How much of your life do you remember? Like from what age do you have your first memory? And how much of it up to your age now?

Sounds weird I know, But I do have my reason for asking.

I remember things very vividly from as far back as 5.

I remember some events from an early age maybe 8 but It's a bit cloudy in some areas. I have a lot of repressed memories due to traumatic events growing up but I wish I could remember more. I don't think we ever forget It just becomes more difficult to remember. if our brain registers something unpleasant then it can disassociate in some instances. I'm curious why do you ask though?

Sometimes I have flashbacks to a couple of specific situations from when I was two and it feels very real.

The earliest I can remember is when I hit my forehead on a scooter which left a permanent and obvious scar just above my eyebrow. I was 4 years old. That’s about how far back I can remember ~

I can remember having my diaper changed on my grandparents kitchen counter! And I remember riding in the back of a station wagon one night going home. I must have been around 2 is my guess.

I remember going to a funeral and being carried around. Everyone was so sad and I saw the dead lady in her casket wearing a nice navy blue dress and some pearls. The folds of her skin on her neck made it look like she was decapitated. When I told my ma, she said no, that was Aunt Polly and you weren't even born yet. Then, she stopped to think and said, well you were only about 6 months so no way you remember. After I provided a few other details, she was stunned. I think it was because it was such an unusual occurrence it stuck in my head...

I remember my dad making me bait my hook for the first time when I was probably just 4. I also remember that Christmas I got a Big Wheel and I rode that sucker up and down the sidewalk until my legs hurt so bad I couldn't walk. LOL

I describe my memory like watching a glass break and sometimes I can catch a shard
Sometimes the shard is mine sometimes its real or imagined imagery that has been reinforced as real by hearing it told by someone else
I lived in a very violent area and saw way too much way too soon.

I remember my dad shoving me into the water unexpectedly when I was 9 in order to force me to learn how to swim because I was so hesitant to jump myself. His analogy is not something I approve nor would I do the same to my son in the future at any point regardless of how much of a "life-long-lesson" it may be.

Nick Blade (187030201) wrote:I remember my dad shoving me into the water unexpectedly when I was 9 in order to force me to learn how to swim because I was so hesitant to jump myself. His analogy is not something I approve nor would I do the same to my son in the future at any point regardless of how much of a "life-long-lesson" it may be.

Duuuuuuuuuuuude. My dad PAID for me and my brother to get swim lessons. We went all summer and on Labor Day we went camping in the mountains. My dad asked us to show him we could swim in this deep ass pool. We stood on the edge shivering like 2 wounded puppies. He very gently picked us both up, one under each arm, and then methodically walked us to the edge of the pool and calmly jumped in........while I screamed like I was being murdered. LOL

We learned to swim that day. It was that or a shallow grave in those mountains.

I don't remember much of none of my life. It is why I asked. Didn't know if it were same for others or unique to me. I have very random memories, and those are usually bad ones. I don't remember any toddler yrs, maybe 2 random memories from the age I would had been while in third grade. Don't remember much of teen yrs. And NO I don't do drugs. I may have maybe 4/5 from that time. And other than the fact I know I was married 32 yrs and have horrid memories of him, I don't remember much of my adult life either. Basically I am living in the moment. Which is so weird to me.

I know s*** happened, the things you don't want to remember, but I don't understand how your whole existence can be wiped out.

Thanx guys for your replies.

We simply don't have the data banks to remember our lives in the detail we'd like to think we could. I've learned to take great pictures of things and they are a big help. I remember going to the Grand Canyon, but if I didn't have my pics it would be hard to imagine the details. The days we went were like postcards, because they looked so fake. My memory just doesn't recall all of the detail I experienced - people, food, settings, etc. PS - This is why I love a good "disaster" during a trip. We tend to recall a great difficulty with fondness and detail after time passes.

Before the inventions of the last 100 years - camera, radio, tv, computer, cell phone, digital media, internet, etc - we basically had books, journals, and story telling to pass on our memories. We like to go make them, yet we struggle to recall them 5 years later. We are creatures of the moment and we always have been. One of my most vivid memories as a boy was a camping trip. It was summer in the mountains and my dad let me fall asleep in a hammock by the campfire. I was in a sleeping bag and it was late night/early morning. The sky was still black and the Milky Way had rotated right over my view. The sky was alive, my mind was rested, and I can recall every detail of that moment. The scent of pine, the dampness in the air from the morning dew, the breeze on my right cheek, the warmth of the flannel bag liner, the embers glowing in the fire, the gentle swaying of the hammock, the calm, the vastness of our galaxy, the shooting stars, the inky green of the trees around me, my hair in my eyes, the canvas of our tent, the blue cooler, the lantern on the table, playing cards next to it............every single detail in my mind like it happened last night.

