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More PsychNotes: Anxiety

May 15, 2017

Anxiety and Poor Memory: It's Really About Attention
by Monica A. Frank, PhD

Nothing fixes a thing so intensely in the memory as the wish to forget it. Michel de Montaigne
Many of those with anxiety report problems with their memory. And yes, a review of the research shows that your memory is worse when you're anxious. However, specifically, it is what is called “working memory” that is amiss (Moran, 2016).

First, let's examine how memory works and then we'll look at what happens with anxiety. To do so, it is necessary to define memory types and memory storage.

Memory Types

1) Episodic. Memories of events that are unique to the individual are episodic memories. An example might be the day you were married or an argument you had with a friend yesterday.

2) Semantic. Language and knowledge are considered semantic memories. Reading or knowing the difference between a cat and a dog are examples of this type of memory.

3) Procedural. Remembering how to do things is procedural memory. Examples of this type of memory include driving a car, swimming, or even walking up steps.

Memory Storage

1) Sensory memory. Every moment of every day your body is taking in information. This is part of sensory memory which is very brief and often ignored unless your attention is drawn to it for some reason. For instance, if someone asks “Are you comfortable?” you may notice that the chair is too hard or the room is too cold. Otherwise, this information is forgotten and never becomes part of your permanent memory.

2) Short-term memory (also called “working memory”). When you are focused on something such as reading a recipe while you are cooking and remembering the next step before looking back at the recipe you are using working memory. However, short-term memory is only about 15-30 seconds long which is why you can't read and remember the entire recipe. Without deliberate and repetitive focus, short-term memories do not get stored. Unless you use that recipe repeatedly, you will not remember it later.

3) Long-term memory. The type of memory storage that most of us think of as memory is long-term memory. When you focus intensely or repeatedly on a certain event or memory, it becomes permanently stored in your brain which allows you to retrieve that memory at a later time. When you study by repeating information over and over it is stored in your long-term memory. Even events require repetition. For instance, if you hear a funny joke and want to tell someone you usually think about telling it which puts it into long-term memory.

What does this have to do with anxiety?

Semantic memory and procedural memory is not affected by anxiety. You still know what a car is and how to drive when you are anxious. It is the storing of memories that is more of a problem when anxious.

Even though a person may have trouble retrieving long-term memories when anxious, long-term memories are intact and unaffected by anxiety. However, a person may have difficulty creating long-term memories because the short-term “working memory” is affected. Think of it this way, if a person studies for a test when calm, the information is in the brain but may not be easily available when anxious. However, if the person is anxious while studying, the information may not be stored into the long-term memory and so is not available.

The problem with both memory retrieval from long-term storage and with storing memories from “working memory” is that when a person is anxious, attention is affected. Technically, the problem isn't that a person can't pay attention, the problem is what the person is focusing on.

My opinion differs from the conclusions of this review of the research. Most of the research examines memory by giving a test of memory which involves remembering a list of items, a series of digits, or the specifics of an event. I don't think such tests are a suitable method to draw the conclusion that memory is impaired when anxious.

From my experience working with clients with anxiety, their memory appears quite good. But, the memories they retain are about the anxiety itself. They are able to describe the anxiety in detail and the thoughts they had related to the anxiety. In addition, most can describe perfectly the conditions of the situation that contributed to the anxiety.

So the problem with memory when a person is anxious is that they are focused on the details of the anxiety instead of focusing on other things. So a list of names or numbers is not retained in the memory but all aspects of the anxiety is clearly remembered.

What can be done?

For this reason, mindfulness practice has shown to be helpful with anxiety. With mindfulness practice, a person learns to attend to what's important and to let go of competing thoughts. They learn to how to not give undue focus to the attention-grabbing anxiety and negative thoughts. So, not only does mindfulness help to reduce anxiety by reducing the attention on anxiety but it also improves the memory by enhancing the focus on the immediate experience.

For more information about learning mindfulness, see Understanding Mindfulness.

Moran, T.P. (2016). Anxiety and Working Memory Capacity: A Meta Analysis and Narrative Review. Psychological Bulletin, 142, 831–864. DOI:10.1037/bul0000051<

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