when I was younger I use to see strangers face a blurry blobs on their head. I always notice mostly hair and build, I noticed it was different when people would ask me questions about people's face and I couldn't answer, and I worked towards noticing faces and now I feel like I'm a lot better.
the way I describe it is like anime characters- they all have the same face and can be distinguished only by hair color, eye color and sometimes build. my facial blindness is not very severe, but I do struggle distinguishing strangers, acuteness and sometimes even relatives! also- when I dream, no one has a face! its always either out of view or blurry!
Just curious, do you recognize faces in objects that aren't actually alive? Like see faces out of the headlights and bumper of cars, or plug sockets etc. I'm curious to know if your face blindness effects that tendency that people have to recognize faces in things that aren't human.
As a fellow artist with prosopagnosia, this entire video was so relatable to me omg. It feels less alone knowing that there are other people like me living out there 🥰 My prosopagnosia is a bit milder than yours I think, I don't struggle to recognize my relatives in familiar settings where I'm expecting them. If I'm not expecting them though, I can be staring for a long time HAHAHA I also find people with unique features the most attractive! I love tooth gaps, big noses, butt chins, all of that 🥰🥰🥰
i don't believe i have prosopagnosia but i do struggle a lot with recognising people and facial expressions and also draw, paint and sculpt and god is it hard to manage to capture someone's likeness or a facial expression sometimes. i frequently spend hours staring at a person and tracing over their face, or looking at dozens of pictures and drawings of people smiling or frowning until i'm finally able to draw those accurately and still have not figured out a way to get better at that!
I feel like if someone in my family had this, we’d have code words, matching brackets (or even customized ones to differentiate more) and for events like graduation it would be really fun to design a custom flag and have little mini ones with our family design. It wouldn’t make them recognize us but it would at least make them feel more comfortable in a room of strangers to know if they are talking to family or not. Is this not something that is done or is it even helpful at all? 30% of people with autism is WILD! Thank you for sharing your experience!
(before my little rant: i love the makeup and ur art is WOW) its so frustrating seeing people say its not a real thing, if i had prosopagnosia i would lose my mind at them 😭its not like its a new thing, its just barely talked about (i learned about it from a book i read a while ago and loved called Holding Up the Universe.) anyways, people should be more considerate online instead of calling everything fake, bc then they're just putting down people with disorders "if i cant see it, it isnt real >:("
This was so interesting and insightful! Thank you so much! I remember watching a programme as a child with a kid with Face Blindness. I believe the programme was called "My Life" on CBBC. I found the condition so funny and cool at the time and never thought of the possible ramifications of it until now.
Great video, the editing is funny and how you explained it was clear and helpful. You energy is great and you are a talented artist hope the best for you♥
Omg! I didn't know this is a thing! I do recognize the people I know, and people I see a lot (i recognize few cashiers, some other parents from the school drop off, some celebrities) but clients, cousins of my partner, actors I don't know.... Makes hard to follow a movie when I think that two dark haired guys with beard are the same. My colleague cut her hair and I didn't recognize her. "Hi, I'm back!" a classic. "Do you remember me?" is a scary question. Saying No, feels a bit rude.. Or I say my partner "a client at work told me to say hi to you" "what did he look like?" "Eeeemmmm..."
For me i have AuDHD and brain fog from physical conditions and mild problems recognizing people…I have a lot of problems connecting faces to names to memories to email addresses lol…I will have like 4 different sets of memories of the exact same person but won’t realize they’re the same person, or I will mix them up a lot with other memories of other people. Especially considering the mix of meeting people in person and online. Once I get talking to somebody I can sometimes figure out who they are from context clues, or I’ll ask them to remind me of their name (I also have issues with auditory processing and live in an area where a lot of people have accents, so hearing names properly at all is also hard. Pro tip: sometimes I just ask people how they spell it lol!). If they remind me of a conversation we had I’ll be like OHHH right and remember a ton of it (depending on my brain fog and memory issues), and have a very detailed understanding of who they are an my relationship with them…but I just won’t connect it with the person. Or I will know who somebody is quite well but mix up which conversation or interaction I had with which person. It’s very disconcerting, and I’m also a musician and community organizer, so I have to network a LOT and it’s EXHAUSTING trying to figure out who people are. I also have trouble picturing people’s faces in my head unless I know them well sometimes. I have trouble creating pictures in my head anyway. One time I was talking to this guy in my first year of uni, and we texted a lot, but I hadn’t seen him in person in a while, and when I tried to picture him, I literally could only picture my cellphone 💀😂 it didn’t pan out obviously haha I can’t imagine having so little recognition capability where it could actually be very dangerous for your personal safety and you don’t recognize the people you love, that sounds so exhausting!
