Hypermnesia, also known as highly superior autobiographical memory syndrome, is a rare syndrome, with people who are already born with it, and do not forget almost anything throughout their life, including details such as names, dates, landscapes and faces.To confirm this syndrome, it is necessary to perform tests of cognition and memory, including with several questions from past events.
People with this type of memory can recall past events, and the memories are extremely long-lasting, with sharpness and vividness. What happens is that, people with this rare condition have a greater development of the area of memory in the brain.
The ability to remember events is an important area of cognition, which allows for better reasoning and interaction between people, however the ability to forget old or unimportant facts is also essential for the brain to be able to focus on more important facts, causing less wear.
Main features
Symptoms of hypermnesia are:
- Remember facts since newborn, with plenty of vivacity and accuracy; Have memories in a compulsive and unnecessary way; Easy to remember dates, names, numbers and recreate landscapes or paths, even if seen only once in life.
Thus, people with this syndrome have an increased ability to remember facts from the past or the present, being able to recall perfectly the facts of several years ago and generally spend a lot of time thinking about the past.
In addition, most people with this syndrome are able to cope well with this situation, but some consider it excessively tiring and uncontrollable.
How to confirm
Hypermnesia is a very rare syndrome, and to be diagnosed, a team composed of neurologist and psychologist performs tests of reasoning and memory, including questionnaires that assess the recall of personal or public events that occurred in the last 20 years, such as elections, competitions or accidents, for example.
It may also be necessary to observe the symptoms and perform cognitive tests, such as the neuropsychological test, which analyzes all types of memory, including the autobiographical one.
In addition, there are reports of hypermnesia in people experiencing an outbreak of psychosis, but it is a temporary change, not permanent as in the syndrome, and should be treated by the psychiatrist.
Treatment
The person with hypermnesia must learn to deal with excess memories, which can cause a lot of anxiety and difficulty adapting. Thus, it is advisable to follow up with a psychologist, so that their skills are developed and oriented, so that they are well adapted to the person's daily life.
It is also recommended that these people do not expose themselves to very traumatic situations, so that they are not likely to relive these situations at all times.
