When my father mentioned he could not park properly any more without the help of parking sensors, electronic parking aid system, or “complete parking system” (there are different systems with varying helping level, I believe. Let’s think of them generally), I started to wonder which of our abilities could experience such decline.
What I can now think of as an example is, my hand writing with pencil or pen got worsened and uglier over time. I sometimes hardly read what I wrote. But I remember I could remember beautifully. I could write beautifully as I write as. But not any more. Because I have got used to writing on computer keyboard.
This may sound dorky, but…I used to referee lots of paper-and-pencil role-playing-games. I’d do SF, fantasy, horror, military, and pulp adventure game campaigns. I have run perhaps 120 adventure sessions.
The last two times I’ve done it…it sucked. I got nasty panic attacks both times, and my ability to orchestrate events, or even to react to events, had deteriorated grievously. My players were kind and understanding, but it was clear: I was running an adventure session that was well below average quality. Not stinko, but not good. 4 on the old 1 to 10 scale.
I’m also worried a little about my driving. I’ve taken the wrong off-ramp two times in the past three months, on freeways I know like the back of my Red Sonja Action Figure.
I am 61. I have been working in construction related fields for forty years. I have no fear of heights, and I have worked off of ladders, scaffolding and various scissor and cherry picker lifts all of these years. Since my heart attack a couple of years ago, my sense of balance is not as reliable as it has been.
My ability to recover after a workout and bounce back the next day, and the next, and the next has declined significantly. I must schedule in extra rest days now that would have been spent in the gym a decade ago. In a way, this has been a good thing because it has compelled me to learn as much as i can about maximizing my workouts and everything that goes into achieving that (diet, recovery nutrition, training specifics, importance of sleep, etc).
Both memory and driving skills seem to be suffering as I age. I can remember where I’m going, but will suddenly completely blank out on which streets to use to get there. It usually happens when the destination is some place I go to only a few times a year.
As for driving, I have backed out of parking spaces three times in the last six months, *without even thinking *about looking behind me, and hit something. Fortunately, no damage was done but, ye Gods, what is wrong with me!! :eek:
I scared myself driving and have given up my DL… There is bus service in this little town.
Memory is a tricky thing… As seen on another post,remembering meds is hard.
Chemo has left me with tiny pinpoint holes in my memory…Usually how to do something. I’ll get the tools together and start and suddenly don’t know the next step!
Pretty much already said plus my balance. Still ride motorcycles just fine but standing still is getting scary.
Worse after dark or when turning quickly while unloading the car, etc…
Low grade Diabetes.
Numbness in parts of my toes.
Medicated high blood pressure
71, past paternal genes and in maternal gene territory.
When I was a kid, I was precocious in math. It just came to me naturally, and I could do lots of things in my head. I was always “teacher’s pet” in math class, the guy who always know the correct answer when nobody else did. Now, simple arithmetic stumps me, and I have to resort to using a calculator. Sometimes I can’t even understand what to do with the calculator.
Spelling. I always excelled at spelling as a kid. Now, even some simple words are a challenge
Just logical thinking isn’t as straightforward as it used to be.
Of course, there’s the sexual thing, which is depressing. I’m lucky to have an accommodating partner.
I get home from the supermarket, and I’m exhausted.
I find it difficult to watch a lot of movies; my attention span is appropriate to sitcoms.
I find myself being careless when driving because my mind wanders. This scares the hell outta me.
Illegible handwriting.
Finding it very difficult to commit to having a healthy lifestyle.
And the worst thing: I’m becoming a hermit. I see my partner (who lives next-door, but travels a lot on business) and I sing in my chorus (missing too many rehearsals and performances). I see one of my cousins now and then, but am not connected to anyone else.
Spent a few hours on the lake yesterday, doing nothing but reading and listening to music. Just handling and trailering the boat left me exhausted.
I find very few movies will hold my attention for the entire length. I don’t know whether it’s a mental change, or I’m just tired of back and forth romances, and stuff blowing up.
My wife and I have let our social group shrink to zero, and we’re not too concerned with fixing it. On top of that we find we’d rather cook at home than bother with going out. Our food is just as good and we can both have an extra glass of wine (no negotiating over who drives home). Our kids are really worried we’re turning into friendless hermits. And they’re probably right.
Both of these. I backed out of my driveway twice within a month and hit someone parked on the street that I just hadn’t noticed. Both were parked illegally BTW, but that is no excuse. But my memory is going. Not only do I lose words, but I do a fair amount of programming in the markup language TeX and I have forgotten the names of basic procedures more than once recently. And my ability to do mathematics is rapidly going. I just don’t have the concentration I used to. But I plug away with the help of collaborators. Another thing is my balance. I find it very hard to go down steps without a railing. As for my sex life…
I’m only 45, but I’ve noticed that I can’t type worth a damn any more. Previously, my fingers just knew where to go, and how to spell the words, but just in the past few weeks, they get “confused,” and letters get transposed. It takes me twice as long to type as it used to, and errors still slip by, and it’s annoying as hell.
I assume that this will become a familiar trajectory: things that I used to be able to do quite effortlessly will require more and more concentration. I just hope that I’m able to recognize my limitations as more important skills decline. Typing is one thing, but driving, climbing a ladder, etc. pose some risks if/when I can’t do them as well. Blech.
Deciding what I need to do first. I’ll have 2 things in my hand… Which one do I do what with first? Turning my powerchair off when I mean to roll away. Trying to put the teapot lid on the milk bottle
I agree with this. However, it must be said that the evolution of the way software is built has contributed to this difficulty. Contemporary design patterns are a lot less linear and less conveniently chunked than when I started in the 1980s, writing in FORTRAN and COBOL. At least, that’s my impression.
I haven’t noticed this yet, and I’m heading into my upper fifties. What I do notice a lot of, just reading the SDMB generally, is a great many dropped words in thread titles, from all sorts of different Dopers. I know the authors of these threads knew the missing word belonged there, but for whatever reason didn’t actually type them.