It’s funny how people are getting worked up about it and saying how it’s fake, instead of literally just going on Google and taking 3 seconds to search it up 😂😂😂
I’ve often thought I’ve had mild face blindness. I often tell people that I have trouble remembering names AND faces so I might be confused. I think I cue off other stuff than facial features. So similar looking people get confused together. Following plots in movies get messed up if actors look a like. It took me WAY too long to realize Oppenheimer was having an affair. I didn’t recognize that there were two different romantic relationships going on. I don’t even think the two women look alike. I just associated their roles as his romantic relationships and merged them together. Very embarrassing. Then I had to rewrite the story I was watching to make sense of what was going on. I usually recognize people I associate with but strangers remain strange to me. It is really disconcerting when I work in a large office and complete strangers come up to me and say hi to me by name. Especially elsewhere in the building where I don’t even have geography to help place them. If they’re in their cubicle it’s easier to associate them. One time I didn’t recognize my own mother. I had gone away to college and my mother came to pick me up at the train station. I walked right past her. She had changed her hair from a short black afro I was used to, to sort of orangish braids. I was looking for her in the crowd and totally missed her. It wasn’t until I heard her voice and turned to look at her that I recognized her. And I think I might have a mild case. Can’t imagine a moderate or severe case.
I used to think I had face blindness but now I'm pretty sure that I just dont look at people's faces 🤡 Like I'll meet someone and literally only glance at their face 2 times- Same thing when talking to people... Tbh part of it may be because I am incredibly paranoid about staring at people (or it's just the autism haha)
I feel this. I couldn’t look anyone in the eyes when I spoke to them until I was about 18 years old. I would start shaking and having a panic attack. So I feel that the people I’ve met in the years after that I remember a lot better. Thankyou autism lmao
Oh my god I LOVE the makeup you did so much !! Such an amazing cool idea🫶🏻 Also tqsm for educating us on this topic, it's incredibly fascinating and i love to have learnt more about it! Im also on the spectrum and while i don't think i have what you have, there are definitely times when i look at people (even relatives) and im like "uhhh, you look different.. i dont remember you looking like that". Its crazy to think it affects 30% of autistic people !! but it also makes so much sense
I love your wall color and the butterfly prints, with the warm white string lights -- my aesthetic, for sure. Also, your editing is quite entertaining. I was already subscribed, though, not sure what video got me here.. I am, certainly, be more inclined to watch more of your content. EDIT: Wow, you art is amazing. Do you ever sell it? That is always a skill, I had wish I had -- being able to look at something, and just draw it. You, truly, have such a gift.
for though people who don't know, our brain is devided in small parts where some parts are responcible for memory , compreantion and understanding of the thingy we are trying to think/see/identefiy/understand. if a person who has brain damage to the spasiual part of the brain region, he will not be undrastand how the next door house migle take him that ammount of time or how his room looks like. it's like the person in blind or lost his intrests in recognising or paying attention to it. their is also cells in our brain which are responcible for the diractions and i mean IN PAPERR. it's a thingy not everyone has knowletge about and people make joke's about stuff like that because they might think that the other person with any mentel illness might really be seeing world like that. like it's an objective truth that the notmal person as a human shoul understand. but the reality is, we as human beings also have to learn about our selfs by acthually looking into our brains and examin it just like the astrologyst trying to make scance out of the black hole and the 4th dimantion theory.
i think most people dont know they have facial blindness. i thought everyone forgot people's faces right after they saw them. i didnt understand how people would know who other people were without looking at someone's forehead.
Thanks for explaining your experience! It is interesting listening to how you perceive emotions and faces, it sounds like it would be so difficult to learn little social ques and subtle facial expressions! And even after learning them you'd probably have to re learn them for each person you meet, no? Do you rely on your hearing a lot to pick up on social stuff? Do you think you've gotten good at differentiating emotions based on voices? Love your content! Keep it up ❤
Maybe that’s why I don’t remember peoples faces that well. Unless I see them all the time, then I’ll remember people but if I see you once in a blue moon, then I won’t.
You did a fantastic job with this video! You explained everything so well. In the future if augmented reality glasses become more standard, I imagine that could be so helpful for you? If people’s names appeared on them? Even if you could look at your phone and it said “that’s the annoying sister” 😂
Very interesting. Thanks for sharing/explaining. I have issues with facial expressions. It's quite frustrating, because I notice micro-expressions, I think better than the average person -- though, deciphering 'em is always so difficult, for me; and I, often, can't tell if what I perceive such expressions to be is accurate, or if I am interpreting 'em wrong. Which, as someone who is borderline (as well as autistic) -- can really put me (silently) on edge, and cause me to pull away (especially, with having such bad luck with attempting to address it, in the past -- and being told, basically, what I am perceiving things wrong, and it causing strife). Also, when I reconnect with people, after long periods of time, or even if I am meeting friends out and about -- I always have this underlying fear that I won't recognize 'em, or they won't recognize me (though some of that stems from me losing nearly 150lbs and going from blonde to bright copper hair -- and having people I clearly remember, not recognize me; and as result, not remember me. Yet, also, I think some of my concerns have to do with being borderline, and the