I should have remembered my wedding day like that. I should have remembered my trip to Rome last year like that. I wish I could. It is why I no longer complain when someone wants a pic or a vid of a moment. The moment and often those in them, are always gone way too fast.

Now I want a beer and to hug my parents.

Jiggles (126579776) wrote:We simply don't have the data banks to remember our lives in the detail we'd like to think we could. I've learned to take great pictures of things and they are a big help. I remember going to the Grand Canyon, but if I didn't have my pics it would be hard to imagine the details. The days we went were like postcards, because they looked so fake. My memory just doesn't recall all of the detail I experienced - people, food, settings, etc. PS - This is why I love a good "disaster" during a trip. We tend to recall a great difficulty with fondness and detail after time passes.

Before the inventions of the last 100 years - camera, radio, tv, computer, cell phone, digital media, internet, etc - we basically had books, journals, and story telling to pass on our memories. We like to go make them, yet we struggle to recall them 5 years later. We are creatures of the moment and we always have been. One of my most vivid memories as a boy was a camping trip. It was summer in the mountains and my dad let me fall asleep in a hammock by the campfire. I was in a sleeping bag and it was late night/early morning. The sky was still black and the Milky Way had rotated right over my view. The sky was alive, my mind was rested, and I can recall every detail of that moment. The scent of pine, the dampness in the air from the morning dew, the breeze on my right cheek, the warmth of the flannel bag liner, the embers glowing in the fire, the gentle swaying of the hammock, the calm, the vastness of our galaxy, the shooting stars, the inky green of the trees around me, my hair in my eyes, the canvas of our tent, the blue cooler, the lantern on the table, playing cards next to it............every single detail in my mind like it happened last night.

I should have remembered my wedding day like that. I should have remembered my trip to Rome last year like that. I wish I could. It is why I no longer complain when someone wants a pic or a vid of a moment. The moment and often those in them, are always gone way too fast.

Now I want a beer and to hug my parents.

You've should had been a writer with the way you describe things/moments.

Simply seeking understanding as to the why of things. I just don't understand. I don't think my Drs. Knows what to make of me either.

BadMoon (153955457) wrote:Simply seeking understanding as to the why of things. I just don't understand. I don't think my Drs. Knows what to make of me either.

A very smart man told me that we barely understand the "what" of most things, and that the "why" of them is rarely evident to any of us. Your memory is most likely as reliable as anyone's.

I know a woman who journals each day. She doesn't write a novel. She captures maybe 5-10 highlights from her day in very short sentences. It reads something like this and it is fascinating -

Had crisp bacon while Mike (her husband) complained about his boss. My blue Audi was extra shiny in the sun today. Buzzer (her cat) decided to throw up something disgusting on the back porch. I had a chill when I stepped in the cold shower too quickly. I still hate lima beans.

You should start a journal about your days if memory lapse bothers you. Reading your own thoughts can be cathartic.

And I am writing a first person fiction novel.

BadMoon (153955457) wrote:Simply seeking understanding as to the why of things. I just don't understand. I don't think my Drs. Knows what to make of me either.

Have you tried hypnosis to access memories? We all have cloudy or selective memories of the past, but it is all stored in our subconscious. You can learn to do self-hypnosis, if you don't know a good hypnotherapist that you feel you can trust. There are good recordings you can get to help you.

My memories are sketchy at times and then very vivid at others. Since my life has had many changes and complete turnarounds in it, it often seems like I've lived several different lives.

Doodler (10729465) wrote:

BadMoon (153955457) wrote:Simply seeking understanding as to the why of things. I just don't understand. I don't think my Drs. Knows what to make of me either.

Have you tried hypnosis to access memories? We all have cloudy or selective memories of the past, but it is all stored in our subconscious. You can learn to do self-hypnosis, if you don't know a good hypnotherapist that you feel you can trust. There are good recordings you can get to help you.

My memories are sketchy at times and then very vivid at others. Since my life has had many changes and complete turnarounds in it, it often seems like I've lived several different lives.

My memories, the ones i do have are the ones I wish I did not have. To remember the bad parts of my life I don't need help with. To give someone access to those, I simply can not. Idk, I feel weirdly wired. To remember something, it had to make a hard impression on me, if that makes sense.The what I assume are gentle, carefree moments, those I don't have.