No direction sense... anyone else this bad and why??

[fastandthecurious1]

I've had this as far back as I can remember and frankly I'm tired of making excuses and laughing it off... I honest have zero direction sense while walking or driving I know many people say this but I am sure it's not this bad for everyone.

I have to google map my way around my city even the half I'm extremely familiar with in term if family living there etc... I'm great with house numbers and street names but you try and get me a landmark or to remember a layout and I simply don't it's all blank and it becomes guess work.

Indoors is the same I can't tell you how many times in new jobs I go to the toilet or to another area abs I can't find my way back with maybe only 2/3 turns. I've become very good at covering this so only really my husband knows the extent of it... he has very patiently tried to help and he is so naturally gifted with direction but it's impossible I still google map my way to my town centre as I sometime take wrong roads and multi story car parks... my goodness I take sneaky photos to help me if I'm alone and still takes 3/4 times to get any kind of bearings.

I could go on but I'm hoping I'm being clear... anyway else came across this level of issue?

I'll add I don't struggle with any other areas at all..

I can’t do left and right and the ‘L’ thing doesn’t work as I can’t work out which one is right when I look at my hand.

Sat nav changed my life - love it! Don’t mind the getting lost though - makes me laugh or mutter to myself.

Omg so glad it's not just me! No one I've known ever struggles barely at all.

I have got a lot better with people close to me... my work once unexpectedly called me to go to London head office in a few days I was honestly so worked up ( do not normally have anxiety avd I'm quite good under pressure) I even called out sick which made a real mess of the day!

Next time I planned it so a colleague came with me and I wrote so many notes / helpful tips down but still got lost when I when alone I refused after that!

I know London is like this for most however. A collected once had a taxi cancel on her and begged me for a lift and I had no way of saying no so she directed me the whole way there but it took me over an hour (15min journey) to get home.

I guess I get frustrated at myself as I try so hard but it's almost as if when I look away everything has changed... or maybe I don't don't trust myself now I over think it. My guesswork is never ever right though when I'm left to it!

@Fandangoes same!! I get told I look very composed and together when I'm seconds from tears!

Yes it does feel like it changes when you look away. Well some people are arseholes we just confuse ourselves and those around us!

It's interesting that a PP mentioned her friend who doesn't see in images as I was coming on to say I'm hopeless with directions and use Google maps religiously but have always suspected it's due to a mix of:

1. My memory being atrocious (can't remember where I've just been and, as a PP said, it's hopeless giving me directions as I only remember the first one or two directions and then have to ask someone else); and
2. I don't 'think' in texts or images. There's a whole lot of nothingness going on in my head 🤣 I imagine that makes it harder as you can't picture an internal map like others who see in images perhaps could?

I have a work event this week in a different city in a manor in the middle of nowhere which is apparently down a very long drive, isn't visible from the road and which Google maps won't get me to. I am trying everything I can to get out of it because I know full well I will end up lost and stressed.

My husband is like this! We moved house 2yrs ago, but he still gets lost now! His parents live within 15mins of the new place, and have done so for 20yrs, so not every road is completely unfamiliar. I personally cannot fathom how an adult, who has travelled the exact same route 20, 50,100 times can have absolutely no recollection of which road to take next?

I am the complete opposite. I can travel somewhere once, and may not know the exact route from 1 trip, but will certainly have very good idea, recall roads/landmarks and in majority of cases, get there again99% of the time- without a sat nav. I guess we are just all different.

i walk with purpose too and am always being asked for directions when actually I am the worst person to ask!

I'm ridiculously fantastic with my sense of direction. I frequently surprise myself.

That's when I'm out and about though. Put me in a factory site or a big office and I'm terrible. I've been known to walk into cupboards on my way out of an office I've just walked in to.

Not being able to make images in your mind is part of dyslexia for some people. That can often affect a child's comprehension as they fail to make images as they go along so have no idea what a piece is about even though they are reading perfectly.

The direction thing may be a form of dyslexia.

I am the exact opposite. I've always had the feeling there's a compass embedded in my brain somewhere.

I am the same - DH says I could get lost in a phone box.

I do laugh about it and make jokes but actually it is sometimes quite scary and infantilising. I tend to get the train if I go anywhere out of town on my own as I can't even follow satnav directions let alone a map.

omg laughed so much at this description... this is me too 🤣

Yep. Me. All the time. Even in the town where I live - insisting to the children the restaurant was 'this way' - it was in the opposite direction. Having to ring my husband for directions to the town hall.

@Cakedoesntjudge could they do a what3words for you? Far better than a postcode as it'll get you right there.

Jam biscuitbun that sounds amazing - dp is the same. I find it thrilling and baffling

This is me. Supermarket car parks are my nemesis. I cant tell my left from my right and i have no visual memory/imagination which I'm sure is connected. I drive the same route to work every day and have done for the last 10 years, but I couldn't visualise the route to give you directions. I also really struggle doing a known journey in reverse too.

Make images in your mind?? A few pp have mentioned this and I'm baffled by it. Do you mean you can think in pictures? I certainly can't, didn't know anyone could.

Definitely me...I use google maps on foot but often set off in completely the wrong direction 🤦🏻‍♀️

We could all arrange to meet but none of us would get there as we'd all be lost 😂

Same here, I mean how are you meant to know how to hold the phone ?
I blame Google maps 😁

if walking I find putting one of my AirPods in and listen to directions is far better than visual. hate it when the car sat nav doesn't peak.

All the light switches in our house are labelled ( by me) if there are more than one side by side. I label drawers ( sometimes on the bit which shows just when you pull it out) in something like a four drawer cabinet ( so ‘soap’ ‘ vitamins’ etc) . I have a tape labelling machine which produces small self adhesive labels. So much better than random switching and opening.

I cannot visualise the streets around me , I have no sense of direction at all. If I was a homing pigeon , I would be missing on the first release.

oddly, I am quite a good artist and can visualise pictures and produce good copies of objects, both from memory and on sight.

I find it really hard to connect maps to the real world. I guess it is a form of dyslexia if other people can easily translate a map of an area to the actual area.

i don’t get frustrated by it, satnav does help a lot. I just leave plenty of time and don’t mind if I get lost. I do have some memory of places I have been before and sometimes have a feeling which way to go if I have been there before.

Yes, this is me, I get lost inside buildings, outdoors. It's very stressful and not funny and it's why I never went travelling when I was younger. Left and right are confused. I'll say left and point right. Yes to waking into cupboards instead of doors I've just walked through and restaurant kitchens have frequently seen my confused face.

I use street view if I need to find somewhere unfamiliar.

Ive seen it termed as Topographical Disorientation or Directional Dyslexia.

Me, I get lost in my own 2 bed flat.

I cant tell my left from my right (nor can my dad, but he is brilliant with directions)
I am also very clumsy, or the door frames in my flat keep moving.

I can however find a pub within a 5 mile distance, so at least if I get lost, I will be able to have a drink.

@Pumpkintopf that is a brilliant idea! Thank you!