underlying idea that I am easily forgettable, in general and overall). Ironically, however.. I seem to have a knack for remembering people, and very specific details about 'em -- often, people are quite surprised at what I notice and remember, about 'em. I can be a bit resistant to looking at people's faces, also -- though, I do my best to make sure and practice. When I was a hairstylist, I'd practice looking people in the eyes, by way of talking to 'em through the mirror. Also, when I am in a room, I do my best to remember to look at the face, of everyone in the room; as well as notice attributes that tend to stand out, to me (though, that also comes with wanting to be aware of my surroundings, and be able to protect myself, if something were to happen, by being aware of every person I am in a room with; as well as be able to describe the people, if something were to occur -- or even recognize people that could, potentially, be following me [I am not paranoid, of such events: though, as a disabled woman, I think it's extra important to hone certain senses]). In that sort of instance, I do better remembering physical traits about someone, vs. their face. It's really a hit or miss on if I'll remember someone by their face, or by some sort of physical attribute. I, recently, reconnected with a friend, I haven't seen in 15years. Thankfully, I spent enough time, with her, to where I remember her face clearly -- however, I did have a bit of anxiety while waiting for her arrival, wondering if I'd recognize her face. I will say, also, changing my diet has helped, with certain aspects. I cut high-fructose corn syrup, corn, and corn-based products out of my diet, when I went animal-based due to severe food sensitivities, that had developed. Within a month, I started to be able to feel emotions and physical sensations I have never had, prior -- as well as no longer have the intense desire to slam my head against things, when I feel overwhelmed and unable to process emotions; and got rid of knee/ankle pain I have had, since early childhood, as well. Also, I have developed a better *feeling* of empathy (vs. cognitively). I didn't intend to see results, cutting that out of my diet -- it just so happened to, well, happen, when I cut out everything else; and I realized all of this, when I began reintroducing new foods. I believe, perhaps, cutting these things out reduced inflammation in my brain and body, allowing these processes to take place. It's fascinating how all this neurodivergent stuff shows up, in each of us. EDIT: I find it interesting, you talk about watching yourself, in the camera. I, recently, started recording myself, talking about my emotions and what I have survived. I can talk to anyone about it, and it be a casual conversation -- it makes it *very* difficult for people to understand the true reality of the horrific nature, of what I have survived, and coming out of, when bedridden/housebound, for a near decade (let's just say I knew what Munchausen's by Proxy is, before Ms. Gypsy Rose made it trendy). I started talking to the camera, because it was a way I could get vulnerable, and really process, myself, the depths of the reality I survived. Though I can see myself, in a mirror, physically -- I have a very difficult time being able to recognize myself as a human; especially, emotionally. If that even makes sense. So, when I watch myself back, in the camera -- or even as I am talking, to the camera (I always use the front-facing camera) -- I am able to perceive my facial expressions and micro-expressions, in regards to what I am talking about.. And I am able to see the reality of that emotional pain, in a physical sense. It's almost as if I have blindness towards myself, if anything. I grew up in a family with diagnosed (and undiagnosed) NPD. So, I have very little capacity to acknowledge my own needs and even existence, at times. Again, it goes back to the feeling of being easily forgettable. Watching myself, my mannerisms, facial expressions, and being able to hear my voice when watching things back -- well, I suppose it helps me feel like a real person/human being.
I'm a musician and constantly meeting people - often they will come back to another show or come up to talk to me after seeing a few and I can tell I come across as uncaring and aloof that I don't remember or recognize anyone even though I'm trying so hard :( It's a good repellent for weird dudes who follow me around and want to get close though
Thank you so much for this vid! I am not diagnosed but my friends started making jokes about it a while ago. Then I noticed as a night float CNA at several hospitals - I had to adjust to a new set of nurses every night. I would write their names down and remember them by hair style. If somebody took their hair down at 3AM.... I was so nervous. Is this the same person? Somebody takes their glasses off? Yeah, this bitch is pretty sure Clark Kent could get away with it. At least the patients stayed in their beds. All the old people looked the same and wearing the same hospital gown but I knew what room I was in 😂 3 nights a week for 10 years, six new nurses, 5 new hairstyles, one new crush. Anyways, again. Thank you. Ya got a new sub
Your art looks amazing!!!! and I adore the make-up look you did. I have a question if you want to answer, as you mentioned unique facial features help you recognise people, so does that mean if you focus on one seperate facial feature the rest of face becomes blurry? And also which emotions or expressions can you understand when looking at someone?
Yes I finally realized recently this is another thing I have. It sucks really sometimes I try and imagine my own or kids faces and I can't even imagine it. I always feel like how can I even describe them to someone if I needed to. In my head I do see people in my mind with fuzzy faces or not at all. My family members that are passed away can't even remember really without looking at their photos. I didn't realize for so long I was using peoples energy and mannerisms to distinguish them. Unless I see them every single day but still it is more of a feeling of recognition not actual recognition.
With prosopagnosia, can you determine if you find someone attractive or not by their physical appearance? Is it truly like one face is the same as another and therefore equally attractive or are there groups of faces that look like twins. Example: All dudes with square jaws and wide noses look the same, but they look different from pointy nosed and thin lipped dudes? Or is it all dudes look like twins?
