STEP TWO: Strategy # 1 – Visual imagery/visualization

​Now that you have spent a week strengthening your attention and noticing your forgetfulness, we are ready to begin discussing additional strategies for reducing forgetfulness.
 
The brain takes in information through our senses. When talking about memory problems and forgetfulness, we are usually referring to memory for information that has entered our brain through the sensation of hearing, such as information that has been told to us by our friends or family. The strategy of visual imagery works on the idea that our brain will memorize and store information more securely when it is experienced through more than one sense: information that is both heard and seen will be remembered better than information that is just heard.
 
The skill of visual imagery ... 

​takes information that is verbal or only heard, and creates a visual version of it. We don’t have to actually “see” the information in front of us, but rather we just have to create a mental image (see it in our mind) in order to get our brain’s visual system to help out with storing this new memory. 

Create a mental picture.

To use the skill of visual imagery, take the information that needs to be remembered (whether it is information that has been heard, or even read), and create a mental picture of it. For example, if my wife asks me to get her a roll of paper towels from the basement, I would not just say “yes dear” but would then also use the strategy of visual imagery by generating a picture in my mind of a roll of paper towels.

​Now, ideally, I should just jump right up at that instant and get the paper towels without hesitation. But, it is more likely the case that I am in the middle of reading an email or something, and I instead put off her kind request for a few minutes. Unfortunately, a few minutes are sometimes all it takes for a small piece of information, such as paper towels, to be forgotten. Then I would have to ask her again what she needed. She may then feel as though I was not paying attention or listening, would feel a little undervalued, and there you have the mild beginnings of frustration and relationship stress.
 
This of course is just a silly little example. One instance of such a scenario is no big deal, but having this sort of forgetfulness occur repeatedly can truly cause stress and strain on even the most healthy of relationships. Visual imagery, then, is a fairly simple, fairly quick way of enhancing our brain’s learning and memory for such pieces of information. This not only helps our memory, but also as you can imagine, may even be good for our relationships!
 
What if the information to-be-remembered is not an object, but rather is a task? Visual imagery can still be used. Taking out the trash, for example. Generate a mental image of the trash cans. How about a doctor’s appointment? Visualize yourself at the doctor’s office. You could even visualize a calendar with the correct date, on the wall of your doctor’s office.
 
Over the next week or so, look for opportunities to practice visual imagery: creating mental pictures of information that you need to remember. The next few strategies that will be posted in coming weeks will build on this first strategy, in ways that make it more flexible and more effective. However, practicing this first step repeatedly, such that it begins to be more automatic or second nature, will make your use of the next few strategies that much easier.
 
Be sure to leave a comment below. Comment on what information you have remembered with this strategy. Such strategies don’t work in all situations. Comment on when it has helped and when it hasn’t. Ask any questions that you might have. In this way I can be more helpful to you, I can learn how to be more helpful to others, and other readers can benefit from your experiences.