Stellar45

I am barely at 65 days sober today. Throughout the past years I have struggled to get and stay sober. My problem is that now I have started a new job that requires a lot of attention to detail as well as hand-eye coordination. I have struggled with memory retention in the past but feel that now I must rise to the occasion if I am to past my job probationary period and truly contribute to the team.
My new role is that of a manufacturing technician, and entails complex processes as well problem solving and acquisitions of new skills. To say I was a bit overwhelmed at first would be an understatement.
It doesn't help that my team leader as well as the senior operator have very little patience and I've already heard some direct comments about my performance. Comments that were spoken in a negative manner. I am not a doormat but I am in no position to stand up to these comments verbally. Trust me in saying that to do so could cost me this opportunity for advancement.
I can deal with their negativity I think. I've got a good home group. a network of people I can call and do call me. A sponsor. Etc. The biggest challenge I have in stepping into this new job is my memory. It can frustrate me to forget things I was just told, or a process I was just shown. My question to everyone out there is when did you get your memory back? What did you do?
I am doing crosswords and trying to find brain activities that will help. Wish I could pop a pill and get the memory retention I had when I was 21.

ScottFromWI

I think it basically just takes time and practice Stellar, sorry to hear that your new boss is not being very understanding. I can't say exactly when the "brain fog" cleared up completely for me, but know it was more than a couple of months. I think taking notes about things you may repeatedly need to remember or "cheat sheets" might help. Or possibly even electronic reminders if you prefer using something like a cellphone or tablet. You could even record yourself speaking/dictating reminders to yourself and review them later.

Reading and doing things like crosswords will likely help too.

Am2144

Hi! I have the same problem with memory. I got the app luminosity. It has different activities to help the brain. Check out apps or online for memory games. Good luck!! The memory will return. It takes a while.

Stayingsassy

It takes longer than 65 days. It just does.

Nothing can rush the process, unfortunately. At about 4-5 months mine was back and better than ever, like seeing long strings of numbers and remembering them all hours later, better. Hang in there.

Your sobriety is more important than the job. Trust me on that.

Mac4711

So sorry to hear about your situation! It’s a tough one, because only time will get you out of it. In months two and three the mental fog was overwhelming - any analytical task stressed me out.
Took me about two months to get out of it, so hang tight and don’t touch any booze, because it will only set you back to square one.
But here’s the upshot - now at eight months I feel the best I’ve felt in two decades and anything analytical is now way easier for me. And chances are the same will happen to you!

Anna

When I started my last job, I felt that my memory was causing me problems, too. I needed to be able to have a lot of facts at my fingertips and it was tough. I depended on notes, post-its, writing things down as much as possible. It also really helped me to try to keep calm when I couldn't remember something. That was hard, because my go-to reaction was to feel panic and that quickly made things worse.

Hang in there and try to find work-arounds whenever possible.

ScottFromWI

All:

A friendly reminder that we do not allow medical advice in the forums, including advice regarding/recommending over the counter/herbal remedies.

Thanks!