# Witnessing your own mental decay **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 12, 2023, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-your-own-mental-decay/988436 "2023-08-12T02:01:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2023, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-your-own-mental-decay/988436/81 "2023-08-20T22:03:51Z")
> [@velomont](#): > > I am 64 and for the last five or ten years have had a hell of a time with celebrities’ names. Me, too! The first time it happened was seeing a picture of George Clooney and not being able to come up with his name. I could tell you all about his career but couldn’t name him. I had to look up one of his movies to get it. It doesn’t happen a lot but enough that it’s definitely a specific memory problem I have. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2023, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-your-own-mental-decay/988436/82 "2023-08-20T23:15:26Z")
Some of us are quite clueless as to who the current celebrities are–so we don’t even recognize the picture. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2023, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-your-own-mental-decay/988436/83 "2023-08-21T02:36:39Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > I’m on the backside of my 50’s, and have a family with a history of Alzheimers. Hearing a lot of your stories makes me feel not so bad. 😀 This thread’s had the same effect here. My dad had Alzheimer’s, but I just act like it. Last night I was watching a SportBall game at the local bar, and one team was doing great, but then they faltered and the other team started scoring. And I could NOT think of the word for what had shifted. On my walk home, I kept trying and got “Impetus” and thought “Okay, I got a synonym in an hour. How long til I can retrieve the actual word I wanted?” Answer: twelve hours. I was sitting in church when I thought _“Momentum!”_ . > [@velomont](#): > > …It bugs the hell out of me. Me, too, BUT it’s a natural part of aging, and I’m getting more patient with myself as I learn to accept it. ---
**Author:** ![Moonrise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonrise/32/14764_2.png) [@Moonrise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonrise)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2023, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-your-own-mental-decay/988436/84 "2023-09-08T17:31:09Z")
For the second time in less than three months, I’ve come home from work to a partially open fridge door. Of course, both times it was the day after I had gone shopping. Of course, both times it was when temperatures were reaching 86°F. Of course both times it stayed open for 10+ hours. My first reflex is to throw all the risky food away. But I’m also morbidly tempted to eat it all and prove Darwin right. ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2023, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-your-own-mental-decay/988436/85 "2023-09-08T17:54:30Z")
Please remember that an entire fridge full of food still costs less than a hospital visit. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2023, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-your-own-mental-decay/988436/86 "2023-09-08T18:25:27Z")
I found my glasses after all. Three weeks after I had bought a replacement. Now I have two sets of spare glasses. That is good, is it not? ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2023, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-your-own-mental-decay/988436/87 "2023-09-08T19:17:00Z")
Makes you almost want to purposely lose them so you can show you didn’t make a mistake in buying a new pair. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2023, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-your-own-mental-decay/988436/88 "2023-09-08T19:19:07Z")
I can only hope I do not lose the new ones. My wife insists that I keep them home and only take the old ones out. I see her point. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2023, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-your-own-mental-decay/988436/89 "2023-09-09T07:12:42Z")
Yes, I’ve ended up with two pairs of readers (three if you count the ones that are also sunglasses), with one pair that fold down small enough to fit into my wallet, so they’re always with me. True, they make me look like [Herr Flick of the Gestapo](https://youtu.be/I0j_ffeCM0M?feature=shared), but the others are a bit Mr Magoo ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2023, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-your-own-mental-decay/988436/90 "2023-09-09T11:47:13Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > with one pair that fold down small enough to … constantly misplace them 😉 ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2023, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-your-own-mental-decay/988436/91 "2023-09-09T14:25:54Z")
You have to get in the habit of keeping them in the same place. Which is why mine are the outside-the-house ones. (Meanwhile, the inside ones run riot - not easy in a small flat like mine, but they manage it ) ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2023, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-your-own-mental-decay/988436/92 "2023-09-09T14:45:47Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > Some of us are quite clueless as to who the current celebrities are–so we don’t even recognize the picture. For me, it’s more like “Things I don’t need to know, or remember”. I’m already jam packed full of things I can’t forget. I can’t be bothered by who the latest shooting star is. Sure I recognize some, but many fly under my radar. Because I don’t care. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2023, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-your-own-mental-decay/988436/93 "2023-09-09T14:48:26Z")
oh … your answer kind of triggered a relevant thought of mine (in a good way): thanks god for google et al … and the fact that I don’t have to remember a lot of stuff, b/c I can look it up in less than 10 sec. !!! ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2023, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-your-own-mental-decay/988436/94 "2023-09-09T15:01:54Z")
> [@Al128](#): > > … and the fact that I don’t have to remember a lot of stuff, b/c I can look it up in less than 10 sec. !!! yeah. But I have three calendars I need to keep track of, and work can contact me 4 different ways. I’ve come to ignore some stuff since my phone bips and boops at me all day long. That in itself is sort of a problem. And yes, Google is my friend as well. ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2023, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-your-own-mental-decay/988436/95 "2023-09-09T15:04:38Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > _Some of us are quite clueless as to who the current celebrities are–so we don’t even recognize the picture._ Back in the olden days, celebrities emerged from motion pictures and to some degree from network television. Now, anyone who appears on a reality show on some obscure cable network is a “celebrity.” I can recognize only a handful of current actors (and actresses) including many who have been appearing in motion pictures for years. (I’ve seen Matthew McConaughey in several movies. If I saw his picture, however, I couldn’t name him.) Many of them seem to blend together. They don’t have the impact a Paul Newman or Steve McQueen or Marilyn Monroe or Natalie Wood might have had in their time. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2023, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-your-own-mental-decay/988436/96 "2023-09-10T14:36:33Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > I find myself reaching for words. I can visualize the word, I just can’t vocalize it. I’ve had this occasionally for ever. It doesn’t seem to be getting any worse with age, fortunately. When I try to reach for the blocked word, some other word, not necessarily similar or related, annoyingly comes to mind and gets in the way. Freud wrote about this quite a bit in “The Psychopathology of Everyday Life”. I don’t know that there is any deep significance, though. When memory finally uncorks and I get the word, it never seems to me that there was any hidden issue involved? ---
**Author:** ![Orville\_mogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/aeb1de/32.png) [@Orville\_mogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orville_mogul)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2023, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-your-own-mental-decay/988436/97 "2023-09-18T04:36:20Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Answer: twelve hours. I was sitting in church when I thought _“Momentum!”_ Mental image. (Priest): …for yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever… (digs): Momentum! ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2023, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-your-own-mental-decay/988436/98 "2023-09-25T02:50:35Z")
I used to watch _Jeopardy!_ brimming with confidence, sure in the knowledge that I would kick all kinds of ass if I were ever to appear on the show. Not anymore. Now I think I probably ought to just stay home. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2023, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-your-own-mental-decay/988436/99 "2023-09-25T14:28:45Z")
Yeah, I missed my shot too. 😁 ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2023, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-your-own-mental-decay/988436/100 "2023-09-25T14:33:39Z")
Your post is very lucid and well written, so you seem fine overall! ❤ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-your-own-mental-decay/988436.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-your-own-mental-decay/988436.md?page=6)