Awesome question!!! I do feel attraction to people both physically and emotionally. Facially, I'm not sure what attracts me to certain people. All I know is sometimes there's a face that I really really love and I find super attractive. Beauty is subjective even for me :) my friends recently pointed out that the people I tend to date have sharper jawlines! I haven't noticed but I believe them. It's not that every single face is equally attractive. I think they're equally fascinating. But I am not attracted to everyone. Yes they look mostly the same. But something goes off in my head like wow I find this person particularly attractive. I am Def more of a vibes person than an appearance person tho! If someone has super large lips vs super thin lips I may be able to tell if I stare long enough. But yeah coloration is key for me. I'm yapping a lot sorry this is alot I hope this answered your question😭
Youve lived with this and have probably tried this but just in case: something that might help immediately if someone tries to get your attention (bc waving could be towards anyone) is a hand signal. like... making an X with their wrists, and then waving them in a circle. Its almost like a code word and a code word in speaking, walking up and saying like "Mother here, your name. Friends name here, Your name." or a phrase "Butterfly Ham Sandwich" or a word "Prosopagnosia" only type face blindness i had was from dissociation from trauma and possible my schziotypal. It was jarring but not a problem since i didnt leave the house. it was just kind of scary. Bc i looked in the mirror and knew obviously its me, but its like there was another person on the other side of the mirror rather than a reflection and my grandma i couldbt look at her face bc she felt like an imposter of a sort. as if i never actually ever truly looked at her. So idk your situation but i do know code words and signs help on other situations. And sometimes it can feel silly so people dont try them so only reason why i making this comment like if someone makes an x with their wrists and waves them around in a circle you might not know who they are, but at least you can figure they are associated with you. but idk maybe that wouldnt work
Thank you ❤ this was absolutely fascinating! I love Dr. Oliver Sachs and learned about this condition from his book The Man that Mistook his Wife for a Hat. Thank you for sharing your experience with us 😁😍
I’m not an artist by any means, but I’m also really good at copying images in comparison to remembering how to draw something from memory lol. Give me a grid and I’m great!
I have a lot of facial insecurities for example my forehead and just out of curiosity if you can't even really recognize your own face do you have any insecurities like that I mean regardless of your disorder like you look amazing genuinely I don't know what you could be insecure abt
I have worked as an artist and people were always surprised how I can draw almost anything from memory... except faces 😅 And it was my favorite subject, drawing faces all day with models. I just can't describe to someone my 2 years long partner. I just recognize him when I see him. I can't even tell you if my bestfriend have HAIR lmao. My face is the worst thing ever to not recognize.
I think I have the opposite because I love faces and I tend to stare at people without realizing it kind of like how a cat would stare into the middle distance.I also have ADHD and I'm probably on the autism Spectrum as well and people think that it's really weird that I am just deeply analyzing their facial structure so I tried to just not even look at people anymore cuz people get really offended when you look too deep that's what I've experienced in my thirties
one time a coworker (who i knew pretty well for a year) had come into our workplace in her normal clothes/beanie and she was standing a few meters away and as i looked at her in my mind i was like... wait...that girl looks so familiar. 😂like i didnt recognize her at all. so idk if this is like facial blindness but yeah that type of thing happens to me alot and its kinda embarrassing
Interesting, thanks for sharing. I have autism but have a super good memory for faces (better than average imo), but I can on rare occasion mix people I barely know up because I don't remember which person goes with which face lol. Kinda the opposite experience of yours of recognizing a face but not being able to place it.
I will often meet people many times over the course of a year and they will smile and hug me and i know i know them and have good feelings for them but have no idea who they are or how i know them. Other people iits fine with though.. maybe its situational? I used to think it was cute with my ex. I thought he was the most attractive (to me) person and i would never see anyone eles i was.attracted to so sometimes i would people watch to see if that was really true. Then id aee him (but not recognise him) and think oooo. Then he would come over to me and id realise 😅
I have read it somewhere so I would like to ask if it really works : when someone you know show you a photo of themselves upside down ... will you recognize them ? It should use another brain part then for faces and therefore the person should be recognized.
I can't visualize peoples faces in my head, I can recall certain facial features (for example that someone has brown eyes, a big nose and blond hair) and I do recognize people I know when I see them. Is that also Prosopagnosia? or is that normal?
There’s a series coming out with a doctor with face blindness. I really don’t like the POV shots I’ve seen. Extremely creepy like something out of Jacob’s Ladder or something. Definitely not right. I’d imagine that a person with full face blindness would see perfectly normal faces. They would just never seem familiar. I don’t have full facial blindness but I can understand the difficulty. For example, if asked to pick someone’s face out of a book or a line up, I’ll probably just refuse. I certainly don’t think I could describe someone well enough for a sketch artist. That’s just lunacy. I don’t know if I could describe someone I’m familiar with, with enough detail to do that.
lol white people look the same too. we all have a general preset I think hahaha skull types, body types, I feel like there is only so many, the rest is facial features and body weights etc. so yeah, a lot of us look like each other whether it's Asian, black, white, Mexican or any of that.
when I was younger I use to see strangers face a blurry blobs on their head. I always notice mostly hair and build, I noticed it was different when people would ask me questions about people's face and I couldn't answer, and I worked towards noticing faces and now I feel like I'm a lot better.
the way I describe it is like anime characters- they all have the same face and can be distinguished only by hair color, eye color and sometimes build. my facial blindness is not very severe, but I do struggle distinguishing strangers, acuteness and sometimes even relatives! also- when I dream, no one has a face! its always either out of view or blurry!
Just curious, do you recognize faces in objects that aren't actually alive? Like see faces out of the headlights and bumper of cars, or plug sockets etc. I'm curious to know if your face blindness effects that tendency that people have to recognize faces in things that aren't human.
