Working Memory Problems: Symptoms, Causes & Treatment
Working memory problems can affect both children and adults, whether the cause is genetics, neurodevelopment, mental health, aging, or stressful life events. Regardless of the cause, poor working memory has a significant impact on daily life, affecting someone’s abilities to process, recall, and use information.
A working memory deficit can show up differently for different people. While children may seem to misbehave at school, adults may be forgetful or experience brain fog. Observing accompanying symptoms is important for understanding the cause of memory problems. There are different treatment options depending on what is behind the issue.
This article will explore this topic by discussing:
- What working memory is.
- The functions of working memory.
- Signs of working memory problems.
- Causes of working memory problems.
- How working memory problems can be treated.
What Is Working Memory?
“Working memory” describes the short-term process of holding information in mind in order to complete a task or series of tasks. For example, when someone reads you their phone number three digits at a time, you’re using your working memory to remember and type those numbers into your phone.[1]
Unless you repeated or rehearsed their number, you couldn’t recall it later because working memory is brief and transitory.[1]
Crucially, working memory is limited. Most people can only hold about seven numbers in their working memory at a given time.[1] It’s one of the brain’s executive functions, which plays a huge role in how we use, process, and remember information every day. For instance, we use working memory to:[2]
- Have coherent conversations.
- Use grammar and spelling.
- Add or subtract numbers mentally.
- Retain the plot, characters, or meaning of something you’re reading.
- Recall directions.
While working memory is essential for many everyday tasks, it can become overloaded and impaired for a variety of reasons. Some children have learning disorders, such as dyslexia, or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), that impact their executive functions, including working memory.[2]
Other people’s memory issues may be associated with mental health conditions, normal aging, or dementia.
Signs of Working Memory Problems
Problems with working memory show up differently for children, adults, and elderly adults, due to the different causes. Whether someone’s memory problems are due to ADHD, a mental health condition, or dementia, they’ll be accompanied by other symptoms that are important to consider before labeling the cause.
Here’s what you should look for when trying to understand working memory difficulties in children, adults, and those with mental health conditions:
Signs of Working Memory Problems in Children
For children, working memory problems can be observed at both home and at school. For example:[3]
- Appearing distracted or “zoned out.”
- Losing concentration easily.
- Abandoning tasks because they can’t remember what they’re doing next.
- Raising their hand in class and forgetting what they were going to say.
- Skipping or repeating parts of multi-step tasks.
- Struggling to follow instructions, such as only completing the first part.
- Needing to be reminded of what they’re meant to be doing.
- Struggling with reading, writing, and academic performance generally.
- Taking longer to learn new things and incorporate them into what they already know.
Unfortunately, short-term memory problems in children can often look like bad behavior. They might be labeled as oppositional at school or at home when really they’re having concentration problems or finding it difficult to remember instructions.[2]
Signs of Working Memory Problems in Adults and Elderly Adults
Memory issues can be a normal part of the aging process and don’t always indicate dementia. While some forgetfulness can be expected, types of dementia cause significant cognitive impairment whereby someone struggles to think, learn, remember, and reason. For example:[4]
- Normal aging can cause someone to make occasional bad decisions, miss a monthly payment, forget which day it is (but remember it later), and lose things from time to time.
- Dementia can cause someone to make poor judgments regularly, lose track of the time of year, struggle to hold a conversation, and often lose belongings.
If your own or a loved one’s working memory problems are getting in the way of daily life, talk to a doctor to get a proper assessment.
Signs of Working Memory Problems in People With Mental Health Conditions
As we explore in the next section, people with mental health conditions like anxiety and depression may notice changes in their working memory and other cognitive symptoms.[4][5]
You may notice cognitive symptoms like:[4][5]
- Brain fog.
- Forgetfulness.
- Reduced concentration.
- Executive dysfunction (such as problems with planning and decision-making).
- Slower processing speed.
- Struggling to accurately recognize the emotions of others from facial expressions.
These symptoms are likely to be more intense if depressive or anxious symptoms are higher, and vice versa. If you’re treated for depression or anxiety, you can expect to see an improvement in cognitive symptoms as your other symptoms improve, too.
What Causes Problems With Working Memory?
