Memory Writing Exercise

Memory writing exercise. If you forgot your beloved, for example, what words would you write to yourself to fall in love all over again?

You remember where you were when you heard your dog died or what song was playing on the radio when you had a car accident many years ago, but you can’t remember what you had for lunch last Wednesday.

Why do we remember tragic or unpleasant things more vividly then very recent events?

Our brain works off of logic and experiences. Our memories form from an experience that our brain locks tight, so that it may guide future behaviour. Those memories (good or bad) try to help us with our actions and to help us think twice before doing something. Some studies claim that memories often dictate or imagine our futures, so remembering the past and anticipating the future can be related.

Scientists divided the memory into categories based on the time that memory will last. The shortest memories are called “immediate memories” and only last for milliseconds. “Working memories” are only stored for a minute and “long-term memories” last from an hour to many years.

Each memory is classed into its particular type of brain function. Long-term memory, the most commonly known type, is mainly used to store facts, observations, and stories.

Working memory is used in the same way but for a much shorter amount of time, often just long enough for the information to be used. An example, working memories might be capable of remember a page number in a book but only long enough for you to flip to that page.

Immediate memory is so short that we don’t usually classify it as memory at all; it’s used by the brain as a collecting bin. An example of putting your immediate memory to use might be dialing a phone number you were just told, copying a figure or solving a problem in your head. There are many immediate memory tests online. They might flash a set of numbers and request that you read the numbers back.

Many memory problems come naturally with age. Generative memory loss begins, usually, around the age of 45. Usually you forget minor things like names and numbers. When there’s a large amount of memory loss, being delusional or forgetting a lot before the age of 65, this could be a sign of a Degenerative Memory Disorder such as Alzheimer’s and Dementia. There are many books that can help you gain back memory and strengthen your brain. Right now, I’m reading Brain Power by neurosurgeon Vernon H. Mark. Also there is a study that books such as All About Me by Phillip Keel, The Me Tree by Annettee Medcalf and This Is Not A Book by Keri Smith are very useful for memory. Other books with a survey feel tend to help the brain keep sharp, are good for connecting and are very fun. You can also read the Mookychick article about The Roman Room (it’s about using mnemonics to enhance your memory).

By no means am I qualified to talk about successful writing. Nothing I’ve created has been published, but I DO feel that one thing makes me qualified to create exercises…..my curiosity! I’ve been musing over a particular writing project for a long time… ever since I heard news of how doctors are bringing back ECT (Electro Convulsive Therapy.) I have Bipolar Disorder and some say that ECT might help. There are a couple short-term side effects such as headaches, confusion and slight memory loss… but this article isn’t all about ECT.

I was thinking about memory loss, and I have an idea for something to work on as an exercise…

Writing tip for memory loss

If you had to have a procedure that may result in a fair amount of memory loss and you had a journal, what would you write down that you wanted to remember? You could lie to yourself, choose not to add bad things, put the basics or even change how you feel about something. It’s not to say that you’d follow everything in that journal… but if it’s in your handwriting, you’d probably be more like to believe what’s there, right?

You can choose whatever form of person (1st, 2nd, 3rd) form to write in. For this project I’ll do 2nd.

Assuming you need some form of idea of what I’m talking about, here are some examples….

1st Person:

I quit smoking and cigarettes make me ill now. I work at a bookstore on Front St. I write for a website. I have an Irish boyfriend who I adore!

2nd Person:

You quit smoking and it makes you ill now. You work at a bookstore on Front St. You write for a website.

You have a Irish boyfriend who you adore.

3rd Person:

Jasmine quit smoking and it makes her ill now. She works at a bookstore on Front St. Jasmine writes for a website. She has a Irish boyfriend who she adores.

So, whatever writing form you choose, make sure to not forget adding what you feel is important. To spice up the challenge you can set a time limit, a specific amount of pages to write or choose a certain time of your life to inform yourself about (if the rest isn’t important.)

An alternative to this challenge was inspired by the movie The Vow. You have a procedure that only wipes away the memory of your significant other. What would you write about them to remind yourself why you loved them? How you met? Your first date? Write whatever you feel might make you fall in love again!