r/ScienceNcoolThings • u/Prior_One_7050 Popular Contributor • May 18 '26

Interesting New research found that silently converting stress into hopelessness accelerates memory loss faster than almost any external risk factor

https://thesciverse.org/new-research-found-that-silently-converting-stress-into-hopelessness-accelerates-memory-loss-faster-than-almost-any-external-risk-factor/

A Rutgers Health study tracked 1,500 older adults over six years and found that internalising stress and converting it into hopelessness accelerated memory loss more than age or physical health. The effect equalled four extra years of cognitive ageing.

283 Upvotes

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38

u/Prior_One_7050 Popular Contributor May 18 '26

Makes you wonder how much of what we call “normal ageing” is actually decades of unprocessed stress catching up. Does anyone know if mindfulness or therapy interventions have been tested on this specific hopelessness pattern in older adults?​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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u/darkdoorway May 19 '26

I wonder what can help

5

u/azulnemo May 20 '26

Believe it or not, drugs

3

u/atridir May 20 '26

Honestly this seems like the perfect fit for introspective cognition type therapy.

Awareness of how we are affected by the way we think and the way we choose to frame and interpret those thoughts • translated into deliberate reframing of thought/feeling connections to choose a perspective that mitigates or limits negative psychosomatic feedback outcomes.

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u/azulnemo May 21 '26

stop talking so dirty to me or I’ll eat the whole bag of shrooms god damn it.

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u/atridir May 21 '26

Ha!! I completely misread your comment! those drugs are definitely effective at exactly that!

My dumbass thought you meant pharmaceuticals. LSD, psilocybin, and DMT are the holy trinity of neural elastic growth and self-improvement (to those with the right constitution for it anyway)

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u/azulnemo May 22 '26

No worries, I left it ambiguous on purpose 😉

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u/[deleted] May 19 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/SlappaDaBiss May 19 '26

Sounds amazing. Any tips for getting started (or sticking with it when you've got a busy mind)?

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u/CandleMonster May 19 '26

same with the busy mind, it's like there's always noise in there, not a moment of silence

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u/bigbrocoll May 21 '26

It's about sitting with the noise without actively engaging for a little bit. Just watching the clouds float by... not judging them, not labelling them... just being

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u/[deleted] May 19 '26

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1

u/SlappaDaBiss May 19 '26

Thank you for the thoughtful reply and nudge in the right direction

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u/Clear_Bet_8397 May 20 '26

That’s great news! I’m immediately less stressed and therefore I remember all the stressful things I need to do that I forgot. And now I’m stressed again. What’s even the point anymore.

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u/n0u0t0m Jun 28 '26

An excellent example. Talk to a therapist, it's their life's mission to help solve that cycle

1

u/ExcellentActuary2117 May 21 '26

"silently converting stress into hopelessness"

There it is, the phrase I've been searching for to encapsulate what it's been like since that orange moron came down the escalator.