For the last year or so I have been having trouble spelling the most basic words

My wife and I were stymied as to what we were having for dinner tonight. We discussed the various options and settled on the main dish, but then were at a loss for one of the sides. We were able to describe it in great detail, but had to finally go to the freezer and look at the name of a very common side dish. AND you're worried about spelling!!:)
 
I had to look up what that contraption is called that allows one to wirelessly connect to the internet. Drove me nuts. I knew it was also the name of a power tool, I could picture what the tool looked like and what the tool did, but I couldn't remember the name of that either.
 
I just researched this problem and found this. It might help you understand it better.

"Older adults report that one of their most annoying cognitive problems is the inability to produce a well-known word. Although people of all ages suffer such word-finding failures, this type of error becomes more frequent with age, and older adults report that it is the cognitive problem most affected by aging. Understanding the nature and cause of word-finding failures is an important goal for aging research because these failures may diminish older adults’ success in communicating, and weaken the evaluation of their language competence by themselves and others. Such negative self-appraisal promotes withdrawal from social interaction." Read more here: Aging and Language Production
 
I would be more concerned if i was having trouble recoginzing words as @Lewkat described than stumbling over spelling.

Because~~~
1) English is a very inconsistent language in various ways.
2) Just as few people remember even their own phone numbers, or those of nearest & dearest anymore due to the advent of cell phones that store their contacts, many people have become accustomed to various things like autocorrect, predictive or offering several suggestions to complete the word you began. They are on various devices and internet platforms, which saves people from having to even think "Am i spelling this correctly?"

The first word processing device i had was just a glorified typewiter in the early 1990s when i was going for my BA (in my late 40s with family responsibilities too). It was so ignorant of common vocabulary in Psychology that i got in the habit of ignoring it unless i already doubted my spelling, in which case i looked the word up either in a textbook or the dictionary because at the time we did not have internet at home.

Now you can quickly find any word, both proper spelling and definition by using any search engine or bookmark a dictionary site.
 
Warrigal said:
I have a tendency to add extra syllables towards the end of adjectives. I must be mispronouncing them in my head. When in doubt I copy what I have written and paste it into the search engine. Instant illumination. Still happens next time though.
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That is what I do as well/ Happening more times now. Bit of a worry
 
You are not alone. I find myself looking up more words in the dictionary as time goes on. Sometimes when I right them down it just does not look quite right. The thing that gets to me is when I am having a conversation and I cannot pull up some simple word. What I think is strange is that this only happens during verbal conversation.

When writing or thinking it never pops up. It seems young people have no patience when it happens. I think that as I age my brain has to process memories and all my day to day experiences. That is a lot of info to hold onto. After a while it all adds up and my brain just takes a little longer to pull up the requested information......:unsure:

My son used to give me a hard time about it. He asked me one time "does the cat got your brain." My response was "Son, let us hope that you live long enough to experience the aging process." All kind of jokingly but he got my point. Not a word about it since.....(y)
 
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oldpop said:
You are not alone. I find myself looking up more words in the dictionary as time goes on. Sometimes when I right them down it just does not look quite right. The thing that gets to me is when I am having a conversation and I cannot pull up some simple word. What I think is strange is that this only happens during verbal conversation. When writing or thinking it never pops up. It seems young people have no patience when it happens. I think that as I age my brain has to process memories and all my day to day experiences. That is a lot of info to hold onto. After a while it all adds up and my brain just takes a little longer to pull up the requested information......:unsure: My son used to give me a hard time about it. He asked me one time "does the cat got your brain." My response was "Son, let us hope that you live long enough to experience the aging process." All kind of jokingly but he got my point. Not a word about it since.....(y)
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Katlupe offered this up to read for an explanation. This phenomenon has been studied.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2293308/
 
I don't have problems spelling, but occasionally, I'll see a famous celebrity whose name I've known for many years & I just can't remember his name.
That happened last year; I saw a movie with Sammy Davis Jr. & I couldn't remember his name for a couple of hours.
A couple of years ago, I saw "Fabio" at Trader Joe's. Same thing; I couldn't remember his name. My niece (who likes him) had to tell me.
 
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win231 said:
I don't have problems spelling, but occasionally, I'll see a famous celebrity whose name I've known for many years & I just can't remember his name.
That happened last year; I saw a movie with Sammy Davis Jr. & I couldn't remember his name for a couple of hours.
A couple of years ago, I saw "Fabio" at Trader Joe's. Same thing; I couldn't remember his name. My niece (who likes him) had to tell me.
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The trick i use when i can't remember a name, especially celebrity or title of a movie is to start what i call a synapse cascade. Discovered it by accident tslking with daughter. If i think of or say aloud to someone, like DD, everything i do remember about the person or movie within a minute or two tops the desired info pops up because reviewing everything i do recall sets related neurons firing.

