Senior moments not always cause for concern – The Wall Street Journal
As age progresses most people get those senior moments when information that used to roll off our tongues, gets stuck somewhere and refuses to appear when summoned. If it happens a couple of times, we now have Google which we use to research any slight symptom that worries us and most medical websites can turn the most even-keeled human being into a full-blown hypochondriac in seconds as we compare our symptoms to those listed in dreaded diseases. A quick check to see what pops up when you type "memory loss" into a search engine, listed the Alzheimer's Society as number 3 on the first page. Now that is enough to send any sane person into a panic. And as these websites track what you search; adverts related to your symptoms will start to appear with every search which adds to anxiety. Marc Agronin, a geriatric psychiatrist who runs across an increasing number of people wracked by anxiety over memory loss assures us in the Wall Street Journal that armchair diagnosis and even professional diagnosis on memory loss "are sometimes just plain wrong" and lists things you need to keep in mind before you start panicking over memory loss. If you are worried about forgetting things; he also has a couple of suggestions on how you can adopt "brain healthy habits". – Linda van Tilburg