Face blindness anyone?

[WoeIsMee]

Does anyone have it? It’s when you can’t recognise/have great difficulty recognising people.

I have it mildly

Yes. Me!!! And I work as a real estate agent in Portugal and know loads of people. I remember everything about them - age, children, jobs- but will ignore them completely if I see them out and about. Same with my friends from when I used to show horses. I would recognise the horse but not them. So without the horse I was completely lost. It’s so embarrassing. But not so bad that I don’t recognise my family and close friends - although sometimes I have to look at photos as I cannot imagine them in my mind if that makes sense?

Yep. Ex colleagues, friends of friends I've been introduced to, old neighbours....
If you told me their names I could tell you all about them but if one came up to me and said 'Hi' I'd have no clue who they were.
Dp tells me I'm strange because I also can not recall anyone's eye colour. Not even my own parents. It's one if the first things he notices when talking to people.

I forget what people look like when I have only just met them. It takes a good few times of seeing them again to then be able to recall their face in my mind. It's really annoying.

I wonder about this, a bit. It seems to take me a few times of meeting someone to really remember their face properly.

Yep. Like others here I am very good at remembering details about people and their lives,. But I’m so, so bad at faces. It’s really embarrassing and I hate that it gives the impression that I don’t care. On the other hand I recognise voices very well - so will watch a film and recognise the voice rather than the face iyswim?

To some extent yes. If I see someone all the time it's ok, but the memory fades if it's been a while and then if I see them in an unfamiliar place I won't recognise them.

Also people say "I bumped into someone in the market that I hadn't seen since school" like that's a normal thing to be able to recognise them. That seems unbelievable to me.

Yes, I have it mildly. I do recognise people who I know well, but I frequently struggle with people who I have only met a few times. It's so embarrassing!

I also find it really difficult if I see people who I would usually recognise but out of context, i.e. I might recognise someone in the context of work but I have no clue who they are if I meet them in the local park or something. And it's hard to recognise people who I haven't seen for a long time.

Some people's faces are definitely easier to identify and remember than others. I don't know why.

I struggle with films/ series if there’s two actors who have similar features

Dowser, yes, me too. It's so confusing. I really irritate DH and DD by repeatedly having to ask "is that the one who..."! Unless there are really obvious differences like hair colour or skin colour, or unless one of the actors is really well known and I already recognise them easily, they just look the same to me!

I really really struggle. I’ll walk past people in the street. I also can’t tell actors in things. And beards make it worse!

I think I may have it mildly.
I confuse people for other people often.
I have majorly embarrassed myself by doing this!
The awful dawning, when you realise you have got it wrong, from the utter confusion on the other person's face...
Also, people out of context a nightmare...

I have this, quite severe. It’s been a massive problem for me most of my life because I didn’t even realise it was a thing until I read an article about it last year, I couldn’t understand why I simply couldn’t recognise people who were clearly very familiar with me (people I’ve seen every week in baby groups years on end that I ended up bumping into in town for example). It’s caused arguments with my oh. Someone would knock for him while he was out, he’d ask who was it was and I wouldn’t know. He’d ask me to describe them and I couldn’t even do that. He’d later find out who it was and it would be someone I’ve met a dozen times

I have this mildly. It’s annoying and embarrassing. Has anyone ever found any ways to improve it? Any tricks?

I have it, mildly. People have commented on it, which is embarrassing.

Yeah I do mildly. I also mix people up. For example, at work I’ll see a lady with blonde hair and think she’s Lucy but really I’m mixing Lucy and Michelle up and only realise this when they come into the office and I see them side by side.

I then see one of them again but never quite know if they’re Lucy or Michelle unless I see them together.

Me too. It’s mild but can occasionally be quite embarrassing. I’ve stopped volunteering for school events because I don’t always recognise parents on the yard later and accidentally give offence.

I have it.
I can't easily pick out my children in school as everyone is in school uniform.
When I worked in an office I had to memorise what everyone was wearing each day so if I saw them in the shop at lunchtime (so not at their desk) I would know who they were.

Me too. I’m very good with names, dreadful with faces. I’ve failed to recognise really good friends and even my own dc. I prewarn everyone now that if they see me and I appear to be blanking them, I’m not, I’ve just failed to recognise them!

I have it, it’s a total pain. People think I’m ignorant, but I don’t recognise them, so walk past in the street.

I recognise people but struggle to place people out of context. I find it a problem at work, I deal with lots of different clients and can struggle to recognise someone I should.

I'm the person who sees someone they recognise in the supermarket but can't think of their name or where I know them from quickly enough so have to pretend I haven't seen them or else say hi and hope I can work it out. This isn't always successful, once i cheerily said hi to someone then a few moments later realised it was someone I'd once employed and had dismissed for misconduct, bit awkward!

My husband has it, somewhat mildly- he mostly recognises people by their gait/hair/etc.

I once attempted to watch the Netflix series Orphan Black with him, which is all about clones (not a huge spoiler, I promise!) and had to start watching it solo: the same amazing actress plays all the clones, who are differentiated based on hair/clothes/accent etc, and he basically couldn't tell who was a clones and who wasn't. Apparently 'but they all have the same face!' wasn't helpful.

I have this, quite severe. It’s been a massive problem for me most of my life because I didn’t even realise it was a thing until I read an article about it last year, I couldn’t understand why I simply couldn’t recognise people who were clearly very familiar with me (people I’ve seen every week in baby groups years on end that I ended up bumping into in town for example). It’s caused arguments with my oh. Someone would knock for him while he was out, he’d ask who was it was and I wouldn’t know. He’d ask me to describe them and I couldn’t even do that. He’d later find out who it was and it would be someone I’ve met a dozen times

This is me!

I can't easily pick out my children in school as everyone is in school uniform.

Same

I’ve had this forever but never realised it was an actual thing until around a year ago.
I am continually offending people as I just don’t recognise them. Or if I see someone looking at me in town etc I’ll just do an awkward sort of smile and shuffle off, and it will turn out it’s someone I should really know.
People have called me cold and moody because I don’t know who they are and can’t do the right small talk or ask after their relatives etc but I really truly can’t help it.

The only person I ever told apart from DH thought it was made up. Said ‘oh yes I sometimes can’t put a face to a name, you just need to try harder’ but it’s so, so much more than that. So I never tell anyone but it bothers me so much.

DH has lots of regular clients for his business who I see on a regular basis, he’s often saying 'so and so saw you today and you ignored him’ etc but I just won’t have even registered them.

Feel for the rest of you who suffer badly with it but it’s nice to know I’m not alone.

I prewarn everyone now that if they see me and I appear to be blanking them, I’m not, I’ve just failed to recognise them!

What do you tell them??

I have it too. Not completely, but enough to make life difficult sometimes.
I work in a school, takes me most of the year to learn my own class. Then I have to start all over again!