Alcohol and Memory/Concentration
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: London, UK
Posts: 148
Alcohol and Memory/Concentration
Hi all,
Have only been sober 8 days, after relapse last Saturday after 17 days...
I am 31, binge drinker since 16, would drink sporadically, sometimes several times a week sometimes weeks in between, at least 2 bottles of wine on each occasion, would have increasingly longer blackouts and shorter time spans between binges.
I've noticed my memory and my ability to concentrate have become increasingly worse. When talking about the past (or even events last year) with family and friends I am shocked by how bad my memory is in comparison... I used to be good at concentrating (studying, reading, working etc), but am finding it really hard to stick to one thing and completing it, I often lose attention, turning pages for example and not taking in what I am reading.
May I have inflicted permanent damage on my brain or will this improve with time?
Thank you!
Have only been sober 8 days, after relapse last Saturday after 17 days...
I am 31, binge drinker since 16, would drink sporadically, sometimes several times a week sometimes weeks in between, at least 2 bottles of wine on each occasion, would have increasingly longer blackouts and shorter time spans between binges.
I've noticed my memory and my ability to concentrate have become increasingly worse. When talking about the past (or even events last year) with family and friends I am shocked by how bad my memory is in comparison... I used to be good at concentrating (studying, reading, working etc), but am finding it really hard to stick to one thing and completing it, I often lose attention, turning pages for example and not taking in what I am reading.
May I have inflicted permanent damage on my brain or will this improve with time?
Thank you!
Member
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 1,090
I think this is probably one of the top 5 concerns I hear consistently from those of us that quit drinking. I know I experienced it and still do to some degree even after four months abstinent.
I call it mental fog and my experience is it does get better with time. Brain's got to do some healing, yah know?
If you are terribly concerned it is always good to talk to your doctor.
I call it mental fog and my experience is it does get better with time. Brain's got to do some healing, yah know?
If you are terribly concerned it is always good to talk to your doctor.
Member
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: CAPE COD, MA
Posts: 1,020
Congratulations on 6 days. I'm reminded that alcohol is a toxic substance that affects us sometimes in different ways. It's said, with authority that it stunts our emotional growth and affects many organs including the brain. Often abstaining for a period of time creates positive results. Never Have I heard that good things happen to us when we continue to drink. Alcohol for a while was a friend then turned into a enemy which only takes from us.
BE WELL
BE WELL
All is Change
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Australia
Posts: 1,284
I wonder about this a lot. I don't mean all the time or every day. It seems to me the brain is a bit like a muscle. Tho with age and a long history of drinking (and not drinking) things change naturally. I think for me there was a great weakening or perhaps that and some irreversible atrophy outside what it would be like if I had not drunk.
What has surprised me is that a lot of what I thought was gone is wakening up and by using recommended coping strategies like note taking I get by ok. Interestingly, for me, this process has become more noticable for me since I started participating on this forum. I think that is because I had slipped into a comfort zone with my sobriety and wasn't really going anywhere with it..
When I first started I was more or less resigned to how things were. I read of people saying how things get better. Well, not for me. Oops....wrong. Things do get better in a surprising way.
Through thinking things through in an open minded and honest way here I have to carry that into my life and it seems the less my mind is loaded with grief and becomes closed as a consequence recall improves dramatically. Anyway that's how seems to work for me which is kind of irrelevant to how it works for you but it does indeed get better.
I think sometimes early on it is an ok natural defence mechanism. The less necessary it becomes the more it changes.
What has surprised me is that a lot of what I thought was gone is wakening up and by using recommended coping strategies like note taking I get by ok. Interestingly, for me, this process has become more noticable for me since I started participating on this forum. I think that is because I had slipped into a comfort zone with my sobriety and wasn't really going anywhere with it..
When I first started I was more or less resigned to how things were. I read of people saying how things get better. Well, not for me. Oops....wrong. Things do get better in a surprising way.
Through thinking things through in an open minded and honest way here I have to carry that into my life and it seems the less my mind is loaded with grief and becomes closed as a consequence recall improves dramatically. Anyway that's how seems to work for me which is kind of irrelevant to how it works for you but it does indeed get better.
I think sometimes early on it is an ok natural defence mechanism. The less necessary it becomes the more it changes.
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: London, UK
Posts: 148
Thank you everyone! [
QUOTE="Grymt;3951490"]
Through thinking things through in an open minded and honest way here I have to carry that into my life and it seems the less my mind is loaded with grief and becomes closed as a consequence recall improves dramatically. [/QUOTE]
Grymt, I find this really interesting and encouraging. I've spent a lot of time suppressing anxiety, shame, bad memories and grief, and by doing so perhaps I have also pushed out other memories... I am hoping things will begin to get back to me too. I feel I've deprived myself of good memories and a sense of continuity. I've been running away from myself for so long I feel I haven't been able to really register the world around me, or enjoy it. I feel my sense of self and belonging is weakened by my fragmented memory.
