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What Facial Blindness Is, and Why It Happens

Some people can see a familiar face but not be able to recognize the person. Although this can be a perfectly normal occurrence, sometimes it can also be a sign of a condition called face blindness.

Recent news about Brad Pitt struggling with face blindness has brought more attention to this problem. Many people are sharing their experiences with this issue, and we at 5-Minute Crafts decided to write about it so you can understand it better.

This article is for informational purposes only and can’t replace professional advice. Please consult your doctor if you suffer from the symptoms described in the article.

What face blindness is, and how it works

JEAN-BAPTISTE LACROIX/AFP/East News, Maria Laura Antonelli/AGF/SIPA/East News, Lia Toby / WENN.com/agefotostock/East News

This visual deficiency is called prosopagnosia, and people who suffer from it can have issues recognizing their friends, family, and even themselves.

  • Usually, it’s a result of damage or abnormality in neural systems that control perception and memory. It can happen after a stroke, head trauma, or in relation to a degenerative disease.
  • The vast majority can sometimes have difficulties remembering faces they’ve seen in the past, but prosopagnosia is more serious; people who suffer from it usually can’t recognize people they talk to every day.
  • Prosopagnosics will often rely on other visual and audio information, like hair, clothing, and voice when it comes to recognizing faces.
  • A person with prosopagnosia can experience troubles every day and often can’t imagine the faces of the people they are close to.

Not only celebrities can suffer from this condition.

This teacher would write down the features of her students so she could recognize them.

Some people that sided with Pitt accidentally realized that they had a problem with facial recognition.

Some people advised others to help and remind them who they are.

This Internet user was happy that the public shed some light on this issue.

People started to share more information about this condition.

Many users wanted others to know how life with prosopagnosia can be difficult.

Preview photo credit JEAN-BAPTISTE LACROIX/AFP/East News, Maria Laura Antonelli/AGF/SIPA/East News, Lia Toby / WENN.com/agefotostock/East News
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