Washington residents like you may suffer from extended effects after getting into a serious crash. Head injuries in particular have a long recovery period. Many victims in your situation suffer from extended impacts of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) for months or years after a crash.
For some, the effects might even last a lifetime. This is particularly true of memory issues related to brain injuries.
Short term memory damage after an injury
The Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center views the impact of brain health on memory health. TBIs often impact the area of the brain responsible for short term memory storage and regulation. When this area suffers damage, short term memory also takes a hit.
Here are some of the ways in which short term memory loss manifest in daily life:
- Missing appointments
- Misplacing keys, wallets, or other important items
- Forgetting to return calls or answer emails
- Forgetting to complete daily tasks like grocery shopping or cleaning
- Doing the same thing multiple times, forgetting you had done it earlier
The dangers of memory loss
This ranges from annoying to outright dangerous. For example, you might accidentally overdose on a medication if you forgot you already took some. You might forget to stock up on important health items or miss critical appointments.
For many, these memory issues clear up over time. But for some, they persist indefinitely. In these cases, you must adapt to your new situation. You may need to take memory therapy and work with a counselor to create memorization tricks for yourself. The adjustment period is often long and difficult. But it is possible to learn to live with an impaired memory, even so.