Do you see your memories in the third person?

[mimblewimble]

It's just dawned on me that when I remember things from the past I visualise them from a third person perspective. Both recent memories and childhood memories. It's like I'm slightly zoomed out and watching from just above/behind myself. I can't see myself clearly, just know I'm there.

I dream in the first person, but when I try to recall my dreams I see them in the third person.

Just asked DH, he remembers in first person and DS can't visualise memories at all.

This is totally fascinating to me and now I want to know how other people see their memories!

Third person if at all. I also have next to no internal eye…so memories are flashes and words rather than pictures.

ASD running through my family too (if that matters ).

How can you see memories if not through your own eyes?

Surely, your memories must be partly imagined then?

I see what I saw.

I dream and recall memories in the third person. I’ve always done it like that. I can stop mid dream and replay the scene multiple times too, I know I’m dreaming.

Also, I’m sure this is odd but I never recall faces. So in my dreams and memories, no one has faces. They’re all fuzzy, even family members and my own. I remember people by smell, hair, clothing, all sorts really but I can’t really do faces.

That’s exactly my thoughts too.

Im not so sure that is how it works for me. I remember being in my cot and I’m definitely looking through the bars, not looking at myself looking through bars. It’s a long time ago! But still no transfer across to third person.

Yeah, all my early memories are through my own eyes. I don't see me at all. Not even memories where there are photographs of me.

From slightly over my own shoulder...

I guess all memories are partly imagined, in that your brain is reconstructing something. My brain seems to want to reconstruct things that actually happened but from a slightly different viewpoint. I have no idea why but I'm glad I'm not the only one!

What Uni module is this?

That makes sense.

I've just realised that whenever I look at a photo of myself as a child, I don't see me really. I do 'sense' me in my memories though.

I was also thinking about remembering sounds. I was trying to work out if I had been woken by the cats fighting downstairs at 1am last night or if I had imagined (dreamt) it. So, I am either remembering an actual sound or an imagined one. I'll never know which.

I am exactly the same, everyone I've mentioned it to thinks I'm bonkers. Glad to meet another fuzzy face rememberer.

Smell!!??

Yeah, smell, textures of clothing, gait, all sorts of way to get around not having a memory for faces.

Faces are pretty vague for me too. I can remember people by height/build, dress sense, hair, personality... But not faces. I can hardly picture my children's faces even if I concentrate really hard.

I'm first person...but I'm doing emdr therapy and some of the memories have shifted to third person as I gain some emotional distance from them!