Anyone with Face blindness? Looking for tips

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I've always had face blindness and it's always caused problems socially with people thinking I'm rude. But I swear it's getting worse with age. I saw someone who I've seen weekly for 12 weeks outside of their usual setting this week and didn't recognise them at all until I twigged her accent. It's causing problems in work when I can spend all evening with them at a networking event then not recognise them again.

Other than making physical notes on someone's appearance- which in itself I can see getting me into trouble- any help or suggestions? Thanks 😊

By the way, I have wonderful word recognition! I see words as I'm saying them and take pleasure in the shape of most words. Many come with an image attached which I find beautiful.

Can someone diagnose me please?

I also have moderate face-blindness. I recognise my family, friends and long-term colleagues, but have to meet people several times before I'll remember them (unless they have particularly unusual features ). On the other hand, I have a superb memory for names, addresses and details such as birthdays, sibling names, etc. I'm also good at navigation.

I work in education and have taken to telling parents at our introductory annual meeting that I'm bad at faces and to please remind me who they are. This is working really well.

Regarding friendships, Facebook was a godsend to me for friends I don't see very often - after seeing their posts during the year, I was actually able to recognise them when we met up in the summer.

I am face blind but not to the extent of some people on this thread. I find that once I have people stored in my long term memory that I remember them. So close friends and family are there and fine. But if they’re in my short term memory then I’ve got no chance. I could meet someone and then see them again ten minutes later and not recognise them. My coping mechanism is just to smile at everyone like a loon so no one can be offended

also car blind 😂 i have to learn number plates to recognise cars. Once my mil asked me what car my mum had and I said I think it’s grey and that’s all I had 🙈

Haha, I am car blind too but I always assumed that’s because I’m wildly uninterested in them, rather than it being related to face blindness.

One of the mums from school told my husband she keeps seeing me out and about and I keep blanking her, which makes me rather worried about how many other people I’m doing that to!

I've realised that I have this! I remember never being sure when I picked up my son from nursery many years ago that they were bringing out the correct child! I once worked at any event side by side with someone all day for a few days - they went out for a lunch break and when they came back I spoke to them as though they were a new visitor. He said 'but you've been working alongside me all day for the last few days". There are many other occasions too and I'd definitely never be any good as a witness for a crime. And I'm useless with films and TV programmes, etc (especially if there is more than one character with a bead etc)! I believe Stephen Fry also has this!

I find one friend particularly hard to recognise as she changes her hair, make-up and weight a lot (and a couple of months usually elapses between meetings).

I now take the approach of hovering near the person I suspect is her at the meeting place, and pretend not to see her. I then stand there looking around until she sees me and approaches.

I actually had to do this. Fortunately it was for a relatively minor crime - burglary. I obediently went down to the police station and looked through their book of mugshots, but it could have been any of them. Although I'd have been more useful if they'd fled in a car rather than on foot.

As an aside, I'm listening to the Cormoran Strike books at the moment. I would be a really crap private detective.

I have this too but it’s a double whammy as I also have memory loss from a brain tumour. I forgot an old friend had cancer till I read back through some emails one day. I remembered my best friend’s DM had died some years ago but forgot the awful circumstances - that she had collapsed and my friend had tried in vain to resuscitate her. Luckily they know I have some brain damage and are understanding.
I’ve always struggled to recognise characters in movies. Books I’m better with although my current one is about six female friends who met at uni and the previous one was about five sisters so they’ve both been a bit of a challenge to remember who is who.
I work as a GP receptionist and when I first started I got the female GPs really mixed up. I forget patients’ faces too, but I can disguise that to a certain extent by asking them for their date of birth and then I remember when seeing their name “oh yeah, he’s always here about his gout” or whatever.
There are times when I’ve had to go into the waiting room to find a patient who has just booked in and I can’t remember what the heck they look like. So I call “Mrs Smith…?” and gaze around the small waiting room expectantly until someone says “yes?” Then I’m “ohh, didn’t spot you over there!”
Recognising people out of context is particularly difficult for me. If I saw my neighbours out for a pub meal or a colleague in the supermarket I flounder.

@Papergirl1968 that’s really interesting. TBH it never occurred to me that a GP receptionist might be expected to remember patients’ faces (even if they have just checked in) because there are just so many of them.

So, are your colleagues who don’t have prosopagnosia expected to remember a lot of the patients by sight, and all of the ones who recently checked in?

As a patient (with prosopagnosia) I would always expect to have to introduce myself and wouldn’t expect them to recognise me even if it was just a couple of minutes after I had spoken to them.

Most of them check in automatically but the odd one comes to the desk because they have a letter to collect or something. I duly find the letter and then go to take it to them, only to not have a clue who they are unless they’re really distinctive - very overweight, in a wheelchair, bright red hair or something.
We have our regulars who we all (in theory) know. Like PPs, recognising the voice helps me.
My colleagues always say how friendly and caring I am to the patients but I think I’ve just learned coping strategies.
I sometimes feel like a swan (or a duck, lol), looking serene but legs kicking frantically under the water just to stay afloat.
I only work part time because it’s exhausting and I am on the waiting list for the memory clinic but I’m pretty sure it’s the damage from the tumour and my meds which cause the forgetfulness.
The face blindness has always been an issue but probably worse now because I have to concentrate so hard on everything and it’s pretty relentless at work - one call after another while a queue forms at the desk.
I used to be police staff and that had its moments too with most officers in identical uniform!

I feel that my face blindness has really contributed to my anxiety. It is really stressful when people greet you and you have no idea who they are. I though I was OK with family but I didn't recognise ds19 until he spoke last week. 🙄

I have this mildly and it has been embarrassing twice, with a friend of a friend. It's ok with people I know.

@fernsandlilies I appreciate this is an old post from July but thought I’d reply just because I have aphantasia and it’s interesting to hear other people’s experiences of it. I too have difficulties recalling memories from my childhood and even my children’s earlier years too. It is a shame because there are huge gaps in my memory and I feel like I am missing out on those memories although I had a difficult / abusive childhood so part of me is glad that I can’t recall those memories but I do miss those of the ‘good’ years with my children and DH.

And being menopausal certainly isn’t helping on the memory front and it feels like whole periods of my life have been deleted!