Prosopagnosia: the inability to recognize faces. Unbelievable? No, not that. Impractical? Yes, certainly. There are people who have little or no ability to recognize faces. Who introduce themselves again and again. This creates uncomfortable moments in our society. This is also not always understood. Sometimes it also provides some hilarious moments.
Can’t recognize faces
If you are young and in primary school, you will experience little inconvenience from it. The environment is not yet as judgmental as the environment later in life. Young children with a visible physical disability often do not realize that they are different from their peers and classmates. That’s a good thing. They really belong there.
Invisible disability
This will slowly change at a later stage. The realization that one is not standard (which is a nasty word) becomes more alive. How difficult will it be if you have a disability that is not visible. Then it is difficult to explain to those around you that you are not like others, and that some matters and situations are more difficult than they are for others.
Prosopagnosia
Prosopagnosia is such an invisible condition that can be an obstacle in social life. Not recognizing faces. They can be commonly known faces (movie stars, politicians) or, worse, faces of acquaintances (acquaintances, friends and sometimes even family).
Incomprehension
Prosopagnosia can lead to painful situations. The environment, which is used to being able to greet that person the next time after meeting a new person, i.e. to recognize it (whether the name is also remembered, that is a completely different matter, the fact that this is not possible in one go very common), take not being recognized as an insult. Those who do not recognize are seen as conceited or arrogant, because they simply do not greet and pass by.
Prosopagnosia can even be so strong that after meeting a person several times in a different environment, one imagines oneself again and again.
How does it work?
People who have difficulty recognizing faces need aids. It becomes easier if person A is encountered alone in the gym, dressed in a sports outfit. However, if person A is standing in line at the bakery the next day, person A will not be recognized. Reason: different environment, different clothes. In extreme cases, even one’s own partner, which one encounters during a walk with his black/white dog, cannot be recognized at first, but the black/white dog will lead to recognition, in which the partner will secondarily look at his partner. takes place. Reason: the dog always looks the same: black and white, and of course the partner changes, which would be nice, at least in outfits, resulting in different colors each time.
Social Maneuvers
However, the patient learns to mask this in daily social life. In order not to offend anyone, for example, to be on the safe side, greetings are always given on the street, and every passerby who looks can count on a friendly hello. If the patient is approached, he or she will have a neutral conversation, from which no specific details will emerge. Nothing personal will be asked until the patient can determine from the conversation who he or she is speaking to.