Facial Recognition

[Jolie]

I have this tendency to never be able to remember people after meeting them. I could meet someone today and talk to them for hours and then if i met them the next day it would be like they were a stranger to me. I may have an inkling that i know them from somewhere, but most times if they stop to talk to me unless they give some cue as to where i know them from i will go through the conversation vaguely and not be able to place them. It is the same with names. If i can get the idea that i know them from somewhere i just cannot get their name.

This plagues me as i sometimes offend people or embarrass myself in front of people that i should know. What could cause this? I just name it facial recognition disorder. (self diagnosed, im not a Dr.)

could it be caused by my depression? medication? lack of will to remember? bad memory? any ideas?

 

[Daniel E.]

It is the same with names. If i can get the idea that i know them from somewhere i just cannot get their name.

Almost everybody has problems with remembering people's names. Faces are generally easier to remember, especially if the context is the same.

 

[Jolie]

Especially context, I cannot even recognize my own therapist out of the office. If she were to speak then her voice would trigger familiarity but I mean that seems excessive. Even distant family members I cannot recognize or know where they look familiar from. So aggregating.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

As Daniel says, I think that's not uncommon. I have difficulty too unless I have a context for the name or face.