We know that human beings have memory, since they can remember past events. While it is true that we may have some ability to select which situations we remember, we tend to forget moments and/or details over the years.
Do we remember even the smallest detail regarding our last vacation? In some way, the memories we store in memory are global and general ideas about events of importance to us. However, there are people who have the ability to remember every detail of all the situations that have occurred throughout their lives without the need to resort to any effort. Despite everything, this particularity can generate various consequences that need to be known in order to address the issue in question. In this Psychology-Online article, we will talk about Hyperthymesia: what it is, symptoms, causes and treatment.
What is hyperthymesia
The term hyperthymesia refers to a condition that consists of unlimited ability to remember details of each situation experienced throughout life. In this sense, people who have hyperthymesia have a memory superior to the average of the world population, given that details of stored memories are normally omitted.
Symptoms of hyperthymesia
How do I know if I have hyperthymesia? People with this clinical picture present certain symptoms that allow us to identify this clinical picture. Next, we will show you the most important ones:
- Ability to remember details of situations experienced throughout life.
- Obsessive personality traits.
- in only one aspect of the situations.
- Continuous learning of information.
- Anxiety resulting from the difficulty of selecting remembered moments.
- Variations in mood.
It is worth mentioning that the presence of any of these symptoms in isolation does not necessarily represent the presence of hyperthymesia. It is essential that a mental health professional makes the diagnosis to evaluate the clinical conditions of each patient.
Causes of hyperthymesia
Despite the particularities of hyperthymesia, it is important to know the possible origins of this clinical condition to determine how to address it. For this reason, below, we will see what are the most common causes of hyperthymesia:
- Genetic factors: One of the causes of hyperthymesia may be greater development of the frontal lobe and brain. In turn, it is possible that there is a predominance of the neural connections responsible for processing information from the environment linked to the emotions of each person. This would result in greater memory capacity.
- Neurological factors: Although it is not completely proven, there is a possibility that hyperthymesia symptoms arise from the continuous and repetitive use of brain areas related to memory. Consequently, this would produce greater learning from the experiences lived.
Consequences of hyperthymesia
Although hyperthymesia has some interesting peculiarities, it is important to consider that it can have consequences, both positive and negative. In order to provide greater clarity to the matter, we are going to reveal which are the most important:
- Positive consequences: Hyperthymesia allows you to develop more skills, given your great ability to remember details. In turn, this enables a good organizational capacity, since great importance is given to each moment experienced.
- Negative consequences: Since hyperthymesia is not related to the intention to remember details, in many cases, this can give rise to mood variations, since both pleasant situations and traumatic moments can be remembered with a large amount of details. Furthermore, this can have an impact on work and/or academic performance, due to the constant evocation of memories.
Treatment of hyperthymesia
When hyperthymesia disrupts the daily lives of those who suffer from it, it is important to turn to solutions that provide beneficial results. In this sense, below, we will see which are the best treatments for hyperthymesia:
Psychological therapy
Psychological treatments allow hyperthymesia to be treated, since the memory of detailed and precise information is linked to the emotions of each individual. In this sense, psychological therapy allows cope with situations of stress and/or anxiety in a more favorable way. In these situations, you can also resort to the ones we recommend in this article.
In the case of people who suffer from the negative consequences of hyperthymesia, psychological therapy allows approach to emotions and behaviors involved in memories. In this way, it is possible to reduce anxiety and mood swings caused by hyperthymesia.
Psychiatric medication
In cases of hyperthymesia, there are some medications that act on brain chemistry and they favor the appearance of moments in which it is not necessary to assimilate so much information. However, the use of medications should be carried out under the supervision of a mental health professional.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
- Cuevas Remigio, LF (2010). Hypermnesia and reminiscence: Two phenomena of incremental retrieval of information from memory. Suma Psicológica Magazine, 17 (2), 135-150.
- Solís Macías, VM (2008). Divergent roles of absolute and cumulative recall in episodic recall of associated pairs. Neuroscience Archives Magazine, 13 (1), 13-24.
- Zeibig, D. (2013). A superior memory. Mind and Brain Magazine, 62 (1), 58-62.