October 16, 2004
Memory
This was a reject from a recent psych text i was doing. The authors wanted a cartoon about memory loss but didn't think this one was appropriate. There have been several films about memory loss in the last few years. One that comes to mind is Memento starring Guy Pearce (or is it Pierce? google has listings for both names!)
I remember in the '70s when i was working as a psych nurse having to deal with patients with extreme short term memory loss. One guy had lost his short term memory from going on an intense alcohol bender over a period of 3 months after a domestic tragedy. He was suffering from 'Korsakov's syndrome' which is unfortunately irreversable. He'd continually want to know where he was and where his suitcase was! He was a charming man and it was sad to see him in this state. We left him all manner of notes in the various pockets of his dressing gown that explained the ins and outs of his situation but we always had to be around to say 'Check in your dressing gown pocket!'. Everytime his situation was explained to him he became distressed while struggling to put his mind around the concept. We were continually working out softer and softer approaches with which to comfort him. Poor guy. Every five minutes or so we repeated the same scenario. It's like being trapped in a time loop.