Title: Anxiety and Memory Loss
Headings: Anxiety and Memory Loss
Mental-Cognitive Symptoms
Anxiety and Memory Loss
Fact Checked
Written by
Memory Loss From Anxiety?
Causes of Anxiety Memory Loss
What is Your Anxiety Score?
Is it Anxiety or Something Else?
Steps to Control Your Anxiety
Get advice that’s rooted in medical expertise:
Was this article helpful?

Content: Every stressful thought you have is a mental energy that you're not placing on your ability to create memories and pay attention to the world around you, so while you may be listening to someone or trying to learn, you're missing an important part of your mental energy necessary for memory creation. Intensity Similarly, the mind tends to remember what it thinks is most important. When you have a severe anxiety attack or very stressful thoughts, those things become far more important to your brain than something you heard from a teacher or friend. It's not that you intended to give your anxiety that much importance or forget what you've learned during the day - it's simply that your mind is focused on something it thinks is more important (the fear or danger it feels) and so other issues immediately become less memorable. Sleep Deprivation Anxiety and stress can also lead to sleep deprivation, and trouble sleeping also plays a significant role in the development of memory issues. It's very hard to create memories and recall memories when you do not sleep, particularly since memory creation tends to occur when you sleep and memory recall requires a sharp mind. Social Support On a secondary level, memories are also more likely when a person has social support. For some reason, the people that feel truly supported by their friends and family tend to have better memories. Since anxiety can make it harder to have that social support, memory loss may be a secondary symptom. Normal Memory Loss Finally, people forget things all the time.