- Prosopagnosia
- Interviews
Nicole's interview
How did all start?
I am pretty sure I was born this way. I have distinct memories from adolescence where I confused a lot of similar looking people with each other. It's possible I was a shy child because I was terrible at recognizing people.
Do you already have a diagnosis? How long did it take you to get it?
Never formally diagnosed, but the anecdotal evidence is overwhelming.
For what medical specialties have you been treated? What has been the most useful specialty for your?
I've led a relatively healthy life. Faceblindness isn't exactly debilitating.
What has been the most useful thing for you so far?
Honestly, knowing that I'm not just "bad with faces," and that I have an actual neurological "excuse" has eliminated about 90% of the social anxiety I used to experience before realizing I had prosopagnosia. The lens through which I can scrutinize past social interactions has brought great clarity to many previously confusing social encounters.
What have been your biggest difficulties?
Talking to people who think faceblindness is akin to being bad at remembering peoples' names is frustrating. Also, plenty of peole think I am making this whole thing up. Overwhelmingly, this isn't a difficult affliction for me to live with. Now that I can proactively tell people that I am likely not going to recognize them the next tim I see them has helped. I can't imagine the list of people in my life who have felt slighted by me for not acknowledging them or worse, consciously ignoring them. People must have thought I was a real jerk!
How has your social and family environment reacted? Have your social or family relationships changed?
Many people think I am making this up. There's dozens of people who tease me about it and constantly ask if I know who they are when I see them (which, frankly, is annoying). My family and friends often forget that I have this affliction and seem surprised when I ask them to point out who is who in social settings. I tend to identify people by what they are wearing as their faces don't register in my mind. Seems to be a great deal of surprise on everyone's part when I fail to recognize someone because they've taken their jacket off.
What things have you stopped doing?
I've stopped feeling embarrassed for not remembering who someone is based on their appearance even though it offends people deeply when this happens... as if I don't find them interesting or important enough to remember. I've defintiely stopped trying to remember what people look like as I have finally realized it is futile.
What do you think about the future?
Prosopagnosia has had no impact on my feelings about the future. But, on a personal level, I feel optimistic about the future. Seems I don't have a whole lot of control over what happens there, so might s well hope for the best.
So far, which years have been the best years in your life? What have you done during them?
This is an odd question. The best years of my life were likely early childhood... no cares in the world, really. I had an idyllic upbringing. But looking back on each decade, they all seem to have their own uniquely influenced ups and downs. Having just turned 50, I was feeling like these are the best years of my life... but currently, the world is 3 months deep into the COVID-19 Corona virus pandemic and well, things have gotten weird and uncertain for sure.
What would you like to do if you didn’t have your condition?
My condition's only limitation is that I don't have the ability to recognize most people I've seen before. Other than this making things awkward, uncomfortable, or confusing for short periods, there's not much it impacts in my overall life experience.
If you had to describe your life in a sentence, what would it be?
My life is the ongoing pursuit of peculiarities and adventures in the world around me.
Finally, what advice would you give to a person in a similar situation?
Tell everyone you encounter of this one minor limitation you have even if it sounds preposterous. It's the only way to avoid people feeling slighted by you.
