Losing Things.... - Round Rock,TX

I never used to misplace things.
My dad taught me to always put things where I found them.
My mom used to lose things. We'd find her keys in the fridge, remote in the freezer etc.

Well, let me tell you......now I am that stressed out mom & recently (only recently) have I begun to misplace things.

My keys. Never in the fridge or freezer but in the garage, an empty canvas bag I had taken to do the shopping bag.

I am now under so much (too much) daily stress that I have a hard time keeping track of my black cell phone, keys & dog leash. And mind you, I try to put them all in the same place every single time!! Somehow, I get interrupted walking in the door by the kids, dogs, hubby or phone ringng lately that I inevitably lose track of things.

I hate it. I am trying to slow down & pay attention. More focus Argh.

One of my psych professors said that to find something, or remember something, you must be in the same state as when you lost it, or learned it.

So say your running around chasing kids and you set your keys down....later on you are relaxing and figure you need to put the keys away. You won't remember where they are because now you are relaxed. Inverse works too, you put your keys somewhere new, now you kids are driving you up the wall, until you relax you won't remember where you put the keys.

Kind of explains why when you are in a mad dash out the door you have your V8 moment. :)

I forgot what the item was her son lost but he was stoned at the time. Since the boy couldn't find it for weeks of trying she instructed him to get stoned and he went right to it. :p

And people wonder why I love psychology. :)

She would also let us take out tests drunk if that is how we studied. :D

This is my life.

I don't even notice when things are in odd places most of the time. My oldest frie d stayed with me recently for a few weeks and we were laughing about it. She said she's learned not to question why the salt is in the bathroom.

Wheeeee. ADHD

HINT: From another psych prof

How do you tell the difference between forgetting and dementia?

If you forget WHERE your keys are, that's normal.
If you forget WHAT keys are FOR, that's dementia.

Multitasking. That's why we lose things. Our brains can attend to one thing at a time. Recent research has shown that when we are multitasking, we are not doing 2 things at once--our brains are actually switching quickly back and forth between 2 or more things. So, when you set your keys down on the chair at the same time you are looking for your purse, if your brain is right then in "where is purse" mode, you will never even encode where you put your keys, so you will not be able to pull it up from memory.

I lose things constantly. I also multitask constantly. But every time I've said "I am making a mental note that I am putting my keys on this counter," I have not lost them. I am forcing myself to attend to where I left them so I encode it in memory.

The research about this is really fun--it's about texting and doing other things at the same time. If you think that texting and driving is OK, check it out! I teach psychology and this has been a hot topic at conferences in the last few years.

have to share this,
Dh is self employed and carries his laptop from his work to our home everyday. Today was the second day in less than 2 weeks that he walked out with out.

I being a kind and responisble wife, called him, texted him, no answer --he had gone out to breakfast with the guys and didn't want me intruding apparently.-- so knowing he would want me to deliver it to him at the office. I take it with me, calling and texting him again to let him know i had it with me at DS's appoinment,
I get a frantic call from him, he had relized he left it, and had run home to pick it up. never checking the phone UNTIL he gets home and sees it isn't there.
REALLY??!?! brilliant guy but would seriously lose his freakin head if i wasn't there to clean up afterhim.

When you are young, raising kids, distractions make you sort of lose your mind somewhat. It will fix itself. It is a precursor to what happens later in life when you are older and don't have any distractions at all and you STILL lose stuff. It's very perplexing then, as you have no excuse or anyone or anything to blame it on except for "old" brain syndrome.

I seldom lose things anymore (give it a "home" and always put it there), but when I did...wow.

I used to lose everything in my car. Not sure how...but if it was lost, I'd find it in the car.

Today, I leave nothing but my sunglasses and Army hat in my car. That's IT.

May I just thank you for spelling "lose" and "losing" correctly? Bless your heart.

Yep, it takes a lot of training for me to make sure I place things back where they belong. I get in such. Hurry, I do not take the time to stop and look around or I am doing too many things all at once.

I lose things in my purse all of the time.

My husband is the worst. With his ADHD, he gets distracted turning around.
He also has to force himself to keep up with his stuff.

I do have to take things to him a few times a month.

I know the feeling. I am still losing things as a grandmother raising a grandchild. I try to always put my purse in the same place with my keys and cell phone BESIDE so that I know I have them. One day I could not find my keys anywhere, so got the spare, got to the car and remembered the cell phone was on the charger...with the keys right next to it so I would not forget either one. OR when I go into a room, I have forgotten why and have to retrace my steps to remember.
When my daughter was a toddler, she took off with my favorite gold bangle bracelet, could not find it, turned it into the insurance company (yes, I have a separate policy for my jewelry), got the check but did not cash it. Found the bracelet, not outside where I thought she has lost it, but in an antique cabinet that I keep napkins, placemats, bread baskets, etc. in. I knew I would find it and happily returned the check to the insurance agent. Now my grandchild took the same bracelet (aafter being told not to take it out of the jewelry box, but I have not found it yet and it has been 2 years, the house has been repainted and ALL the furniture in the house has been moved, but I keep hoping it will show up, and it is no longer on the jewelry policy (had to reduce the inventory items on it due to rising policy cost).
A month ago I was putting things back on the freshly painted walls. In my son's room I was putting up his plaques, etc., but decided I did not like the frame on his Who's Who award, so I took it with me to see what frames I might have that would work. Had no idea where I put it down. Searched everywhere, even the bag with newspaper for recycling. It was no where! Then Tuesday of this week I was standing in his doorway, and what do I see, the award propped up on his dresser, which I know was NOT there because I kept looking behind it to see if it had fallen. I was so happy, but no one will claim finding it, not my son or husband or grandchild. My friend said it was the spirit of his grandfather, who my son was very close to, who put it there. All I now is that I am happy that it had not been thrown out!

Occasionally (I usually catch myself) trying to put the milk or something that goes in the fridge, in a cabinet. I haven't ever actually found a missing item in the fridge, but I ALWAYS have to look, because it MIGHT be there.George Carlin is one of my all time favorite comedians and he did a great skit about losing things. I whole heartedly agree with one of his statements. " There are some things that you don't even care about getting back, you just want to know where the Heck they went! JFF see if you can find the skit on youtube, laughter is good medicine!