Why I Stopped Worrying about Memory Loss and Learned to Love the Internet

Memory is something I struggle with every day. The reasons aren't a mystery. We know that MS can shred myelin in some choice real estate in the brain, areas that regulate emotion, judgment, and information processing. Fatigue, pain, and medications can fog our thinking. I am not always sure which of those is causing my short-term memory glitches, but I decided it doesn’t matter all that much anymore. There is a resource I can always turn to in my time of need: the internet.

How the internet helps me stay on top of my MS

The internet is a gigantic brain that takes up no physical space, a home health aide for our ever-shrinking gray matter. The only physical space it uses takes the form of a hard drive, a data storage unit that occupies a relatively tiny space compared to a food storage unit, commonly known as a refrigerator. My life would be much harder without them. One keeps my body nourished while the other stimulates my neural pathways. Electronic data sources remind me to refill my meds and keep doctor appointments, post an update to my fellow chronics on social media, check youtube for Dr. Boster’s thoughts about everything MS, pull up dictionaries for spelling and grammar, and a hundred other things.

The information is always there

To those timid souls who fear stepping into a search box portal: You don’t have to do it alone. There are apps that can make it easier. Find someone who can be your helping angel and guide you through it.

To those clinical study outcomes proving that flipping through website content for hours on end allows us to skim loads of information that we then promptly forget, then claim that is a bad thing: So what? We don't need to retain it. It’s there when we want to read it, again and again, if we wish, on the net or offline on E-Readers.

Knowledge is accessible to many through the web

To those who have also suggested that the internet is making us stupid: I would quote Forrest Gump, who wisely stated that stupid is as stupid does. He meant that we should judge a person by their actions, not their appearance. Although that is mainly a moral declaration about how to treat others, I would extend that to how we should treat ourselves. We with chronic illness might look or feel broken, but we can access the vast body of human knowledge and imagination with the touch of a button, a voice command, or a visual cue.

Using resources to our advantage

Stephen Hawking used all of those tools to do research and maintain his professional goals and obligations. Hawking made important contributions to physics, and who was lucky enough to have a course of ALS that didn't cause dementia. Those of us with MS add value to the planet, too. And those of us who can also still reason and communicate--which would be the vast majority--have an obligation to ourselves and those we care about to use resources that can help keep us healthy, independent, and connected.

A better quality of life

Regular use of electronic data can improve our daily quality of life. It can help us stay compliant with our disease management regimen. This includes drugs, medical care, emotional therapy via social media, physical therapy, online exercise videos, nutrition, and alternative therapies. When we are less depressed, more active, and more compliant in our chosen forms of disease management, we use the costlier part of health care less often. What’s more, our country’s economy directly benefits in the form of cost savings. Most importantly, we spend less on our medical care, too.

Empowering ourselves

The big takeaway? We can empower ourselves by using electronic data to manage a faulty memory. Engaging regularly with all sources of data storage can lessen feelings of helplessness, depression, frustration, and anger. So the next time someone asks if you know a thing, you can say, “No, but I do know where I can find the answer.” Remembering to follow up on that is the challenge. No need to worry, though. There are helpers everywhere who will remind you. You are not in this alone.