# Do you find yourself doing things automatically and then don't remember doing it?



## AprilSun (Oct 13, 2015)

Do you do things automatically and then don't remember if you did or not? For example, I will go for my walk and leave thru the basement. When I get back, I will have my mind on something else and then later I don't remember if I locked my basement door back or not. So, I go back downstairs and find my door IS locked. I just went through the motions but didn't pay attention to what I was doing so I didn't know if it was locked or not. I have made so many trips back downstairs just to check the door because it gives me the creeps unless I KNOW it is locked. Do you do this?


----------



## Ameriscot (Oct 13, 2015)

Yep.  Do this all the time!  Annoying.


----------



## Warrigal (Oct 13, 2015)

I think everyone does this. 
It's called zoning out?


----------



## Falcon (Oct 13, 2015)

YES.  I do it all the time, and it drives me nuts. I lock the patio door and get ready for bed.
But before I get into bed, I check to see if I locked the patio door. DAMN!

But, guess it's safer than NOT to check.


----------



## Ameriscot (Oct 13, 2015)

Warrigal said:


> I think everyone does this.
> It's called zoning out?



Or autopilot.


----------



## RadishRose (Oct 13, 2015)

This is not happening to me yet.


----------



## Linda (Oct 13, 2015)

I do this all the time.  We've even gotten part way down the hill and came back to make sure we locked up (and we had).  A couple times in the past I've forgotten to put the cloths in the washer and it went through an empty load, so now I keep going in to check and see if I put the cloths in or not.  I can't trust myself anymore.   I've made a rule I can't walk away from the sink if I'm running water and I have to turn off the stove if I leave the room while I"m cooking.


----------



## Warrigal (Oct 13, 2015)

I've always been a bit 'dreamy'. I get lost in my thoughts but still carry on with whatever I might be doing. Then I snap out of my reverie and don't remember the details of whatever it was I was engaged in. I did this as a child so I don't think that this is age related. It is about being pre-occupied.


----------



## Underock1 (Oct 13, 2015)

Linda said:


> I do this all the time.  We've even gotten part way down the hill and came back to make sure we locked up (and we had).  A couple times in the past I've forgotten to put the cloths in the washer and it went through an empty load, so now I keep going in to check and see if I put the cloths in or not.  I can't trust myself anymore.   I've made a rule I can't walk away from the sink if I'm running water and I have to turn off the stove if I leave the room while I"m cooking.



Absolutely. You can't afford to screw up with the stove. I am not running my life anymore. There is another "me" inside calling the shots. I am just a witness to my behavior. I can get up, thinking that I'm going to take it easy today, but somehow the other guy says "Stop whining and lets get this off the list so we can take a nap without thinking about it."


----------



## Pappy (Oct 13, 2015)

More and more as I grow older. It's not a good feeling and at times I get very disgusted with myself.


----------



## Underock1 (Oct 13, 2015)

RadishRose said:


> This is not happening to me yet.



:bowknot:  You're just a kid! My _son _is a Baby Boomer. Be happy in your youth. Pay no attention to what you read on this thread.


----------



## Underock1 (Oct 13, 2015)

Warrigal said:


> I've always been a bit 'dreamy'. I get lost in my thoughts but still carry on with whatever I might be doing. Then I snap out of my reverie and don't remember the details of whatever it was I was engaged in. I did this as a child so I don't think that this is age related. It is about being pre-occupied.



Dream on, Warri. Its a good thing. As a kid, I always got "Could do better" on my report cards. I was always more interested in what the bird outside the window might be thinking, than what the teacher was scribbling on the blackboard.


----------



## jujube (Oct 13, 2015)

I can't ever remember where I parked my car.  I go into a store and think "OK, I'm down the row that has the three trees."  You'd think that would help me find my car, right?  Nope, I either come out the wrong door and don't see any trees or I come out the right door and forget about the trees.  Getting old isn't for the faint of heart.  Sigh.


----------



## SeaBreeze (Oct 13, 2015)

I do things like that a lot, like Falcon said, better to check things and be safe.  Sometimes if we're going out, I automatically lock the back door, then before I'm out the front door, I'll go back and make sure, it's almost always locked.  I let my cat out for limited amounts of time everyday if he wants, he usually stays right in our yard.  But I'm always trying to remember if the cat is out, in the house, or in the garage.  I started opening up the porch window a crack when he was out, as a reminder...then I started to forget to close it when I let him back in, or open it when I let him out.   This has happened over the years though, even when I was working, checking and double checking things, forgetting stuff, etc.  Usually get side-tracked especially if I'm trying to multi-task.


----------



## imp (Oct 13, 2015)

*The Real Issue*

Short-term memory loss. Now what was it I was just about to say??   Oh, Yeah! Happens to me all the time, while I can easily come up with details of events which happened decades ago! An example or two: Turned in my Illinois Driver License in Nevada  when I moved there, 1972. It's number was H-155-7834-2186.

The '65 Mustang I bought brand new in August, '64, S/N 5F07K284486.

impey


----------



## Linda (Oct 13, 2015)

My husband can remember his driver's permit number in Oregon when he turned 15.  And then it went on to be his drivers lic number too.  But don't ask him what he ate for lunch today.   I write in a journal each day what I do and where I go.  If I miss a day my mind is blank and I go find my brother and my husband and see what they can remember and then between the 3 of us I try to at lest get a couple sentences down.  It really helps a lot to have a journal of what you've been doing.  I have it clear back to 1980.


----------



## Warrigal (Oct 13, 2015)

Underock1 said:


> Dream on, Warri. Its a good thing. As a kid, I always got "Could do better" on my report cards. I was always more interested in what the bird outside the window might be thinking, than what the teacher was scribbling on the blackboard.