As a fellow artist with prosopagnosia, this entire video was so relatable to me omg. It feels less alone knowing that there are other people like me living out there 🥰
My prosopagnosia is a bit milder than yours I think, I don't struggle to recognize my relatives in familiar settings where I'm expecting them. If I'm not expecting them though, I can be staring for a long time HAHAHA
I also find people with unique features the most attractive! I love tooth gaps, big noses, butt chins, all of that 🥰🥰🥰
i don't believe i have prosopagnosia but i do struggle a lot with recognising people and facial expressions and also draw, paint and sculpt and god is it hard to manage to capture someone's likeness or a facial expression sometimes. i frequently spend hours staring at a person and tracing over their face, or looking at dozens of pictures and drawings of people smiling or frowning until i'm finally able to draw those accurately and still have not figured out a way to get better at that!
I feel like if someone in my family had this, we’d have code words, matching brackets (or even customized ones to differentiate more) and for events like graduation it would be really fun to design a custom flag and have little mini ones with our family design. It wouldn’t make them recognize us but it would at least make them feel more comfortable in a room of strangers to know if they are talking to family or not. Is this not something that is done or is it even helpful at all? 30% of people with autism is WILD! Thank you for sharing your experience!
(before my little rant: i love the makeup and ur art is WOW)
its so frustrating seeing people say its not a real thing, if i had prosopagnosia i would lose my mind at them 😭its not like its a new thing, its just barely talked about (i learned about it from a book i read a while ago and loved called Holding Up the Universe.) anyways, people should be more considerate online instead of calling everything fake, bc then they're just putting down people with disorders "if i cant see it, it isnt real >:("
This was so interesting and insightful! Thank you so much! I remember watching a programme as a child with a kid with Face Blindness. I believe the programme was called "My Life" on CBBC. I found the condition so funny and cool at the time and never thought of the possible ramifications of it until now.
This looks deserves maybe 500 000 views. You're extremely skilled. Fantastic job.
Great video, the editing is funny and how you explained it was clear and helpful. You energy is great and you are a talented artist hope the best for you♥
Awe thank you 💖💖✨️
Omg! I didn't know this is a thing! I do recognize the people I know, and people I see a lot (i recognize few cashiers, some other parents from the school drop off, some celebrities) but clients, cousins of my partner, actors I don't know.... Makes hard to follow a movie when I think that two dark haired guys with beard are the same. My colleague cut her hair and I didn't recognize her. "Hi, I'm back!" a classic. "Do you remember me?" is a scary question. Saying No, feels a bit rude..
Or I say my partner "a client at work told me to say hi to you" "what did he look like?" "Eeeemmmm..."
For me i have AuDHD and brain fog from physical conditions and mild problems recognizing people…I have a lot of problems connecting faces to names to memories to email addresses lol…I will have like 4 different sets of memories of the exact same person but won’t realize they’re the same person, or I will mix them up a lot with other memories of other people. Especially considering the mix of meeting people in person and online. Once I get talking to somebody I can sometimes figure out who they are from context clues, or I’ll ask them to remind me of their name (I also have issues with auditory processing and live in an area where a lot of people have accents, so hearing names properly at all is also hard. Pro tip: sometimes I just ask people how they spell it lol!). If they remind me of a conversation we had I’ll be like OHHH right and remember a ton of it (depending on my brain fog and memory issues), and have a very detailed understanding of who they are an my relationship with them…but I just won’t connect it with the person. Or I will know who somebody is quite well but mix up which conversation or interaction I had with which person. It’s very disconcerting, and I’m also a musician and community organizer, so I have to network a LOT and it’s EXHAUSTING trying to figure out who people are. I also have trouble picturing people’s faces in my head unless I know them well sometimes. I have trouble creating pictures in my head anyway.
One time I was talking to this guy in my first year of uni, and we texted a lot, but I hadn’t seen him in person in a while, and when I tried to picture him, I literally could only picture my cellphone 💀😂 it didn’t pan out obviously haha
I can’t imagine having so little recognition capability where it could actually be very dangerous for your personal safety and you don’t recognize the people you love, that sounds so exhausting!
I have completely the same experience as you! Also AuDHD. Cool to read such a similar story!
I knew about this disorder but hearing about people's experience is always interesting for me
It’s funny how people are getting worked up about it and saying how it’s fake, instead of literally just going on Google and taking 3 seconds to search it up 😂😂😂
I’ve often thought I’ve had mild face blindness. I often tell people that I have trouble remembering names AND faces so I might be confused.
I think I cue off other stuff than facial features. So similar looking people get confused together. Following plots in movies get messed up if actors look a like. It took me WAY too long to realize Oppenheimer was having an affair. I didn’t recognize that there were two different romantic relationships going on. I don’t even think the two women look alike. I just associated their roles as his romantic relationships and merged them together. Very embarrassing. Then I had to rewrite the story I was watching to make sense of what was going on.
I usually recognize people I associate with but strangers remain strange to me. It is really disconcerting when I work in a large office and complete strangers come up to me and say hi to me by name. Especially elsewhere in the building where I don’t even have geography to help place them. If they’re in their cubicle it’s easier to associate them.
One time I didn’t recognize my own mother. I had gone away to college and my mother came to pick me up at the train station. I walked right past her. She had changed her hair from a short black afro I was used to, to sort of orangish braids. I was looking for her in the crowd and totally missed her. It wasn’t until I heard her voice and turned to look at her that I recognized her.
And I think I might have a mild case. Can’t imagine a moderate or severe case.
got recommended your video out of the blue.
extremely interesting; both your experience and how the make up expressed it.
thank you for sharing!
