I have no problems with visual imagination, and suspect I am better than average. Reading descriptions in fiction really does paint a picture/movie scene in my head.
At the same time, I think I have a worse episodic memory than most. It sounds like it’s not as bad as Ross’s, but it’s in the same ballpark.
I suspect the following:
‘Dissociative tendencies’, that are something more fundamental even though I live a happy life now.
ADHD (I have an official diagnosis and believe myself to fit the description, and take medication), as supposedly that is associated with worse episodic memory.
An ‘ideas’ focus, over a ‘embodied’ focus, even when talking with friends. Of course I don’t remember what I ate for lunch, I was thinking about something exciting!
Instead of talking about what I did today (unless it was something easy to remember, like if I did something unusual), I instead just say something interesting that I’ve been thinking about, and if the other person plays along we’ll talk about that. I ask the same of others, if they end up saying that they did nothing today.
I can barely remember my mom or dad’s face. Thankfully, they are still alive; but it’s likely that when they die, I’ll have to look at a picture to put their face in my mind.
Ultimately, I have simply decided to say “So what if I’m detached?” I remember enough, and the experiences are still valuable for having happened. Ruminating too much on it does me no good, so I should just live for current and future experiences.
I have no problems with visual imagination, and suspect I am better than average. Reading descriptions in fiction really does paint a picture/movie scene in my head.
At the same time, I think I have a worse episodic memory than most. It sounds like it’s not as bad as Ross’s, but it’s in the same ballpark.
I suspect the following:
‘Dissociative tendencies’, that are something more fundamental even though I live a happy life now.
ADHD (I have an official diagnosis and believe myself to fit the description, and take medication), as supposedly that is associated with worse episodic memory.
An ‘ideas’ focus, over a ‘embodied’ focus, even when talking with friends. Of course I don’t remember what I ate for lunch, I was thinking about something exciting!
Instead of talking about what I did today (unless it was something easy to remember, like if I did something unusual), I instead just say something interesting that I’ve been thinking about, and if the other person plays along we’ll talk about that. I ask the same of others, if they end up saying that they did nothing today.
I can barely remember my mom or dad’s face. Thankfully, they are still alive; but it’s likely that when they die, I’ll have to look at a picture to put their face in my mind.
Ultimately, I have simply decided to say “So what if I’m detached?” I remember enough, and the experiences are still valuable for having happened. Ruminating too much on it does me no good, so I should just live for current and future experiences.