Memory difficulties

[Lucy1234]

Hope everyone is keeping well,

I have been feeling really down recently about my memory. I’m in my 20’s yet my memory is awful and it’s really starting to get to me. I’m studying a healthcare masters and I just feel I can’t remember anything at all which is really worrying me  I listen to others who have remembered so much and wish my memory was like there’s. I’m trying not to stress about it as I know that can make memory worse. I’m wondering if a difficulty in remembering things could be due to OCD? And whether anyone has found this and has any advice?
 

Thank you  

[GreyCat]

Hello Lucy,

Yes, I made the same experience. I have it in 2 ways, when my OCD (mainly checking, magical thinking) is very severe my memory is awful. I think (just my personal opinion) that my brain is so focused on the checking and my anxiety is so bad that my brain just cannot process anything else so nothing gets "registered" in the brain. And the second way is that I start to worry then and constantly compare my memory with the memory of others and with my memory of a few years ago. And the more I focus on it the worse it becomes or better the more I notice all the inadequacies.  Sorry for the clumsy words - English is not my mother tongue and I've an issue with typing/checking as well. Unfortunately I don't have any advice. I only try to let it go, not to think about it and accept it that I sometimes can't remember anything especially when my brain is on "high-alert" and constantly scanning my environment.  When learning my brain often got locked. I don't know if it's the same for you but when  I learned for example history I chose a random date which I wanted to remember by any means (it of course did not work) and I was so focused on remembering this date that all the other information I tried to learn in let's say an hour did not register at all. So I did neither remember the date nor anything else I read in this hour. I don't know how much of it is OCD itself or just due to the anxiety caused by OCD. I'm really sorry that I can't give a good advice but I wanted to send this answer anyway so that you know that you're not alone.

[dksea]

Hi Lucy, sorry you are having a rough time. 
I don’t think there is anything inherent in OCD that would affect whether someone has good or bad memory directly. That said, dealing with a mental illness like OCD  adds both stress and distraction to our lives which could certainly make studying and memorizing more difficult. 
However its also the case that different people have different aptitude’s for learning and recalling information. If you are having trouble perhaps it might be useful to try different approaches to memorizing information. Personally I find making and using flash cards helpful. Mnemonics are another technique. Some people find using color in their studying (such as writing related terms in the same color to make grouping them easier) helpful. Still others using music, such as setting key terms to simple songs an effective technique. You might do a little bit of research on memorization techniques and look for some that sound interesting or helpful to you. 
Best of luck with your studies!