I used to think I had face blindness but now I'm pretty sure that I just dont look at people's faces 🤡 Like I'll meet someone and literally only glance at their face 2 times- Same thing when talking to people...
Tbh part of it may be because I am incredibly paranoid about staring at people (or it's just the autism haha)
I feel this. I couldn’t look anyone in the eyes when I spoke to them until I was about 18 years old. I would start shaking and having a panic attack. So I feel that the people I’ve met in the years after that I remember a lot better. Thankyou autism lmao
Omg yes, I'll be talking to someone and an hour later a can't remember what they looked like
Oh my god I LOVE the makeup you did so much !! Such an amazing cool idea🫶🏻
Also tqsm for educating us on this topic, it's incredibly fascinating and i love to have learnt more about it!
Im also on the spectrum and while i don't think i have what you have, there are definitely times when i look at people (even relatives) and im like "uhhh, you look different.. i dont remember you looking like that". Its crazy to think it affects 30% of autistic people !! but it also makes so much sense
Your makeup is the coolest thing ever
I love your wall color and the butterfly prints, with the warm white string lights -- my aesthetic, for sure. Also, your editing is quite entertaining. I was already subscribed, though, not sure what video got me here.. I am, certainly, be more inclined to watch more of your content.
EDIT:
Wow, you art is amazing. Do you ever sell it?
That is always a skill, I had wish I had -- being able to look at something, and just draw it.
You, truly, have such a gift.
I love the way you explain things 🤗 thanks for sharing your experience
for though people who don't know, our brain is devided in small parts where some parts are responcible for memory , compreantion and understanding of the thingy we are trying to think/see/identefiy/understand. if a person who has brain damage to the spasiual part of the brain region, he will not be undrastand how the next door house migle take him that ammount of time or how his room looks like. it's like the person in blind or lost his intrests in recognising or paying attention to it. their is also cells in our brain which are responcible for the diractions and i mean IN PAPERR. it's a thingy not everyone has knowletge about and people make joke's about stuff like that because they might think that the other person with any mentel illness might really be seeing world like that. like it's an objective truth that the notmal person as a human shoul understand. but the reality is, we as human beings also have to learn about our selfs by acthually looking into our brains and examin it just like the astrologyst trying to make scance out of the black hole and the 4th dimantion theory.
i think most people dont know they have facial blindness. i thought everyone forgot people's faces right after they saw them. i didnt understand how people would know who other people were without looking at someone's forehead.
I LOVE YOUR VIDEOS IM SUBSCRIBED ❤🦋
Thanks for explaining your experience! It is interesting listening to how you perceive emotions and faces, it sounds like it would be so difficult to learn little social ques and subtle facial expressions! And even after learning them you'd probably have to re learn them for each person you meet, no?
Do you rely on your hearing a lot to pick up on social stuff? Do you think you've gotten good at differentiating emotions based on voices?
Love your content! Keep it up ❤
Yeah social cues are very very difficult! Especially bc I can't read the facial expressions well. But yes I am very good at voices!!!
Maybe that’s why I don’t remember peoples faces that well. Unless I see them all the time, then I’ll remember people but if I see you once in a blue moon, then I won’t.
You did a fantastic job with this video! You explained everything so well. In the future if augmented reality glasses become more standard, I imagine that could be so helpful for you? If people’s names appeared on them? Even if you could look at your phone and it said “that’s the annoying sister” 😂
You are very talented and impressive.
WOW ur so talented!! And this video is so interesting
Awe tank u 💖
Out of sheer curiosity: Do facial piercings help you remember people at all? Is it similar to a mole at all?
Yes!
If you look closely to a person's face does it appear
Very interesting. Thanks for sharing/explaining.
I have issues with facial expressions. It's quite frustrating, because I notice micro-expressions, I think better than the average person -- though, deciphering 'em is always so difficult, for me; and I, often, can't tell if what I perceive such expressions to be is accurate, or if I am interpreting 'em wrong. Which, as someone who is borderline (as well as autistic) -- can really put me (silently) on edge, and cause me to pull away (especially, with having such bad luck with attempting to address it, in the past -- and being told, basically, what I am perceiving things wrong, and it causing strife).
Also, when I reconnect with people, after long periods of time, or even if I am meeting friends out and about -- I always have this underlying fear that I won't recognize 'em, or they won't recognize me (though some of that stems from me losing nearly 150lbs and going from blonde to bright copper hair -- and having people I clearly remember, not recognize me; and as result, not remember me. Yet, also, I think some of my concerns have to do with being borderline, and the underlying idea that I am easily forgettable, in general and overall).
Ironically, however..
I seem to have a knack for remembering people, and very specific details about 'em -- often, people are quite surprised at what I notice and remember, about 'em.
I can be a bit resistant to looking at people's faces, also -- though, I do my best to make sure and practice.
When I was a hairstylist, I'd practice looking people in the eyes, by way of talking to 'em through the mirror.
Also, when I am in a room, I do my best to remember to look at the face, of everyone in the room; as well as notice attributes that tend to stand out, to me (though, that also comes with wanting to be aware of my surroundings, and be able to protect myself, if something were to happen, by being aware of every person I am in a room with; as well as be able to describe the people, if something were to occur -- or even recognize people that could, potentially, be following me [I am not paranoid, of such events: though, as a disabled woman, I think it's extra important to hone certain senses]).
