Source : Perth Now news
A woman claims to have a “superpower” memory because she “can’t forget anything”.
Yasmin Omar, a teacher based in London, knows the birthdays of all the students she has taught, can recall the weather and exactly what she did on a particular day over a decade ago, and claims to have helped police solve crimes.
And Yasmin – who has been aware of her remarkable memory from a young age – suspects she has hyperthymesia, an uncommon condition where people can remember a big amount of their life in extraordinary detail – though she is still waiting for confirmation.
She is quoted by MyLondon as saying: “I can’t forget anything. Every day, I wake up and look at the date on my phone, and automatically, I will just think about what I was doing on the same day five years ago, or 10 years ago.
“Or I’ll think, ‘It’s so and so’s birthday, from Year 7.’ There was a time in childhood when it made me feel like a weirdo, but now I see it as a superpower.
“I’ve been able to help the police before with solving crimes. People always say I should be in MI5 or a detective.”
During dark times, the super brain power can bring happiness for Yasmin – whose students jokingly think she is “artificial intelligence (AI)” or a “witch”.
She explained: “It helps to keep my mood stable as well, as if I’m feeling sad, I will just remember in great detail things that have happened in the past.”
However, in 2021, Yasmin – who got an A* in GCSE history because she could retain key dates – developed persistent nausea because she kept reliving traumatic events in her head.
She now has to stop herself from reading past diary entries to manage distressing flashbacks.
Yasmin continued: “There are downsides, though. I remember negative experiences in great detail, which can give me physical symptoms.
“A few years ago, I had chronic nausea, which doctors said was due to me reliving traumatic experiences in my head.”
