Amnesia after concerts? Understand why the phenomenon occurs and consult the tips to strengthen your memory

Reportage spoke with Brazilians who have had memory lapses and with specialists who explain the relationship between forgetfulness and the emotions experienced during the event

the young man Ida Maria Lins20 years old, went to the singer’s concert Harry Styles in Curitiba in December 2022. However, when he left Pedreira Paulo Leminski, where the presentation took place, he remembered almost nothing of what had happened.

An Architecture and Urban Planning student and resident of Joinville, Santa Catarina, she says that a dream came true that night, but if it weren’t for the recordings on her cell phone, she would have virtually no memory of the event.

The phenomenon is already common for Ida: she felt the same thing when she looked Shawn Mendesin 2018, in Goiânia, the band Arctic monkeys at the end of 2022 in Curitiba, in addition to jungblud AND Twenty one pilots in March 2023, at Lollapalooza, in São Paulo.

“Of all of them, I have brief memories of some event, something they said or did on stage, more surprising things. I have no memories in my head of them singing, it just disappeared,” she says.

“Post-concert amnesia,” or the partial or complete loss of memories that occurred during an artist’s performance, was on the rise after North American fans reported the symptom at the singer’s concerts. Taylor Swiftwho comes to the country at the end of the year with The Tour of the Ages.

OR Stadium so he went looking for examples and national specialists who could clarify why these memory leaks occur. In this text you will see:

• Stories of Brazilian fans who had amnesia after concerts;
• the explanation of experts for this phenomenon;
• how emotions are related to memory loss;
• tips to strengthen memory and not forget concerts after the high investment.

the amnesia

Ida Maria says that when she wakes up the day after a show, she no longer remembers how the performance went. “If I haven’t recorded the moment, I really won’t remember. I need to look at other people’s videos to realize I was there when something happened that I didn’t remember.”

The same case happens with the hospitality student Giulia D’Erasmo Delbin, 22, who claims to have forgotten everything he saw in just 48 hours, if not less. “Usually the shows are at night and the morning of the next day I don’t remember everything,” she says.

Among the artists he has seen live, he mentions some great productions that have passed through Brazil: Demi Lovato, Ariana Grande, Coldplay, imagine Dragons, metallic AND Rolling Stones. Some she saw in the United States, during a time when she lived in the city of Nashville.

“What I remember is because I have a video or a photo,” she says. “In fact, I record a lot of shows for that very reason, for me to review or remember.”

the publicist Philip Ritis, 24, recounts a similar experience which he describes as “mental confusion”. Once a performance is over, she cannot remember if certain songs were played or when a specific moment in the performance occurred.

“Usually, I have to ask someone. I remember some songs that really hit me, that I really wanted to hear. I think there are some points that stand out, but the course of the show ends up getting a little confusing for me,” she explains. .

Why does this happen?

Second Paolo Camizprofessor at the University of São Paulo (USP) and at the Hospital das Clínicas, and creator of the Mente Turbinada application, designed for memory training, the description of the voids seems to be compatible with the diagnosis of dissociative amnesia.

It happens when an individual loses a few moments, more or less, of his autobiographical memory. This can happen on a large scale, such as losing your identity, or on a smaller scale, such as not knowing how you felt or what you saw on any given occasion.

“This phenomenon still has no definite biological explanation in medicine. What we see is that it is associated with emotional stressors, whether they are good or bad,” explains the doctor.

the psychologist Yuri Businin behavioral neuroscience at Universidade Presbyteriana Mackenzie, provides a similar explanation for the phenomenon. He classifies “emotional stressors” as situations in which the body is subjected to very strong emotions that it is not used to.

In such cases, memory lapses can occur as a defense mechanism of the brain. It is common to associate this phenomenon with negative or traumatic events, but experts explain that the body can also react in this way with positive emotions.

“It’s interesting that people always understand that emotions are amazing, but, in a very big state, they can also harm us,” Busin points out.

What emotions are manifested in the shows?

According to Busin, “in the case of concerts or meetings with famous people, we are very nervous, anxious, with a very shaken emotional state, however positive it may be”, and this can trigger amnesia.

The explanation fits the description of the “forgotten”. Ida Maria and Felipe, who lost their memory after the shows, say anxiety was a common factor before all the big shows they attended.

“I was extremely out of my mind, very elated, happy and incredulous to be there. It felt like I was living a dream, everything happening in front of me was also a bit hard to digest because I was so happy,” says Ida.

“It’s a very strong emotion, a lot of excitement and happiness. I turn my head off and I’m just in the show. I think that’s why I feel a little confused when it comes time to go back to the ‘real world'”, comments Philip.

For him, amnesia occurred at events such as the singer’s concert Tinash at the GRLS! festival, in 2022, and also after a performance by Charlie XCX at Primavera Sound in Barcelona – the publicist traveled to Spain for the event.

According to Busin, the emotional state some people feel at concerts could also explain why fans pass out during performances (in addition to factors such as dehydration and intense heat).

Is it possible to prevent or recover memory?

As Paulo Camiz explains, it is not common for memories of shows to be recovered after they have been forgotten. “In this case people report that they have remembered, but, in fact, they do not remember. They know that they participated in what happened through the recordings.”

The doctor points out that there is no specific preventative treatment for dissociative amnesia, especially since there is still no biological explanation for memory lapses like these.

“Because you don’t know exactly the pathophysiology, i.e. the cause of the problem, you don’t have any specific recommendations on how to prevent it,” he says.

Furthermore, she cautions that even if a person is a huge fan of an artist, there is no way to predict that they will have an excess of emotion that will cause memory loss.

But how to strengthen the memory?

While dissociative amnesia can’t be prevented, Camiz cites tips for those who want to strengthen their memory to attend the shows, which usually require a high investment.

• The expert comments that the first step is to separate memory and attention. He cautions that sleep deprivation, for example, can make people more inattentive and, as a result, affect memory consolidation.
• Furthermore, psychological disorders such as anxiety and depression are also factors that influence attention. In these cases, follow-up with a psychologist and/or psychiatrist is essential.
• Another detail is to be aware of the drugs that can affect the patient’s memory.
• Camiz also cites regular physical activity and healthy eating as important factors. “In general, habits that are good for the heart are also good for the brain,” she points out.
• He also explains that anyone who wants to strengthen their memory needs to avoid doing too many things at once, i.e. paying attention to only one task at a time, no matter how simple the task – if you’re thinking of something else when saving your keys, you probably won’t you will remember where you put them.

“A well-known technique for memorizing things is to make associations. If you create associations between objects and things you want to remember, that fact or information will become more solidified in your memory,” concludes the doctor.

*Intern under the supervision of Charlise Morais

Source: Terra

Earl

Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.