phillips (1995) describe with great honesty the resentments and social exclusion that occur when the label of forgetful is applied in later life; aspects of shared experiences not being remembered or missed obligations (e.g.…”

“…The coping mechanisms cited in the references were adherence to routine, writing lists and humour (Keady & Nolan 1995, Imhof et al 2006, Ö hman et al 2008. Forgetfulness in healthy aging populations brings about different coping strategies from memory loss associated with disease.…”

“…In healthy ageing groups, both routine and reminders are cited as coping mechanisms. Imhof et al (2006) reported that one older man felt frustrated because, after several attempts to write a list before going to the grocery store, he would always forget to take the list. He eventually decided to write his list on the paper grocery sack and managed to take his list because taking the paper sack had always been his routine in shopping.…”

Alzheimer's disease and age-related memory decline (preclinical)

“…It is also important to note that the population estimates (for AD) highlighted above do not include individuals with related (potentially treatable) conditions such as “Mild Cognitive Impairment” (MCI) which is characterized by a less severe (but abnormal) level of cognitive impairment (reviewed Petersen et al, 2004) and a high-risk for developing dementia (reviewed, Luck et al, 2010). Even in the absence of a diagnosable disorder of cognition (e.g., AD, MCI), the perception of increased forgetfulness and declining memory function is a clear source of distress, embarrassment, and low self esteem in the elderly (Imhof et al, 2006; Ohman et al, 2008, see also review, Ballard, 2010). Undoubtedly these factors have (at least in part) driven sales of over the counter nutritional supplements (e.g., ginko biloba, phosphatidyl serine) that promise improved memory function (now a billion dollar industry in the United States alone), despite the lack of any clear evidence of their effectiveness (Kennedy, 2004, see also review, Lanni et al, 2008).…”