In that sort of instance, I do better remembering physical traits about someone, vs. their face.
It's really a hit or miss on if I'll remember someone by their face, or by some sort of physical attribute.
I, recently, reconnected with a friend, I haven't seen in 15years.
Thankfully, I spent enough time, with her, to where I remember her face clearly -- however, I did have a bit of anxiety while waiting for her arrival, wondering if I'd recognize her face.
I will say, also, changing my diet has helped, with certain aspects.
I cut high-fructose corn syrup, corn, and corn-based products out of my diet, when I went animal-based due to severe food sensitivities, that had developed.
Within a month, I started to be able to feel emotions and physical sensations I have never had, prior -- as well as no longer have the intense desire to slam my head against things, when I feel overwhelmed and unable to process emotions; and got rid of knee/ankle pain I have had, since early childhood, as well.
Also, I have developed a better *feeling* of empathy (vs. cognitively).
I didn't intend to see results, cutting that out of my diet -- it just so happened to, well, happen, when I cut out everything else; and I realized all of this, when I began reintroducing new foods.
I believe, perhaps, cutting these things out reduced inflammation in my brain and body, allowing these processes to take place.
It's fascinating how all this neurodivergent stuff shows up, in each of us.
EDIT: I find it interesting, you talk about watching yourself, in the camera.
I, recently, started recording myself, talking about my emotions and what I have survived.
I can talk to anyone about it, and it be a casual conversation -- it makes it *very* difficult for people to understand the true reality of the horrific nature, of what I have survived, and coming out of, when bedridden/housebound, for a near decade (let's just say I knew what Munchausen's by Proxy is, before Ms. Gypsy Rose made it trendy).
I started talking to the camera, because it was a way I could get vulnerable, and really process, myself, the depths of the reality I survived.
Though I can see myself, in a mirror, physically -- I have a very difficult time being able to recognize myself as a human; especially, emotionally.
If that even makes sense.
So, when I watch myself back, in the camera -- or even as I am talking, to the camera (I always use the front-facing camera) -- I am able to perceive my facial expressions and micro-expressions, in regards to what I am talking about..
And I am able to see the reality of that emotional pain, in a physical sense.
It's almost as if I have blindness towards myself, if anything.
I grew up in a family with diagnosed (and undiagnosed) NPD.
So, I have very little capacity to acknowledge my own needs and even existence, at times.
Again, it goes back to the feeling of being easily forgettable.
Watching myself, my mannerisms, facial expressions, and being able to hear my voice when watching things back -- well, I suppose it helps me feel like a real person/human being.
I'm a musician and constantly meeting people - often they will come back to another show or come up to talk to me after seeing a few and I can tell I come across as uncaring and aloof that I don't remember or recognize anyone even though I'm trying so hard :(
It's a good repellent for weird dudes who follow me around and want to get close though
This is so interesting as someone who doesn't have this. Since I have terrible memory with names, I can rely on faces
felt this! ill never forget that time I had no idea who my fiance's friend was even after hanging out with him a few days prior lol
Thank you so much for this vid! I am not diagnosed but my friends started making jokes about it a while ago.
Then I noticed as a night float CNA at several hospitals - I had to adjust to a new set of nurses every night. I would write their names down and remember them by hair style. If somebody took their hair down at 3AM.... I was so nervous. Is this the same person?
Somebody takes their glasses off? Yeah, this bitch is pretty sure Clark Kent could get away with it.
At least the patients stayed in their beds. All the old people looked the same and wearing the same hospital gown but I knew what room I was in 😂
3 nights a week for 10 years, six new nurses, 5 new hairstyles, one new crush.
Anyways, again. Thank you. Ya got a new sub
Your art looks amazing!!!! and I adore the make-up look you did. I have a question if you want to answer, as you mentioned unique facial features help you recognise people, so does that mean if you focus on one seperate facial feature the rest of face becomes blurry? And also which emotions or expressions can you understand when looking at someone?
Yes I finally realized recently this is another thing I have. It sucks really sometimes I try and imagine my own or kids faces and I can't even imagine it. I always feel like how can I even describe them to someone if I needed to. In my head I do see people in my mind with fuzzy faces or not at all. My family members that are passed away can't even remember really without looking at their photos. I didn't realize for so long I was using peoples energy and mannerisms to distinguish them. Unless I see them every single day but still it is more of a feeling of recognition not actual recognition.
With prosopagnosia, can you determine if you find someone attractive or not by their physical appearance? Is it truly like one face is the same as another and therefore equally attractive or are there groups of faces that look like twins. Example: All dudes with square jaws and wide noses look the same, but they look different from pointy nosed and thin lipped dudes? Or is it all dudes look like twins?
Awesome question!!! I do feel attraction to people both physically and emotionally. Facially, I'm not sure what attracts me to certain people. All I know is sometimes there's a face that I really really love and I find super attractive. Beauty is subjective even for me :) my friends recently pointed out that the people I tend to date have sharper jawlines! I haven't noticed but I believe them. It's not that every single face is equally attractive. I think they're equally fascinating. But I am not attracted to everyone. Yes they look mostly the same. But something goes off in my head like wow I find this person particularly attractive. I am Def more of a vibes person than an appearance person tho! If someone has super large lips vs super thin lips I may be able to tell if I stare long enough. But yeah coloration is key for me. I'm yapping a lot sorry this is alot I hope this answered your question😭
you taught me so much thanks!
