I know I have...I think it's part of the disorder...but I also think it's caused by benzo's (Ativan, Xanax)...maybe a little sleep deprivation on my part. Sometimes I can't think. I get stressed sometimes because I am trying to remember something and I can't. Sometimes I find myself walking in and out of a room and can't rememeber why I am doing it. It's scary sometimes.

It can be caused by both the benzos (klonopin, ativan, xanax) and the illness.

It happens to me daily. I always thought that it was the anxiety until I started reading more about the effects of benzos on this site. It can feel pretty crazy making, but I am trying to be kind to myself and give myself a break...it is one of the smaller issues I face when dealing with anxiety.

omg ya ..i think its common for that to happen..there are a lot of times when i said something and 2 seconds later im not sure if i really did say it or i forget what i said. i usually dont remember a week ago..dont worry and meds have a lot to do with it too..

I'm so glad you brought this up. I'm a relatively new member and I have the same problem. So when I went to the psych she was trying to tell me all my double checking was ocd. My memory was getting goofy so I was obsessed with double checking everything because I couldn't remember if I did it. Anyway, this all started when I started taking ativan, I just never put the two together. Oh, thank you so much for bringing up this topic, I thought I was losing my mind. I never read anything about benzos on the web regarding this before but I will check out this site about them. Thank you and good luck.

im so glad that this question was asked now i have some explanation its prob becuase of the ativan and my anxiety

I took antidepressants for 10 years and I always felt myself getting for a lack of a better term more stupid. I stopped taking them for a month and holy crap I thought I was a genius compared to how I was. I know benzos can in certain doses because they can act like alchohol impairing your judgement and thinking. I think the SSRIs and things were just horrible on my brain. I am going off of them for the 2nd time now and hope to never touch another one and hope my benzos keep me grounded.

I definately do. I think mine has more to do with the medications that I am on though.

I have a terrible terrible memory, at times cant remember my own name let alone what i said did or happened yesterday.
I often go completely blank and cant remember my freinds names i know well or cant remember what i was talking about halfway through a sentence.
I put it down to stupidity on my part but now i look at it, its something thats gradually got worse over the years, ive been on meds on and off for 16 years, i definately need to do some reasearch!.Thankyou for this topic!!!

I have a terrible terrible memory, at times cant remember my own name let alone what i said did or happened yesterday.
I often go completely blank and cant remember my freinds names i know well or cant remember what i was talking about halfway through a sentence.
I put it down to stupidity on my part but now i look at it, its something thats gradually got worse over the years, ive been on meds on and off for 16 years, i definately need to do some reasearch!.Thankyou for this topic!!!

It is the meds. It has gotten better for mr but at first I had a bad case of CRS(cant remember sh t) Lots better after 5 months on effexor xr and xanaz xr, I take low dosages.

Benzos definitely affect memory. SSRI's could possibly affect memory by downregulating serotonin because of the reuptake inhibiting effect the medications provide (thus providing anxiety relieve from certain subtypes of serotonin that promote anxiety) Benzos directly lower serotonin concentrations, withdrawals would raise them sky high. SSRI's indirectly lower them over time. Lower serotonin could make learning and memory problems worse.