Imagine remembering every single moment of your life in vivid detail – from the feeling of being wrapped in your baby blanket to what you ate for breakfast three years ago.
For Rebecca Sharrock, this isn’t a superpower from a sci-fi movie – it’s her daily reality, and it’s not always the gift you might think it is.
In 2013, Rebecca received a diagnosis that would explain something she’d experienced her entire life: Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM), also known as Hyperthymesia.
As of 2019, she was the only Australian known to have this incredibly rare condition, which gives her the ability to remember nearly every moment of her life with exceptional clarity.
Baby Memories That Never Fade
While most of us can barely remember what we did last weekend, Rebecca’s earliest memories stretch back to her infancy.
“When I was about a week old I remember being in this pink cotton blanket,” she shared with BBC News in 2017.
Even more remarkably, she could always distinguish when her mother was holding her: “I’d always know when it was Mum holding me, for some reason. I just instinctively always knew and she was my favourite person.”
When Normal Isn’t Normal
Growing up, Rebecca assumed everyone’s memory worked like hers. It wasn’t until January 23, 2011 (a date she remembers precisely, of course), when she watched a news segment about people with similar abilities, that she realized she was different.
“When those people were going through their recollections, the reporters were saying ‘It’s amazing, incredible.’ I said to my parents, ‘Why are they calling this amazing, isn’t it normal?'”
The Dark Side of Never Forgetting
While having a perfect memory might sound like a dream come true, Rebecca reveals it often feels more like a burden.
One of the most challenging aspects? When she recalls a memory, she doesn’t just remember what happened – she re-experiences all the emotions as if they’re happening right now.
“If I’m remembering an incident that happened when I was three, my emotional response to the situation is like a three-year-old, even though my mind and conscience are like an adult,” she explains.
This means that every painful memory, every childhood fear, and every moment of distress can be relived with the same intensity as when it first occurred.
The Misunderstood Reality
Perhaps most frustrating for Rebecca is how others perceive her condition. “Sometimes people will say that I’m just deliberately not letting go, and I’m just like dwelling on the negatives in my life,” she told The Guardian in 2022.
The reality is far more complex – it’s not about choosing to hold onto memories, but being unable to dim their vivid clarity.
Being a “medical exception,” as Rebecca puts it, comes with its own set of challenges. “It’s awful to be a medical exception because very few people understand what you’re going through and there just aren’t many treatments designed for it,” she shares.
For her, this extraordinary ability to remember isn’t extraordinary at all – “Remembering this way just seems so normal to me.”
Living with HSAM challenges our assumptions about what it means to have a perfect memory.
While many might envy Rebecca’s ability to recall every detail of her life, her story reminds us that sometimes the gift of forgetting can be just as valuable as the ability to remember.
Editor’s Note: This article was sourced from multiple interviews and reports, including BBC News (2017), The Guardian (2022), and 60 Minutes Australia (2019). Medical information about HSAM was referenced from MedicalNewsToday.