Remember every day in all its details: who said what and what he was wearing, what the weather was like and what music played; what happened in the family, in the city or in the whole world. How do those who have a phenomenal autobiographical memory live?
Gift or torment?
Who among us would not want to improve our memory, who would not wish their child to develop superpowers for memorization? But for many of those who “remember everything”, their strange gift causes considerable inconvenience: memories constantly emerge so vividly and in detail, as if it were all happening right now. And it’s not just about the good times. “All the pain experienced, resentment is not erased from memory and continues to bring suffering,” says neuropsychologist from the University of California at Irvine (USA) James McGaugh. He studied 30 men and women with phenomenal memory and found that every day and hour of their lives is forever engraved in memory without any effort *. They just don’t know how to forget.
emotional memory.
One of the possible explanations for this phenomenon is the connection between memory and emotions. We remember events better if they are accompanied by vivid experiences. It is the moments of intense fright, grief or delight that for many years remain unusually alive, detailed shots, as if in slow motion, and with them – sounds, smells, tactile sensations. James McGaugh suggests that perhaps the main difference between those with supermemory is that their brain constantly maintains a very high level of nervous excitement, and supermemorization is only a side effect of hypersensitivity and excitability.
Obsession with memory.
The neuropsychologist noticed that those who “remember everything” and those who suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder, the same areas of the brain are more active. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is manifested in the fact that a person tries to get rid of disturbing thoughts with the help of repetitive actions, rituals. The constant recall of the events of your life in all details resembles obsessive actions. People who remember everything are more prone to depression (of course – to constantly scroll through all the sad episodes of their lives in their heads!); in addition, many methods of psychotherapy do not benefit them – the more they understand their past, the more they fixate on the bad.
But there are also examples of harmonious “relationships” of a person with his super-memory. For example, American actress Marilu Henner (Marilu Henner) willingly tells how memory helps her in her work: it doesn’t cost her anything to cry or laugh when the script requires it – just remember a sad or funny episode from her own life. “In addition, as a child, I decided: since I still remember any day, good or bad, then I’d better try to fill my every day with something bright and joyful!”
* Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 2012, vol. 98, № 1.