- Having short-term and/or long-term memory loss
- “Gaps in memory”
- Unable to recall specific events; memory lapses
- Problems with recall memory (often, word recall)
- Often feeling like something is on “the tip of your memory”
What is withdrawal-induced memory impairment?
Impaired memory is an incredibly common effect of both taking and withdrawing from psychiatric drugs. People describe struggles with short- and/or long-term memory that often starts while on medications and then worsens during withdrawal. Some people report these problems starting only after coming off. Short-term memory problems seem to be more commonly reported—and sometimes they can be so severe that people struggle to remember something they were just informed about seconds or minutes earlier. Some describe feeling as if they have early-onset dementia, because they ask the same questions over and over to family or friends and keep forgetting the answers, or find themselves unable to finish sentences because they can’t remember what they were going to say. Some people describe total gaps in memory—having literally no recollection whatsoever of events they attended or people they met. It can be incredibly distressing to people—and concerning or frustrating to those around them.
Photo courtesy of K. Kendall and Flickr Creative Commons.
Memory impairment
What is withdrawal-induced memory impairment?
Impaired memory is an incredibly common effect of both taking and withdrawing from psychiatric drugs. People describe struggles with short- and/or long-term memory that often starts while on medications and then worsens during withdrawal. Some people report these problems starting only after coming off. Short-term memory problems seem to be more commonly reported—and sometimes they can be so severe that people struggle to remember something they were just informed about seconds or minutes earlier. Some describe feeling as if they have early-onset dementia, because they ask the same questions over and over to family or friends and keep forgetting the answers, or find themselves unable to finish sentences because they can’t remember what they were going to say. Some people describe total gaps in memory—having literally no recollection whatsoever of events they attended or people they met. It can be incredibly distressing to people—and concerning or frustrating to those around them.
Photo courtesy of K. Kendall and Flickr Creative Commons.