If you have an excellent memory, tell us it's pros and cons

[Anonymous]

Its!!!! Not it's.

[Anonymous]

DH remembers everything, including the details of all our fights.

I forget them!

[Anonymous]

It's easy to learn memory-heavy areas like foreign languages. I never understood that most people needed repeated exposure like through flash cards or Aps to learn new words. Downsides are minimal though I've learned to pretend to have forgotten things I remember like the favorite songs of my high school friend's nephew. I remember that stuff from 30 years ago but it is off-putting to mention.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I used to have the kind of excellent memory that made it very easy to excel on tests and do great in school. I rarely had to review anything. Listening during class or reading was enough. I passed two different bar exams without ever having done a bar review course. I could visualize the page on which I had read a piece of information that would provide the answer to an exam question. It also allowed me, as a dancer, to learn combinations and choreography almost instantly. The only con about my once very good memory is how obvious and distressing it is to notice it slipping away during peri- and menopause. There’s a stark difference between my memory then and now and it freaks me out. Even though to some people and in some contexts I still seem to have a good memory I’m keenly aware of how much less agile my brain is now.

[Anonymous]

The only real con is I often remember very small things very specifically but if I insist someone is remembering it wrong I just look pedantic and weird so I am often simmering quietly while someone recounts something completely wrong so I don’t look completely insane repudiating some minor detail I recall with crystal clear accuracy. This

[Anonymous]

It’s nice to find my people. And yes as peri menopause and menopause takes over I’m shocked how much if my brain is turning to Swiss cheese.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have an excellent long-term memory. Advantages; I am an outstanding speller and fast reader. Majored in English. I can see an unusual name and commit it to memory. I do paralegal work and can spot errors and mistakes easily.

Disadvantages include having to have extensive therapy to deal with a traumatic, chaotic childhood. I'd replay conversations, events and feelings from decades prior on a regular basis. I found EMDR therapy (you identify specific, significant events and discuss with therapist) to be highly effective and nearly curative. My EMDR therapist told me that my vivid memory helped me progress through and make great strides.

Maybe a blessing and a curse. For fun, my childhood friends ask me to tell THEM stories about themselves and I can always fill in details.

Oddly, math and formulas and numbers evaporate in my head, for lack of a better description. I struggle with graphs, maps, charts, figures. Show me a sales chart or a map and...I'll play along and pretend to understand.

Wow, I could have written this! All the way down to the EMDR (super effective for me also) and the math “blanks”. when I am reading I will absorb the words and just think “number” (the word “number”) when I see one. My husband engages with the numbers and looks for the relationship (eg, X person spent 3 times more than Y person) whereas I’ll only know that the text did include numbers.

I’m a children’s book author and think my vivid memory helps a lot with my writing. I remember conversations well, which helps with dialogue. And since I write for children, my memories of my childhood help a lot!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I used to have the kind of excellent memory that made it very easy to excel on tests and do great in school. I rarely had to review anything. Listening during class or reading was enough. I passed two different bar exams without ever having done a bar review course. I could visualize the page on which I had read a piece of information that would provide the answer to an exam question. It also allowed me, as a dancer, to learn combinations and choreography almost instantly. The only con about my once very good memory is how obvious and distressing it is to notice it slipping away during peri- and menopause. There’s a stark difference between my memory then and now and it freaks me out. Even though to some people and in some contexts I still seem to have a good memory I’m keenly aware of how much less agile my brain is now.

I posted at 17:05. It's been really depressing for me too. I used to be in a position where I had maybe 70 concurrent projects and I could remember status and actions on all of them. Now I feel like I have to struggle to remember the important actions from a meeting last week. I've always documented but now I have to go back and review to catch myself up.

[Anonymous]

Like another poster, when people recall things differently (incorrectly), I feel annoyed. I notice inconsistencies in other people all the time and most of the time, I don't think it's because they're liars. I think that they honestly are misremembering.

I'm a teacher and some of the books by teachers make me furious. They will recall a conversation they had with a child and it's so fake. I think they fill in with things that would make more sense/would help their narrative/maybe what they actually "remember" happening. If they actually wrote what children say, it would be hilarious, but not proving their point.

The other night, my brother called me with the tune of a song from a commercial in the 80s and I was able to sing it for him correctly.

[Anonymous]

I have the working memory of a flea but an excellent long-term memory. Honestly - my excellent long-term memory leads to assume everyone remembers me like I remember them, and it leads to tons of social humiliation.

I also sometimes wonder if it's one of the causes of my OCD since it lets me ruminate easily. But mostly the remembering people who have no idea who I am thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I no longer have an excellent memory. Before age 30, I often would remember people who had no recollection of me.

This is what I was going to say. It has made for some awkward moments socially. Definitely a plus academically.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I no longer have an excellent memory. Before age 30, I often would remember people who had no recollection of me.

This is what I was going to say. It has made for some awkward moments socially. Definitely a plus academically.

Oh, I'm the PP above and completely missed this! It's so awful walking up to someone and being so excited to see them after three years, and they're like "Ok, crazy stranger."

[Anonymous]

The awkwardness thing is huge!

NP here.

I remember people easily, including small conversations we may have had in passing. I often feel awkward when speaking to an acquaintance and I know all about them but they barely even remember that we once spoke. I spend a lot of time thinking about what is the 'normal' amount of remembering to try and avoid looking rude (acting like I am meeting them for the first time) and wayyy to invested (because I remember all this random sh*t about them).

I also used to get bent out of shape when I was younger and used to remember everything about others, but they didn't remember everything about me. I wondered if I didn't 'matter' to them. It took a while to realize that *I* was the odd one...

Like others have said, though, it definitely was a major advantage in school. It actually let me excel in an academic environment despite my ADHD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The awkwardness thing is huge!

NP here.

I remember people easily, including small conversations we may have had in passing. I often feel awkward when speaking to an acquaintance and I know all about them but they barely even remember that we once spoke. I spend a lot of time thinking about what is the 'normal' amount of remembering to try and avoid looking rude (acting like I am meeting them for the first time) and wayyy to invested (because I remember all this random sh*t about them).

I also used to get bent out of shape when I was younger and used to remember everything about others, but they didn't remember everything about me. I wondered if I didn't 'matter' to them. It took a while to realize that *I* was the odd one...

Like others have said, though, it definitely was a major advantage in school. It actually let me excel in an academic environment despite my ADHD.

Yep, you totally come off as a stalker if you're not careful. I feel your pain.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I no longer have an excellent memory. Before age 30, I often would remember people who had no recollection of me.

This is what I was going to say. It has made for some awkward moments socially. Definitely a plus academically.

.
This happened at my HS reunion. Someone I was talking to said I remembered more about her time there than she did. And another person, who I also had a summer job with had no idea who I was.