There are several potential causes of working memory problems, from accidents to genetics to emotional and neurodevelopmental factors. Here are the most common causes of working memory issues:
ADHD and Learning Disorders
In children, poor working memory is often the result of a learning disorder or ADHD. Conditions like dyslexia, nonverbal learning disorder, and auditory processing issues limit a child’s working memory capacity. They then need to work extra hard to:[2]
- Listen to instructions.
- Recall information.
- Apply their learning.
- Respond to social cues.
Children with ADHD also experience working memory problems, which affect several executive functions. They may struggle to:[2]
- Stay organized.
- Set goals.
- Complete tasks.
Mental Health Conditions
People with mental health conditions, such as depression and anxiety, can also experience working memory problems.[4] This connection may go both ways, with the working memory difficulties making mental health symptoms worse, and vice versa.
Research suggests that people prone to rumination are more likely to have deficits in working memory and attentional control.[6]
Meanwhile, working memory problems can perpetuate depressive symptoms because they affect emotional regulation and prevent someone from challenging their negative biases.[7]
This bidirectional relationship suggests that mental health treatment can alleviate working memory problems and that cognitive strategies can, in turn, support emotional health.
Stressful Life Events
Stressful life events can also cause someone to develop memory problems temporarily. These can bring up all sorts of emotions such as grief, sadness, boredom, worry, and stress, which leave people forgetful or confused. Examples include:[4]
- Recently retiring.
- The death of a spouse or loved one.
- Losing a job or experiencing financial hardship.
Other Potential Reasons
As mentioned above, some working memory problems can stem from normal aging or dementia. However, there are many other reasons for memory difficulties in adults and elderly people. For example:[4]
- Sleep problems.
- Misusing alcohol and/or drugs.
- Head injuries, such as concussions.
- Blood clots or infections in the brain.
- Medication side effects.
- Lack of healthy foods and nutrients, such as vitamin B12.
Mission Connection is here to help you or your loved one take the next steps towards an improved mental well-being.
Treating Working Memory Problems
Strategies for improving cognitive function depend on the cause of someone’s symptoms. Here’s a brief overview of the types of treatment that might be necessary:
- ADHD treatment: Children and adults with ADHD often require a multifaceted treatment approach for best results. Improving ADHD working memory and other symptoms may require a combination of medication, counseling, skills training, and education. A doctor might prescribe stimulant or nonstimulant medication, recommend cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to help you cope with life challenges, or suggest strategies for executive dysfunction.[8]
- Learning disorder support: A diagnosis can open up extra support in school for children with learning disorders. Depending on their condition, they may be eligible for one-to-one help, additional time, and other reasonable adjustments to accommodate their needs.[2]
- Mental health support: If cognitive symptoms are due to a stressful life event or mental health condition, psychotherapy may be an option. Talking through feelings of grief, sadness, worry, or stress can help you process, explore, and express your emotions. Over time, this can ease mental health symptoms and help your cognitive abilities recover too.
- Lifestyle changes: Adults experiencing temporary working memory problems should stay active and socially engaged. Seeing friends and learning new skills can improve mood but also support memory skills. If they persist for several weeks despite you taking action, it might be time to speak to your doctor to look for other causes.[4]
Get Therapeutic Support for Working Memory Problems at Mission Connection
If you’ve been struggling with brain fog, attention problems, and executive functioning skills, you don’t have to just live with your symptoms. Counseling and therapy won’t “fix” your working memory, but the right treatment can make life easier, teach you important compensatory skills, and help you manage your unique challenges.
At Mission Connection, we offer outpatient treatment tailored to your unique needs. Our expert clinical team provides medication management in conjunction with a range of other evidence-based mental health treatment approaches. We start with a full assessment so we can build a treatment plan that is right for you.
We offer several options for effective outpatient treatment, including in-person programs at our locations in California, Virginia, and Washington, virtual telehealth, and a hybrid program that combines in-person and virtual care. Mission Connection is Joint Commission-accredited. We also accept most major insurance providers, so that your recovery is not hindered due to financial issues.
If you are looking for professional help for yourself or someone in your family, reach out to us online or call us at 866-833-1822 to find out how we can support your long-term recovery.
