Woman explains what it's like to live with rare medical phenomenon where she can recall every second of her life
You might sometimes lay awake at night thinking about that one thing you said back in a year nine science class, or an embarrassing moment from when you were at freshers.
But luckily, as we get older, we can’t exactly remember every little thing in detail.
Well, most of us can’t anyway, as this woman has explained what it’s like to live with a rare medical phenomenon where she can recall every second of her life.
Marilu Henner is an actor who has appeared in the likes of TV sitcom Taxi and the original stage production of Grease back in the 70s. But the thing she’s often most well-known for is actually her wild recall of her 'whole life'.
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"Some things come up right away and then some other things come up a little more slowly," she explained to 60 Minutes Australia. "But eventually, everything comes up."
The presenter put Henner to the test as she could remember specific moments from specific days.
When the interview was filmed in 2018, she was said to be one of ten people in the world to have been ‘tested and proved to have superior autobiographical memory’.
Basically, she’s almost like a ‘Google search’ because you can give her a day and the year and she’ll remember what happened.
She was tasked with the 'random date of 8 September 1985' and explained the process that happens for her.
"So I know 8 September 1985 was a Sunday. It’s like ’85 all of a sudden kind of lines itself up and it gets completely organised in a timeline way and I see the whole calendar fall into place," Henner said.
While the actor is thrilled to have it, another woman finds it a burden.
Jill Price was the first to be diagnosed with it, as she said she just wanted to 'be screaming at the top of her lungs most of the time'.
As well as remembering random facts, it means the harder times and bad memories are ever present in her mind, driving her 'crazy'.
And another woman, Louise Owen, said she feels 'a bit of a freakshow' and a 'walking party trick' as she describes her memory as ‘a bit like a muscle she likes to exercise’.
"With all of these dates and all of these memories, it’s almost like I’m in charge of about 9,000 rambunctious little children," she added. "They’re all vying for my attention all the time, like ‘pick me, pay attention to me’ but I have to keep everybody under control."
From what the women described, total recall is a bit of a ‘mixed blessing’ as they may be able to recall anything but it also means never letting go of the sad stuff.
Jess Battison