Odd_Walrus2594

Wow, I never thought about the dream aspect. As far as I remember my dreams, yes, I recognize everybody in them. That's really interesting, will have to think on it. Thanks for the Q!

I got married 20 years ago, and at that time, still didn't understand that I had prosopagnosia. I knew people were often mad at me for not recognizing them on the street. And that some strangers had been weirded out, when I'd assumed they were friends. But I chalked all that up to being stupid, somehow.

So, no, I didn't disclose on dates, because I didn't know. But here's what DID happen on a date:

We had seen each other a couple of times, but I wasn't really used to his voice or clothes, or anything, yet. And again, I didn't know about prosopagnosia. So there weren't many guard rails in place.

I showed up to the guy's house. The plan was for him to cook dinner, and we'd watch a movie. However he'd remembered my comment, at our last meeting, that I didn't really like facial hair, so he'd shaved off his beard. And I rely on outlines (such as a sharp chin vs. a beard) to recognize people. In short: he seemed like a total stranger.

So when he answered the door, I asked, "is Chris here?" And he thought it was a joke. He played along for about 10 minutes. "Nope, he's gone out for a few minutes, make yourself comfortable." When he finally confessed I didn't know whether to laugh or punch him, lol.

This past May was our 20th anniversary. We still tell that story.

Re: getting fired, I explained it a bit in my last response, a second ago. But will expand.

I was a student midwife, and did a one-hour "introductory appointment" with a new client. Got the medical history, took blood, all that, and also spent lots of time talking about the person's very private experiences with abuse, fear of labour & delivery, really intense stuff. Then said goodbye, wrote a few notes, and went to the waiting room ...

where this person had put on a differently-coloured jacket, tied up their hair into a ponytail, was standing rather than sitting ... basically, had changed almost all the cues I use, to recognize a person. So I thought they were a different client. And I approached them and invited them into the next appointment.

Cue some SERIOUS drama. Not quite screaming, but close. As a student, I couldn't be "fired" from the practice, but I was "fired" by that client, who demanded a new primary caregiver, or they'd never come back.

Bonus answer: while I lost only one client, that time, I have lost at least two job opportunities that I know of, because I didn't recognize the interviewers, either before or after the interview. Let's call all of that, together, um ... employment barriers.

Absolutely, and I would have told her that, if I had known at the time.

I was in my late 20s at the time of that incident, and realized I had prosopagnosia in my mid-30s. So, 7 or 8 years later.

Can you imagine the relief, after 7 or 8 years of feeling that I'd really insulted that person (along with all of the OTHER people who were angry or sad over the years), to realize that it wasn't my fault?

Took a long time, even to accept that. Guilt is a hard burden to shake.

Hilarious. Yep, crouching down would have the same effect on me. How cool is that, that you can become invisible, so easily? :)