We are all well aware of the effects that depression has on a person’s mind. Virtually every area of the brain involved with thought processes are affected. Depression completely alters a person’s way of thinking. Even the most lively and energetic people who view life from the most optimistic lens can become distraught and negative if they are hit with a bout of depression. The disorder can also cause a number of secondary symptoms that are otherwise uncharacteristic of the condition. One symptom that has long been debated is memory loss. Depression and memory loss has been linked in a few situations but the jury is still unclear if there is in fact a link between memory loss and depression.
Can depression cause memory loss? As a simple one word answer, yes, the condition can in fact result in memory loss. However, depression memory loss is different and does not occur as a result of ordinary memory loss. Well, it could occur this way as well but there is still evidence that needs to be uncovered to conclude that this is possible. So getting back to the question of does depression cause memory loss. To answer this question, it is important to understand some of the other symptoms of the disorder. One of the main symptoms linked to depression and memory loss is loss of concentration.
Loss of concentration is a typical and very common symptom associated with the disorder. The loss of focus and concentration may stem from the primary symptom of depression which is loss of interest or apathy. Being apathetic towards virtually everything would mean that an individual would not be inclined to pay attention and focus. The lack of focus can be connected to memory loss. For example, a typical test of memory is to be given a list of random items to learn and recall.
A person who has very little focus and is easily distracted may not be able to recall the items and this may be misconstrued as memory loss. The end result is the same but it’s not that the person learnt the items and failed to recall them rather the individual did not learn the items in the first place due to lack of concentration. This form of “memory loss” can occur in day to day life for anything from buying items from a store or remembering the direction to a place.
This is the main way that depression and memory loss is linked. This can be treated by remedying the disorder itself.
