I don’t seem to remember much about my own life my childhood memories are very sparse but I thought that was normal but recently I’ve heard colleagues and family members talk about their holidays or experiences they’ve had even from 5+ years ago and realised I don’t really have any memories like that.
Admittedly I live a very boring life I don’t go on holiday and generally spend my days off at home so maybe that’s it but I don’t seem to have many memories at all.
Just wondering how common that sort of thing is?
Comments
Since you shitlords like to delete your posts, here’s an original copy of /u/Throwaway945384’s post (if available):
I don’t seem to remember much about my own life my childhood memories are very sparse but I thought that was normal but recently I’ve heard colleagues and family members talk about their holidays or experiences they’ve had even from 5+ years ago and realised I don’t really have any memories like that.
Admittedly I live a very boring life I don’t go on holiday and generally spend my days off at home so maybe that’s it but I don’t seem to have many memories at all.
Just wondering how common that sort of thing is?
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
Very little. Really traumatic childhood so I remember almost nothing from it.
Do you remember good parts or just regrets? Also, do you have any feelings about the fallability of memory
Same for me only remember a few traumas but I had to do acid to even remember those
When things become routine, your brain doesn’t record them as much.
I’ve had 2 7 year long relationships. One was marked by us both changing jobs often, moving almost every year, trying new hobbies, our social circle changing.
The other, we both had the same jobs almost the entire time and lived in the same apartment, doing the same things.
Years later, the first relationship FEELS so much longer. Objectively I know the dates, they were within months of each other as far as length, but the first one in hindsight feels about 3x as long
amazing question i’ve been thinking about recently. worryingly, next to nothing. my latest memory i can think of (excluding a week or whatever) is new year’s day. i can’t remember anything from this year no matter how hard i try. and obviously the past is the same
I don’t remember much from childhood either. Usually something needs to happen to remind me of a specific memory from childhood or even adulthood if it has been long enough. The only things I always remember are the big things that happened like 9/11.
A lot. I have childhood friends who to this day can’t remember when I retell “that one day when we were 8 and playing in the park and your sister’s friend passed by….”
I’m 51. I remember things from when I was 3.
A lot
Lots of drunk/high memories but somehow I still remember all the details.
Due to trauma I don’t remember most of my life. Sometimes it happens even minutes after. Like if a severely emotional stressful situation happened I forget it after a few minutes. I know logically that something happened cause I’m not feeling well but I can’t recall what happened, what was said or how I reacted.
I’ve thought about this before. In no walk of life do I have a photographic memory but I truly don’t lack for any childhood memories and/or experiences. Obviously what is top of mind will always remain as such but I never struggle to recall any memory and how it unfolded. Maybe that is my brain filling in gaps but who knows. Interestingly I have a SUPER hard time remembering teachers names but I can in general terms recall the entire year in scholastic and social aspects. So to ME it does seem odd to not have a general and “complete” memory of your past. But I’ve heard others say the same as you.
I have the opposite problem. I seem to remember everything and obtain all memories starting from 4 years old. And I’d rather forget. Things are always changing, happening, new things, traumatic etc.
Sometimes I crave that “boring” lifestyle. Sounds peaceful.
My memory’s pretty solid from the age of about 10-11 up to now. I’ve also journaled somewhat regularly since that age, and have a playlist that I’ve continually updated that helps with retention
I started writing a memoir last year. It’s interesting what unlocks and opens up when the dust is disturbed. It takes work though.
All of it. 100%
I remember a lot of moments throughout my entire life.
Here are some of my earliest.
I remember being two years old I’m crying because I didn’t want to have my picture taken.
I remember being about three or four years old and getting driven over by a tractor. Only being saved at the last moment when my dad pushed the tractor backwards and then carried me to the house.
I remember my second day of kindergarten. I don’t remember my first day of kindergarten which is kind of weird.
I remember writing a love note to my first grade teacher, folding it into an airplane, and throwing it at her.
I remember the last day of 5th grade when there was a tornado warning and they had to pack every kid from the school into the underground storm shelter.
not very much
Everything
Most of my early childhood is a complete blank. I remember bits and pieces after my parents separating, around 6. And I remember most of life after that.
I’m sure if I tried or was prompted for something specific I could remember
But it’s not like there’s too much available on-tap without looking for something specific
But I heard that old Pokemon tune played on an ocarina and I was sent all the way back to playing my old GameBoy while the Saturday morning cartoons rolled. Simpler times
I remember every slight done to me as if i jave this big book of grudges and every cringe thing i did in rotation so when i finally make peace with it i remember something new.
Remember a whole bunch of other stuff too like random trivia i learned in 5th grade or whatever. But what people are called and when their birthday is just elude me so when i meet a lot of new people i have to take actual notes
I remember events. So I remember more about eventful times than uneventful ones.
There’s a reason people talk about making memories. They don’t always just happen without someone putting in effort.
What I believe is that we tend to remember moments — good or bad — when they really meant something to us. If it made us feel something strong, we hold on to it. But if life gets routine and there’s nothing new or emotional happening, it’s easy for memories to fade.
There’s an old saying: ‘use it or lose it.’ That’s true for memory too. If you don’t revisit or talk about those memories, they slowly disappear — sometimes after 9 months, a year, or even less:)
My wife is the one with the amazing memory in our relationship, which of course cuts both ways.
I remember quite long, I would actually say I remember exiting from my moms belly but lets say its not possible. So after that I remember war time I was like 2-3 years old, military trucks infront of my house. This is something so strong its inside you and things like that you cant forget.
My memory stretches back to infancy
Just flashes of my childhood and I don’t even remember a lot about my twenties now. 40y old male.
I have memories back to age 4, luke the apartment we lived in and my brother in the wind up baby swing.
I remember a lot of things from age 5 and 6. There was no Kindergarten back then, but I do remember quite a bit about 1st Grade.
i remember a good bit, at 75 years old there is a lot to remember and for the last 6 years we have been full time RVing and moving around a lot. we have spent the night in 39 of the lower 48 states. i am happy to talk about the things i remember if you like to talk.
big bits from age 6+ , usually the things of sentimental, emotional or weird value.
I remember a lot… But I don’t have many happy memories. Came from an abusive household. Grew up terrified of my father. Brother was a bully for most of my youth. Only times I was happy was when I was at my grandmother’s house.
I (41) am like this too. I remember virtually nothing from my childhood. Plus I have never had a friends group let alone ‘life long’ friends so there are rarely any call backs to my 20’s or 30’s so I have very little memory of those decades too. You do feel like you are missing out on an important part of life when you see people in friend’s groups talking about shared experiences or people with life long friends talking about very old memories together or parents with their now adult children recalling important moments from their childhood.
SDAM (Severely Deficient Autobiographical Memory). It refers to a condition where individuals have a lifelong inability to vividly recollect or re-experience personal past events from a first-person perspective. Essentially, they can recall facts about their past, but lack the ability to mentally “relive” those experiences.
Just the shit bits really.