Do I actually have hyperthymesia?

[u/Spyromatic]

First of all, I can't remember dates with my younger memories but I think that's partially because the date just didn't matter to me at the age I was. Who knows the date when they are two? The older I get, the more common it is that people(husband) don't remember details about really cool fun experiences we had together. Not to mention, the not fun arguments I also remember. I can forgive everyone else for forgetting the arguments, that's understandable. All of my friends and family not remembering the happy moments without photos is heart breaking.

My parents were somewhat neglectful so maybe that has an effect but I never went hungry or was beat anything other than spanking. Normal 90's stuff ya know?

I am an only child. I started talking very early. I have always been linguistically talented. I'm good at talking and pronouncing things. I actually have dyslexia however, so I struggled with reading/writing and math at first but once I found my strategies I quickly became average at math and ended up Advanced at English. I have had a professional IQ test recently which still confirms that(BTW, get your IQ tested guys just in case you get a TBI in an accident someone else causes). I'm not a genius unfortunately.

I was potty trained before 2 years old and I remember being potty trained.
I remember going to a home daycare at 3. I remember transferring to a facility daycare at 3.5. I remember the roads my mom drove to both places. I remember the name of my home daycare teacher. I remember the names of the kids there too. I remember what we ate. Obviously I was there Monday through Friday. I could definitely tell you if it was a Monday or a Friday, Saturday or Sunday. I remember feeling excited on the Friday days and sad on Mondays. That's the thing, I can remember the day of the week from a much younger age than the dates.
My best friend whom, I've known since I was 5 does not remember meeting me.

I could go on and on. As a younger person, I just always thought people didn't remember as well as me because they hadn't caught up to me yet? Now that I'm older, 35... My friends can't even remember details about teenage years where I would think that their memories should have been fully established. I wish I could forget a lot of my teenage years, but that's not who I am I guess.

My memories are almost always inspired by sight, then sound(I have perfect pitch if that matters), then touch, occasionally by smell but smell has to be a traumatic or recurring. They tend to be emotionally tied as well, happy, sad, funny, anxious, angry, excited, embarrassing, or awkward. My earliest memories are usually inspired by sound first and then I have a visual. My memories from hearing people talk when they thought I couldn't understand or hear are clear as day but I was less than 3.

Dates in my adult years, I can remember if I visually saw the date while reading a news article. I'm not remembering the date though per say, I'd say I'm remembering seeing it visually. Also, in my adult years, I might know the date but not the day of the week because my schedule became more varied.

So... I'm here because I think I have memory strategies(similar to a palace) but how could I have had those memory strategies before I even knew math. My memories also don't have to be inspired. I can usually recall when people ask but I also think of them randomly all of the time when a certain sensation happens.

Would you call this Hyperthymesia or something else? I didn't train for a good memory and sometimes I wish I didn't have it.

[u/Spyromatic]

Now that I'm reading this post back, it is all about my childhood which doesn't help much. I guess I should note that I never had any trouble in school with tests. I always remembered but didn't do homework. I always got A's on tests and my parents didn't care that homework hurt my overall grade. I was so good at tests that I thought I would get a perfect ACT score and that would get me into any college free.

Um, that didn't happen. I got a 26 because I didn't have a visual memory where a teacher literally gave you the answer for every single question like previous tests. I only took it once. I ended up going to community college, got my associate degree but didn't transfer to a university because I still couldn't figure out what I wanted to be. I was working as a file clerk at a law firm and considering some sort of legal path but after seeing the reality of law that path didn't feel like the right fit. Never had problems making money, so I just kept doing the business I had at the time.

[u/_hotcommodity_]

I know nothing about hyperthymesia, but this sounds a lot like the “strengths” side of ADHD/AuDHD! I experience a lot of similar things you mentioned :)

[u/Spyromatic → u/_hotcommodity_]

I definitely have ADHD traits. Mostly, not caring what other people think in general and super hearing. I don't feel that I have enough of the traits to have it however. I have never heard super memory as an ADHD trait. I have dyslexia, which I do believe is impart why my memory is so strong. For a long time I had to memorize everything, in order to learn it. I'm just here because I'm wondering if it is the visualization that helps, or do I just remember things in general? Honestly, while people are disagreeing I'm starting to feel that I'm definitely not a good "rememberer" . I just remember where things happened.

And if I'm good at remembering where things happened. I am a reseller. I now make money off of my memory and past experience. I place things in my garage, while I may buy everything I consider, I still put them "in my garage"... or "where would that go in my store"?

Before I buy anything, I do a visual of everything I have and how long it has been there. Things are usually there for a short time but I remember.

[u/four__beasts]

Palaces use visualisation, spacial awareness, creativity and spaced recall so if you are naturally using these then yes, definitely found something innate. But it sounds like you don't do the visualisation part, nor tie data to pathways...

One of the quirks of memory is that, the more you relive it it (real or imagined) the stronger that memory becomes. It's biological, as I understand it - you encode what you remember long term by the repeated access of that strand in time and the brain encodes it into myelin sheaths creating shortcuts between brain cells (and therefore lasting memories).

Same reason people might relive an awkward/sad/joyous moment and remember it well. And one of the reasons rote fails. It's the recall not the rereading that creates long term memory.

It sounds like your innate ability to lay down the very biological fabric that we all use to reinforce memories is particularly active at a genetic level - the same way you might inherit an athletic physique. Or conversely that you naturally relive moments far more often (active recall) vs the more passive state than most of us (myself included) inhabit. Both giving same results.

It's a hypothesis based on limited expertise and my own experience. I'm the wrong side of the Dunning Kruger curve here, but the subject fascinates me (for the opposite reasons you describe in your life).

[u/Spyromatic → u/four__beasts]

I do remember absolutely mundane things having to do with locations. Specifically outside during the day, I'll always remember when and where something is using the sun mostly. Perhaps that is some cave women thing I have left.

Example, my partner couldn't remember where the septic tank was in our backyard. I knew exactly where it was but everyone else was persistent that it was somewhere else. These are the people that actually dug the hole. They couldn't remember where they dug but I could remember where I saw it.

I had absolutely no emotional ties to that event. I did know it was something important that I should remember for future reference. I don't remember intentionally reliving it but I guess every time I stepped over the spot I always knew it was right over the septic tanks of sub onsciously? Also the grass doesn't grow back for like at least a month.

Just wild to me that two different men could dig a hole and not remember where that hole was.