Is it normal to not recognise people like this?

[Ilovechocolate87]

Today I saw two different people I know/should have recognised.
The first was my daughters midwife, who I got to know very well and last saw properly when she signed us off in late 2021 (I did actually see her sitting in her car a couple of weeks ago, but not properly) I wasn't expecting to see her where I did today, at the park, she wasn't in uniform, had her hair different etc....but it was embarrassing as my face must have looked blank for a few seconds because until she got closer and it clicked I had no idea who she was and she had to tell me, which was embarrassing!
Then, I took my daughter on a bike ride around the village and saw my friend's sister in law, who lives in the same village and helped cater at our daughter's christening last year.I knew she was someone familiar, but it was only after i saw her a second time on the way back that it clicked...now got to message my friend asking her to apologise to the SIL that I didn't recognise her 🙈🤷‍♀️
This isn't the first time this sort of thing has happened....I've had it with colleagues at work, and a mum of a former friend who I used to know very well up until about 7 years ago, but saw at the cinema and again she had to tell me who she was.
I'm 35, can be abit scatterbrained/ disorganised in some ways, very organised in others, but no medical conditions I'm aware of....is what I'm describing normal for someone my age?!

You might all be interested in this www.swansea.ac.uk/psychology/news/raisingawarenessofprosopagnosiaandunveilinganonlinetreatmentprogramme.php

I find that faces have to have some really prominent feature for me to recognise them.

So many Hollywood actors have these incredibly even, regular features with no distinguishing characteristics which make them undistinguishable to me. Makes it really hard to follow the plot much of the time.

In some of the more recent series, where there is finally some diversity in the casting, I struggle a lot less.

But I never recognise actors, whoever they are, from one film to the next. I identify people by the way they move, talk, and stand, and actors change that on me and completely throw me off the scent.

I think this is definitely part of my problem. I was a teacher and had to make an effort to remember the names of children in my class. The boys were harder as they had similar haircuts.

I think I do avoid eye contact a lot of the time. I have a dog and 'know' several regular dog walkers but I am more likely to recognise the dog first. I wouldn't recognise the person without the dog.

I suppose it makes sense to recognise someone who is a 5 feet 11 with shocking pink hair, wears bright coloured make up and bright clothes. Easier than say a 5 feet 5 blonde woman who wears jeans and white trainers.
I sometimes join the dots years later and remember who the woman who smiles at me at the school gates is. She was a friend of a friend and I’d been on many nights out with her. When several years later she spoke to me at school I did not recognise her. Didn’t twig who she was for years. I bet she thought I was crazy.

Yes! I was in a petrol station shop, and a smiley lady approached me, saying hello, and how are you? I thought I recognised her, but couldn't place her. I responded briefly and went about my day.

It was only when I was back at work that the penny dropped. She was my lovely GP. But she was out of context at the petrol station, and I just didn't recognise her as that.

I rang the surgery and asked the receptionist to pass on my apologies for being borderline rude.

I don't recognise people out of context to the point where it can be embarrassing.

I also don't remember names so work functions have been difficult in the past but now I just brazen it out and apologise if I have to.

Oh and DH is worse than me.

Watching tv programmes can be difficult as neither of us will necessarily keep track of characters, if someone changes their hair style we're both completely lost!

I think even without prosopagnosia, it can be more difficult to recognise people out of context.

Just don't do as my mother did, and say loudly down the high street as it clicked, "oh, Jo! Didn't recognise you with your clothes on!" to one of the women at her swimming class.

(That was better than when she met someone I Tesco with, "Hello Fred! I thought you were dead.")

@LemonJuiceFromConcentrate (re the corpse comment) I’ve just been at a lot of death beds and funerals in the last couple of years. I sat beside my df and gf as they died, and even in the moments just after they became unrecognisable to me.

I don’t think I could identify a body if, God forbid, I were ever called upon to do so. And I’d be useless at describing a person to a police sketch artist!

At wakes I’ve sometimes wondered if that’s actually the right body but in fairness @OriginalBin is right. By the time the undertaker is done, very few people look like themselves anyway.

Some people just aren’t very recognisable. People never seem to recognise me. People always do that ‘where do I know you from’ thing. I think I just look very boring and ordinary! My own sister didn’t recognise me at a party (we have been on holiday together the week before so not like I had changed much) and my husbands’ parents who I’ve known for 20 years asked who the woman was with him in a photo - it was me! I was a bit dressed up for a wedding but not ridiculously so (we were dressing up at home for photos as we had COVID)

This means I am nervous to say hi to people out of the house as I worry they will feel embarrassed when they don’t recognise me! I think I probably come across a bit rude.

Strangely I think I am OK at recognising people even though my visual processing isn’t great. I can’t picture things in my mind very well and lose track of characters in movies. I never know whose car is whose or which house is which. I was astounded when my husband said he recognised the different houses in Neighbours!! I think I just have a good memory in general and will remember peoples’ names etc.

Some people do have 'face blindness', it happens but it doesn't mean there is anything organically wrong with you. I had a friend who had it but coped well enough. I honestly don't know if it is something that can be sorted or if you have to just accept it and suggest you google to find out more. When you meet someone, concentrate on the sound of their voice and their mannerisms.

I too have prosopagnosia. It used to be embarrassing, especially in work contexts, but now I tell people as soon as I meet them that I might not recognise them next time and that works well. There are varying degrees of face blindness. In extreme cases, people don't recognise themselves in the mirror, apparently...

Face blindness I suppose. I have it too according to internet tests, but have no problem in real life because I recognise people by their hair, clothes, glasses, etc. rather than their features.

It's normal not to recognize someone immediately if you see them out of their usual context. You know that you've seen them before somewhere but you can't place them.

I'm like this.

I have adhd. I'm also scatterbrained in some ways, organised in others.

I think a lot of people must have this problem because when I do the opposite - think I recognise someone and go up and say hi, before later realising that they are a total stranger who happens to look vaguely like someone from TV - the total stranger always says hi and asks how I am, as if we are great friends! I've done this so many times over the years and always get a friendly response back, so I assume most people must struggle to recognise people they don't know very well (and also that most people are extremely polite) .