Youve lived with this and have probably tried this but just in case: something that might help immediately if someone tries to get your attention (bc waving could be towards anyone) is a hand signal. like... making an X with their wrists, and then waving them in a circle. Its almost like a code word
and a code word in speaking, walking up and saying like "Mother here, your name. Friends name here, Your name." or a phrase "Butterfly Ham Sandwich" or a word "Prosopagnosia"
only type face blindness i had was from dissociation from trauma and possible my schziotypal.
It was jarring but not a problem since i didnt leave the house. it was just kind of scary. Bc i looked in the mirror and knew obviously its me, but its like there was another person on the other side of the mirror rather than a reflection
and my grandma i couldbt look at her face bc she felt like an imposter of a sort. as if i never actually ever truly looked at her.
So idk your situation
but i do know code words and signs help on other situations. And sometimes it can feel silly so people dont try them so only reason why i making this comment
like if someone makes an x with their wrists and waves them around in a circle you might not know who they are, but at least you can figure they are associated with you. but idk maybe that wouldnt work
Thank you ❤ this was absolutely fascinating! I love Dr. Oliver Sachs and learned about this condition from his book The Man that Mistook his Wife for a Hat. Thank you for sharing your experience with us 😁😍
Omg, when you mentioned everyone looks like twins, I thought about pokadot man from the suicide squad movie (everyone he sees looks like his mom) 😅
I’m not an artist by any means, but I’m also really good at copying images in comparison to remembering how to draw something from memory lol. Give me a grid and I’m great!
That's awesome :))
I have a lot of facial insecurities for example my forehead and just out of curiosity if you can't even really recognize your own face do you have any insecurities like that I mean regardless of your disorder like you look amazing genuinely I don't know what you could be insecure abt
That is pretty cool.
I have worked as an artist and people were always surprised how I can draw almost anything from memory... except faces 😅 And it was my favorite subject, drawing faces all day with models. I just can't describe to someone my 2 years long partner. I just recognize him when I see him. I can't even tell you if my bestfriend have HAIR lmao. My face is the worst thing ever to not recognize.
I think I have the opposite because I love faces and I tend to stare at people without realizing it kind of like how a cat would stare into the middle distance.I also have ADHD and I'm probably on the autism Spectrum as well and people think that it's really weird that I am just deeply analyzing their facial structure so I tried to just not even look at people anymore cuz people get really offended when you look too deep that's what I've experienced in my thirties
one time a coworker (who i knew pretty well for a year) had come into our workplace in her normal clothes/beanie and she was standing a few meters away and as i looked at her in my mind i was like... wait...that girl looks so familiar. 😂like i didnt recognize her at all. so idk if this is like facial blindness but yeah that type of thing happens to me alot and its kinda embarrassing
Interesting, thanks for sharing. I have autism but have a super good memory for faces (better than average imo), but I can on rare occasion mix people I barely know up because I don't remember which person goes with which face lol. Kinda the opposite experience of yours of recognizing a face but not being able to place it.
I will often meet people many times over the course of a year and they will smile and hug me and i know i know them and have good feelings for them but have no idea who they are or how i know them. Other people iits fine with though.. maybe its situational?
I used to think it was cute with my ex. I thought he was the most attractive (to me) person and i would never see anyone eles i was.attracted to so sometimes i would people watch to see if that was really true. Then id aee him (but not recognise him) and think oooo. Then he would come over to me and id realise 😅
I understand the blurry face in your head so well, the feeling something is there but you're unable to remember....
I have read it somewhere so I would like to ask if it really works : when someone you know show you a photo of themselves upside down ... will you recognize them ? It should use another brain part then for faces and therefore the person should be recognized.
Do you h e aphantasia as well?
I can't visualize peoples faces in my head, I can recall certain facial features (for example that someone has brown eyes, a big nose and blond hair) and I do recognize people I know when I see them. Is that also Prosopagnosia? or is that normal?
Do you also have face blindness to yourself?
Yes! I do not know what I look like. If people take pics of me without me knowing chances are I will not recognize myself
There’s a series coming out with a doctor with face blindness. I really don’t like the POV shots I’ve seen. Extremely creepy like something out of Jacob’s Ladder or something. Definitely not right. I’d imagine that a person with full face blindness would see perfectly normal faces. They would just never seem familiar.
I don’t have full facial blindness but I can understand the difficulty. For example, if asked to pick someone’s face out of a book or a line up, I’ll probably just refuse. I certainly don’t think I could describe someone well enough for a sketch artist. That’s just lunacy. I don’t know if I could describe someone I’m familiar with, with enough detail to do that.
Girl. What mic you use? It was terrible 🥲 but love the info.
Hey sarane I thought I can make your Thumbnails better
she sounds like 2013 britney spears
Must be tough to watch movies.
lol white people look the same too. we all have a general preset I think hahaha skull types, body types, I feel like there is only so many, the rest is facial features and body weights etc. so yeah, a lot of us look like each other whether it's Asian, black, white, Mexican or any of that.