Were you watching me in my English poetry classes?


----------



## imp (Oct 14, 2015)

Linda said:


> My husband can remember his driver's permit number in Oregon when he turned 15.  And then it went on to be his drivers lic number too.  But don't ask him what he ate for lunch today.   I write in a journal each day what I do and where I go.  If I miss a day my mind is blank and I go find my brother and my husband and see what they can remember and then between the 3 of us I try to at lest get a couple sentences down.  It really helps a lot to have a journal of what you've been doing.  I have it clear back to 1980.



Hear you loud and Clear! (Even though I'm DEAF!)       imp


----------



## Aunt Marg (Oct 28, 2020)

AprilSun said:


> *Do you do things automatically and then don't remember if you did or not?* For example, I will go for my walk and leave thru the basement. When I get back, I will have my mind on something else and then later I don't remember if I locked my basement door back or not. So, I go back downstairs and find my door IS locked. I just went through the motions but didn't pay attention to what I was doing so I didn't know if it was locked or not. I have made so many trips back downstairs just to check the door because it gives me the creeps unless I KNOW it is locked. Do you do this?


How often this happens to me these days!

Shutting, locking windows and doors... locking the vehicle... turning the washing machine water shutoff to off when I'm done doing laundry... double and triple checking that elements on stove are off before leaving the house.


----------



## tbeltrans (Oct 28, 2020)

Aunt Marg said:


> How often this happens to me these days!
> 
> Shutting, locking windows and doors... locking the vehicle... turning the washing machine water shutoff to off when I'm done doing laundry... double and triple checking that elements on stove are off before leaving the house.



This ^^^^^.  I find myself always double-checking myself.  Also, when leaving a store, I always check my wallet to make sure I still have my credit card, that I didn't leave it in some machine.  I have made double-checking myself a habit on these things.

Tony


----------



## Aunt Marg (Oct 28, 2020)

tbeltrans said:


> This ^^^^^.  I find myself always double-checking myself.  Also, when leaving a store, I always check my wallet to make sure I still have my credit card, that I didn't leave it in some machine.  I have made double-checking myself a habit on these things.
> 
> Tony


Oh yes, bank cards and such, double check (always) when exiting the bank to make sure I removed it from the ATM and put it back in my purse.


----------



## Keesha (Oct 28, 2020)

Yes. Especially lately. Luckily I don’t go out often.


----------



## wcwbf (Oct 28, 2020)

I find it disturbing to arrive at work or arrive at home after work and not really remember much of the commute!


----------



## Aunt Marg (Oct 28, 2020)

Keesha said:


> Yes. Especially lately. Luckily I don’t go out often.


Just do what I do, I leave myself lots of time (try never to feel rushed), and before you lock-up, do a sort of simple rundown on everything.

Stove off, check
Windows shut/locked, check
Toaster unplugged, check


----------



## RiverM55 (Oct 28, 2020)

wcwbf said:


> I find it disturbing to arrive at work or arrive at home after work and not really remember much of the commute!


Sometimes I get so lost in thought I question if I'm paying enough attention to my driving. I swear the pickup knows the way home some nights.


----------



## officerripley (Oct 28, 2020)

I could've sworn I already replied to this...ha ha, not really...um, wait, what was the question again?


----------



## Chet (Oct 28, 2020)

I do it. One of my fears is that I lock myself out of the house, so the first thing I do getting dressed in the AM is put my house keys in my pants pocket.  Sometimes when showering I forget if I washed that part of me or not so I do it twice sometimes just in case. Can't be too clean.


----------



## Aunt Marg (Oct 28, 2020)

ROFLMAO!

Nearly everyone's, if not all stories shared are ringing a serious bell for me!


----------



## Manatee (Oct 28, 2020)

It is all about the hereafter.  You walk into a room and say "what am I here after?"


----------



## Gaer (Oct 28, 2020)

The only thing is posting on here.  I recieve  notifications that someone responded to my post, and I'm thinking, "What post?"


----------



## Furryanimal (Oct 29, 2020)

Yeah....the other thing is putting something down and immediately losing it!


----------



## charry (Oct 29, 2020)

I do this all the time.....I think I’m going mad, but have 100 and 1 things to remember 

I read in the newspaper the other day.....that people think they have dementia when in fact they have depression ....


----------



## Geezerette (Oct 29, 2020)

This morning, Got distracted as I was going from my parking spot to my apt entry & when I got to my door couldn’t remember if I had locked car or not. I had.
Have also done that in reverse. Got to car & couldn’t remember if I locked house? Yes I did lock it.


----------



## OneEyedDiva (Oct 30, 2020)

YESSSSS! Oh...I'm *so* glad it's not just me!


----------



## Nathan (Oct 30, 2020)

AprilSun said:


> Do you do things automatically and then don't remember if you did or not?



All the time, been this way since the '80s.


----------



## gloria (Nov 8, 2020)

AprilSun said:


> Do you do things automatically and then don't remember if you did or not? For example, I will go for my walk and leave thru the basement. When I get back, I will have my mind on something else and then later I don't remember if I locked my basement door back or not. So, I go back downstairs and find my door IS locked. I just went through the motions but didn't pay attention to what I was doing so I didn't know if it was locked or not. I have made so many trips back downstairs just to check the door because it gives me the creeps unless I KNOW it is locked. Do you do this?



Im laughing so hard because since 'Iv become widowed I do all the things I'm reading...now I know I'm ok.


----------



## Linda (Nov 8, 2020)

Yes, still yes.


----------

