Here's an excerpt from the article,
What Are Some Problems Students Have With Memory?: "They are often reluctant to engage in tasks, such as schoolwork and homework, which require sustained mental effort."
It is so true for me and it just makes me want to put my head down cry and give up.
Prior to the full onset of my bipolar disorder I had an uncannily good memory. That disappeared when I was 26 -- the age of my first acute(and
the most severe) psychological collapse due to bipolar disorder and environmental conditions.
Presently, I'm preparing for interviews in the field that I studied in undergrad and graduate school. But, the absolutely disheartening and depressing thing, which really makes me want to give up, is that I remember virtually nothing even though it's only been about
two years since I was in grad school where I last consistently was involved in learning/using those skills. During grad school I'd noticed my impairment associated with remembering information between adjacent semesters. I wasn't cramming for tests; I consistently studied
hours per day, at least five days a week every week of the semester. And when a test or project was approaching I'd study everyday and double the efforts of my previous study habit at least two weeks prior their due date. But, two or three weeks into the following semester, I'd remember a nominal amount, rather next to nothing. A year or more after that semester? It was like I didn't even take the class. This all basically told me that all of that work was for nothing. This wasn't really an issue while I was an undergrad; I remember talking to classmates about how funny I thought it was that we were being taught information from one class in an entirely different class in a different semester.
How do I explain to a potential employer that I have a brain disease that not only has resulted in brain damage but also gravelly affected(and still affects) my memory? How do I prepare for this(or any) career when I can't even remember what I've learned from day-to-day, week-to-week?? How do I explain that I had to quit my last job due to shame & embarrassment(I'd missed 60% of my last two months of work to undergo almost daily hospital-facilitated treatments, the last time I returned to work I couldn't remember how to do pretty much anything that I'd been doing there for my 10 months of employment)? I had no idea how to explain this to my boss; mixed with embarrassment and disgrace, I just quit.
__________________
"I dreamed a dream, but now that dream is gone from me."