QUOTE="Grymt;3951490"]
Through thinking things through in an open minded and honest way here I have to carry that into my life and it seems the less my mind is loaded with grief and becomes closed as a consequence recall improves dramatically. [/QUOTE]
Grymt, I find this really interesting and encouraging. I've spent a lot of time suppressing anxiety, shame, bad memories and grief, and by doing so perhaps I have also pushed out other memories... I am hoping things will begin to get back to me too. I feel I've deprived myself of good memories and a sense of continuity. I've been running away from myself for so long I feel I haven't been able to really register the world around me, or enjoy it. I feel my sense of self and belonging is weakened by my fragmented memory.
Member
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Denver
Posts: 27
Hi Sobreia,
My memory was SO bad when I was drinking, it scared me. I was pickled, I couldn't remember faces to save my life. When I quit I'd say it got worse. I couldn't remember whether I had worked the day before. But I had heard that could happen so I just waited to see. Around 6 months I noticed a distinct clearing of my head, like finally shaking off sleep. Kind of cool. Hang in there, your brain has a lot of recovery to do too
My memory was SO bad when I was drinking, it scared me. I was pickled, I couldn't remember faces to save my life. When I quit I'd say it got worse. I couldn't remember whether I had worked the day before. But I had heard that could happen so I just waited to see. Around 6 months I noticed a distinct clearing of my head, like finally shaking off sleep. Kind of cool. Hang in there, your brain has a lot of recovery to do too
Member
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Denver
Posts: 27
Oh and what Grymt said about note taking...I just read that somewhere and think it's a great idea. Just notes in a day planner about what you did that day, to help you remember, and exercise those "muscles".
Member
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 1,090
Yeah, taking notes is a great idea in general. Just like I jot down on my calendar upcoming appointments, birthdays, etc. I also make a quick note of things I did on a particular day to jog my memory. Then again, I'm old as dirt.
~sb
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: MD
Posts: 15,966
10 months was a bit of a turning point and things were very clear then. At 23+ months, I have few (random) memory difficulties, but I am also over 50 now!
It's your brain healing!!! Stay strong and stay stopped!
It's your brain healing!!! Stay strong and stay stopped!
Guest
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 108
Probably not permanent. (Insert standard medical advice disclaimer here).
Tomorrow is day 50 for me, and I'm really noticing that I have more focus, memory and a greater capacity for fine brain/motor tasks (I.e. musical performance). It took about 40 days for me to begin to notice a change. The first 30 days were the antithesis of whati just described : fog, confusion, no memory, no concentration.
Hang in there S! It gets better, I promise!
Tomorrow is day 50 for me, and I'm really noticing that I have more focus, memory and a greater capacity for fine brain/motor tasks (I.e. musical performance). It took about 40 days for me to begin to notice a change. The first 30 days were the antithesis of whati just described : fog, confusion, no memory, no concentration.
Hang in there S! It gets better, I promise!
Originally Posted by Sobreia 
Hi all,
Have only been sober 8 days, after relapse last Saturday after 17 days...
I am 31, binge drinker since 16, would drink sporadically, sometimes several times a week sometimes weeks in between, at least 2 bottles of wine on each occasion, would have increasingly longer blackouts and shorter time spans between binges.
I've noticed my memory and my ability to concentrate have become increasingly worse. When talking about the past (or even events last year) with family and friends I am shocked by how bad my memory is in comparison... I used to be good at concentrating (studying, reading, working etc), but am finding it really hard to stick to one thing and completing it, I often lose attention, turning pages for example and not taking in what I am reading.
May I have inflicted permanent damage on my brain or will this improve with time?
Thank you!
Have only been sober 8 days, after relapse last Saturday after 17 days...
I am 31, binge drinker since 16, would drink sporadically, sometimes several times a week sometimes weeks in between, at least 2 bottles of wine on each occasion, would have increasingly longer blackouts and shorter time spans between binges.
I've noticed my memory and my ability to concentrate have become increasingly worse. When talking about the past (or even events last year) with family and friends I am shocked by how bad my memory is in comparison... I used to be good at concentrating (studying, reading, working etc), but am finding it really hard to stick to one thing and completing it, I often lose attention, turning pages for example and not taking in what I am reading.
May I have inflicted permanent damage on my brain or will this improve with time?
Thank you!
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