201– Prosopagnosia – Face Blindness

Face Blindness

Prosopagnosia, also known as face blindness, is a condition where you fail to recognize or distinguish faces. 

There was a time in my life when I was extremely face blind.

All someone had to do was put a wig on and I would fail to recognize them.

This happened when I was nine years old and my Grandmother put one on. My Mother called me downstairs and introduced me, saying it was a friend.

I totally failed to recognize her and was very shy and awkward.

My Grandmother, after a minute or so said: “Now it is enough,” and took off the wig.

For me, it was vaguely worrying that I had failed to recognize someone that I thought I knew well.

Missed Rides

But it wasn’t the first time that happened to me.

When I was around 6 or 7, my mother had arranged for a lady to sometimes drive me home from primary school.

Normally this person would have her hair down, but one day, her hair was up. When I saw this woman, with her hair up, I was in great doubt that it was the same person who would take me home.

Being extremely shy and not wanting to make a fool of myself, I did not get in the car like usual, and missed out on my ride home. Thus, I had to walk home instead, which, thankfully, was only around 30 minutes or so.

This happened twice, with the same lady. I just wasn’t sure if it was who I should be approaching for my ride, so I just stood there and once again missed the ride and walked home instead.

Distinguishing Features

The way I would remember people was by any features that set them apart from others. It could be by their colors, clothes they would wear, any jewelry, tattoos or markings.

If any of those factors changed, then I simply would not recognize the person.

Worse, if two people had vaguely similar looks, I could not distinguish between them.

This was worse for strangers, and after I had gotten the chance to become familiar with someone, it became easier for me to recognize who they were. (Though, not always.)

I would occasionally state to people that if I saw my own mother in a strange environment, I would have trouble identifying her.

Being Face Blind is a very embarrassing condition. At the time, it never occurred to me to mention it to anyone. I personally felt that it was an insult to someone if you couldn’t remember who they were or what they looked like.

Also, it was just one more thing that I didn’t feel like being crucified for.

Names

While I never was able to remember faces, I found I never forgot a name. This was my main way of being able to compensate for failing to identify people.

I would keep an ear out for the mention of someone’s name, and then wait for them to be pointed out or spoken to. That would let me know what they were wearing.

Also, another way I learned to compensate for this disability was by learning to sense the energies of people and also recognize them by their voice. (Though, I was never as good at doing the latter as some others I knew.)

Gradual Improvements

I did not find out that Prosopagnosia was an actual condition until my late 40s.

What was interesting, though, was that around the age of thirty, I noticed that, slowly, but surely, I was starting to recognize faces.

It started off as rare and seemingly random, but every so often, I’d know who someone, who was obscure, was.

Over the years, I’ve found that my Face Blindness faded. Now I am able to identify people around 90% of the time. (Though if they are in disguise or fancy dress, then it becomes much harder, but not as impossible as it once was.)

Forgetting Names

Curiously enough, I can’t recall names the way I used to.  For me, it seems that I can do either one, or the other, but not both.

It is possible, though, that remembering names is harder because I have so much more to retain, and there are hundreds of new names that come and go every year.

Given the choice between being face blind and not remembering names, I’d certainly choose the latter.

Raising Awareness

The point of this entry is to raise awareness of Prosopagnosia.

Also, that Face Blindness is not something that may be permanent.

If you suffer from it, but do not know you do, it may help with the embarrassment of this condition. If you are Face Blind, then tell people about it. That way they can compensate for it and help you.

I’ve not actively done anything to get over being Face Blind, but I think it’s just life and practice that helps forge new pathways in your brain.

That is something that has been scientifically proven, and it can bring hope that Prosopagnosia can be improved upon, if not cured.

(For more about my personal life, you can read my autobiography “I am The Phoenix.)