And if you're still stuck (for me it works quckly 90% of the time) or you need it in a hurry, use IMDb. Can't remember actor but remember title of something they were in you'll likely recognize it on the cast list. Can't remember a title but remember the stars, look one of them up, the title will be in their Filmography.
 
Lewkat said:
It's like looking at a word you've known and written all your life and suddenly it looks like a foreign language word. The more you stare at it, the stranger it looks.
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I've written words that suddenly look strange. I spell them correctly, but they look so weird that I end up looking up the spelling to be sure. For a few years now, I think I posted about this here before, when I type I'll switch letters and have to go back and correct. Like instead or typing salad, I'll type slaad....something like that. I always catch it before I leave the word, but it is frustrating at times.
 
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SeaBreeze said:
I've written words that suddenly look strange. I spell them correctly, but they look so weird that I end up looking up the spelling to be sure. For a few years now, I think I posted about this here before, when I type I'll switch letters and have to go back and correct. Like instead or typing salad, I'll type slaad....something like that. I always catch it before I leave the word, but it is frustrating at times.
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Switching letters is a common occurrence for me as well.
Even proof reading before posting does not work all the time. After posting I reread the post and there are still errors. Bah and Humbug :rolleyes:
 
oldpop said:
You are not alone. I find myself looking up more words in the dictionary as time goes on. Sometimes when I right them down it just does not look quite right. The thing that gets to me is when I am having a conversation and I cannot pull up some simple word. What I think is strange is that this only happens during verbal conversation.

When writing or thinking it never pops up. It seems young people have no patience when it happens. I think that as I age my brain has to process memories and all my day to day experiences. That is a lot of info to hold onto. After a while it all adds up and my brain just takes a little longer to pull up the requested information......:unsure:

My son used to give me a hard time about it. He asked me one time "does the cat got your brain." My response was "Son, let us hope that you live long enough to experience the aging process." All kind of jokingly but he got my point. Not a word about it since.....(y)
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These problems are occurring with more frequency. I have tried a few supplements that are supposed to help: collagen, turmeric and krill oil for example. And I do many crossword puzzles. So far no miracles. Please everyone, let me know if you have had success with anything. I think exercise might help but I have a bad leg right now and arthritis in my joints.
 
katlupe said:
I just researched this problem and found this. It might help you understand it better.

"Older adults report that one of their most annoying cognitive problems is the inability to produce a well-known word. Although people of all ages suffer such word-finding failures, this type of error becomes more frequent with age, and older adults report that it is the cognitive problem most affected by aging. Understanding the nature and cause of word-finding failures is an important goal for aging research because these failures may diminish older adults’ success in communicating, and weaken the evaluation of their language competence by themselves and others. Such negative self-appraisal promotes withdrawal from social interaction." Read more here: Aging and Language Production
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What is more because the researchers tend to present this as an age issue, people 50+ experiencing it tend to feel it is, like aches & pains something that comes inevitably with aging. Because it's a common concept. Few if any researchers have studied the effects of stress on the memories of younger people. But anyone with fairly decent knowledge of how the brain works knows that at any age stress can bring can cause us to forget things, including why we went into a room and a word or other info with which we have great familiarity. STRESS exacerbates every issue~~physical, mental or emotional. Before you panic and assume you've started an irrevocable mental decline, review the stress factors, levels in your current life. Has it occurred to them that physical stressors and for some financial and family stressors are why it seems so much more common in 'seniors'????

i have generally an excellent memory, i could always memorize things quickly--three or four readings of something depending on the complexity of the material. But i also remember the plot and/or main point of stories i read or movies i watched decades ago--usually because i found some significance or 'meaning' in the stories. However, there are things i watched or read during stressful times (like my split from DH #3 in 1999, or the last 5 yrs, especially last two) that i know i watched/read but that's pretty much all i know. Sometimes, if i rewatch just a few minutes or reread a first chapter it comes back to me but not in the kind of detail with which i remember movies or books from less stressful times. It would seem that while i was trying to distract or calm my mind with whatever entertainment part of my mind was still on the stress causes and so i didn't absorb as much from them as i normally do.
 
I'm dyslexic, and one of the symptoms is difficulty remembering names. I used to give out assignments by saying, "You, him, him, her. and the other one start here". Strangely, the staff all knew what I meant. And Like Harry The Hermit, I have difficulty remembering names of things. I can describe it down to its smell, but I just can't remember the name. That has been for most of my life, due to the dyslexia, but I'm 75, and it's happening more.
 
i am a bad speller.since i have typed in this forum the red jiggly line under word that i misspell helps a lot.
 

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