worried about extreme memory issues now!

[cattia]

Well, I knew it wouldn't be long until I moved onto a new worry!
Today when I dropped my daughter at pre school my best friend was there. She had her hair cut and I didn't recognise her until she turned and spoke to me. This is someone who I have known since ten years old!
Then tonight I have been watching a programme with Davina Mcoll presenting and I had to Google who she was because although I knew I recognized her I couldn't place her. She's a pretty famous TV. presenter.
So now I am worried that I have a tumor that is affecting my memory, or early onset dementia. Please someone tell me this isn't likely!

[jasonp]

This is not likely!!

I do things like that all the time and my friend who I live with is worse! Stress, anxiety, day to day life and work will be the culprit.

Don't worry, I think this is rather common. Ask most people and they would've done similar things :)

[Stormsky]

Natural not to recognise a friend with hair cut, can change the way they look dramatically , plus you weren't expecting her to look like that, so just didnt notice.
And I forget celebs names too..
A tired brain is the cause, due to Anx

[cattia]

Thank you both. I have always had poor recognition when I see people out of context but this is a bit extreme! I'm glad to hear it happens to others too.

[Speranza]

I only realised quite recently that I have a mildish form of face blindness. I had never realised why I couldn't recognise people I'd been in meetings with etc. I used to spend a morning observing someone's lesson, go back to the school the next week, and not be able to pick them out in the staffroom!

I suspect this kind of thing is worse with stress. Our brains can't do everything, after all!

I think this is why I am so awful at following plots of films. My poor daughters have got used to me saying things like, "Is this the one who killed the girl in the last scene?!" :doh: (It never IS that one!)

[cattia]

I only realised quite recently that I have a mildish form of face blindness. I had never realised why I couldn't recognise people I'd been in meetings with etc. I used to spend a morning observing someone's lesson, go back to the school the next week, and not be able to pick them out in the staffroom!

I suspect this kind of thing is worse with stress. Our brains can't do everything, after all!

I think this is why I am so awful at following plots of films. My poor daughters have got used to me saying things like, "Is this the one who killed the girl in the last scene?!" :doh: (It never IS that one!)

I'm a bit like this too. I also can't place people by their voice. If I hear someone's voice I really struggle to recognise it unless I can see them, even if it's someone I know really well. I am a teacher too and ex students are the worst. I can have whole long conversations with them if I meet them in town and have no recollection of who they are or when I taught them! I also once met someone I knew at the swimming pool and because she was in her swimming costume I didn't recognise her. So thinking about it I guess I have always been a bit like this. I supposet it was those two incidents at once that freaked me out.

[Speranza]

Yes I think that was when I realised, was worrying I had early dementia and then suddenly realised I had been like this all my life. I had really bad sight as a kid for a year before it was corrected, perhaps that impacted. I also get terribly lost when I'm driving at times. I simply don't recognise routes. And yet I have the vocabulary for four languages in my brain, so maybe you simply can't do everything!!