Working Memory Deficits Can Make Errands into Mental Investigations
Nearly a decade after my head injury, memory glitches like this one are still a problem
I slowed to a stop at an intersection in the north end of town, my blinker on to turn right. A sinking feeling preceded the familiar thought to come.
Why the f*** am I here?
The thought wasn’t about existential angst or frustration with unclear directions or anything else like that. I literally couldn’t remember. A moment of deep thought later, the only thing I could remember about why I was in the car and at this intersection was that I was going somewhere to purchase something.
There were a few box stores ahead of me, on the other side of the intersection. I spotted an office supply store off to the right and something stirred in the back of my mind.
Am I going to Staples? Am I picking up the elastics I needed? Didn’t I decide I didn’t need those today?
While waiting to turn at the intersection, I concluded that while I had decided I didn’t need to buy elastics today, I must have thought of something else I needed too. I relaxed a little now that I had a destination, but I still had a problem.
