KAD

Usually, whenever I've quit, I haven't had any problem remembering things. But this last bender really did a number on me. The blackouts weren't just moments. it feels like whole days passed me by and I don't remember anything about them other than what people have told me, or things I gathered from reading emails from that time period.

Now that I am nearly 2 months sober, I still have trouble remembering basic things. Last night, I was at an AA meeting. In this meeting, we go around the room and introduce ourselves. When it was my turn, for a second or two, I drew a blank on my own name! My own name!! (At least I remember going to the meeting.)

Please tell me this gets better. Please tell me my brain isn't fried for life.

Dee74

It will get better - it started getting better for me around 3 months?

D

Soberwolf

I agree it does get better i DJ and know quite a lot of music and i remember my brother showing me music that i knew and couldnt name i was foggy headed for a while as i was adjusting to my new sober lufe

i started remembering properly 3-5 months

Opivotal

Yep, took me about three months before the fog cleared.

Don't fret GetMeOut, give your mind and body a chance to heal.

PurpleKnight

Hang in there, it gets better!!

Andante

Yes, it gets better. I still have memory issues even 2 years in, but it’s MUCH better now than it was when I first got sober.

Proper names are hardest for me as well. Seems like I read something somewhere about why that is, but…

I can’t remember!

Grungehead

I can't remember when it got better.

But it did. I agree with the others, for me it took a few months for the fog to start lifting, and even then it was a gradual process.

courage2

With 2 years into the recovery process, 1 year consecutive sobriety, my memory continues to improve. It seemed bad in the first few months, but then I remember that the actual worst was when I was drinking, when I would actually tell people that if they didn't tell me to write something down AND watch me while I did it, there wasn't a chance in hell that I'd remember any part of talking to them.

All I mean is, if you're like me, the fog you're in now is an improvement over where you were. Don't forget that.

freshstart57

I recently stood in front of a group of 51 people, half of whom I had only met a few times within the past few weeks, and pointed to each one and named them. Names from all over the world - central and eastern Europe, Iran, Sri Lanka, Viet Nam, including 5 with the surname Li. I got every last one of them, and a big round of applause when I finished.

Four years ago, while I was drinking all day every day, I would see a wave of disappointment wash over the faces of my adult children when they realied I had no memory of the conversation we had just had the day before.

It takes a while, but it comes back, it all comes back.

Sisterbobby

this is good to know, my daughter tells me i have the worst memory...

but...you say it all comes back, there might be stuff i do not want to remember

51 days sober

FeelingGreat

Hi GMO, it would have been panic rather than memory that made your own name stick on your tongue. I've always had a bad memory for some things, but not others, but lots of things improve with sobriety.

TheNatural

There is just so much going in the mind of someone newly sober, it would be worrying if one wasn't a little distracted. A lot is discussed about the physical part of early recovery, but the mental part, at least for me, is the last thing to normalize. Anxiety, stress, guilt, and just plain old mental fatigue are all things I deal with for a while.

That being said, I feel like a MacArthur genius when I finally have all of my faculties about me.