Superior Autobiographical Memory Australia

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Superior Autobiographical Memory Australia

My name is Rebecca (Sharrock) and I found out five years ago why my mind is fixated so much in my past. It's due to me having HSAM.

Superior Autobiographical Memory (also known as HSAM) is a condition where a person is unable to forget anything which they have personally experienced. They can also remember back very early, which in my case is from when I was one week old. For a person to date a memory though, it would have occurred when they had knowledge of dates. In a lot of ways it isn't good to have this disorder because t

he negative memories stick too, as well as the anxiety that come with them. I first heard about Superior Autobiographical Memory back in 2011, and I've been a participant in the University of California, Irvine's study since May of 2013. This was after they had given me a fair few tests and were positive that I have the condition in which they are studying. There are currently around 50 participants in this study, including three international participants (me in Australia, someone in the UK and someone in India). Our tests are mainly done via Skype because there are no costs, regardless of the distance (as long as it's computer to computer). In July of 2014 I travelled over to the University of California to have an MRI done. Mum and I had an amazing trip, and the researchers were very warm and friendly.

21/05/2021

QLD woman Rebecca Sharrock shares her incredible story of her condition highly superior autobiographical memory (H-SAM) that leads her to remember everything about her life including little details of her day, what happened on which day and even learning how to walk as a baby! ....

06/02/2021

A friend shared this article with me today. It was great to read and I’m very pleased that like myself Alyssa is on the autism spectrum❤️

There are only about 100 people in the world who can recall almost everything about their life.

24/01/2021

On January the 23rd, 2011 I heard of HSAM for the very first time and began the testing process with neuropsychologists at UCI prior to being diagnosed in 2013. That Sunday morning (even though yesterday was Saturday) was one of my most life changing experiences. It changed my whole psychological understanding of myself, in regards to why I emotionally cling on to insignificant past events

13/01/2021

I find that I relive past experiences from scents (from any of the 5 senses) as well as when days of the week match a previous date. This evening my mind went back to what I was doing on Wednesday 13/1/2010 when my dad came home with dinnertime news of the Haitian Earthquake.

11/01/2021

Please read this article by my friend Sarah Janes where I discuss how my dreams are affected by HSAM as well as Synaesthesia. This evening (for me in Brisbane) I will be talking about this on Facebook live with Sarah and Anthony Peake on their show🥰

Interview with Rebecca Sharrock

15/11/2020

For so many years we had family celebrations after seeing each new Harry Potter film and birthdays at one of Australia’s most successful restaurants (which even traveled overseas). Today I relived countless past experiences and emotions while having a final meal at Sizzler before it closed permanently😔❤️

13/10/2020

This October/November I was due to visit California again for Halloween at Harry Potter at Universal and Disneyland (in addition to a few of the other places I go to whilst in Southern California). Obviously 2020 holiday memories will not happen in California at this time. However this year has taught me that the small humble town I live in offers many things that give me equally happy memories. My tickets have been purchased for a Fright Night at Dreamworld (where I get to spend time with Dreamworks characters, including my favourite Gingy) and on Halloween itself I’ll be attending this awesome Harry Potter themed event in the local city😀😀
https://www.cluedupp.com/products/witchcraft-wizardry-brisbane?fbclid=IwAR0IivaVIszOidcJILLIgGoXk50dw7HiS5q1ArstsOwz2uMZe9xczYfnwE8

Think you have what it takes to solve a mystery? Grab your wands and don your cloaks as you hit the streets of Brisbane on Saturday the 31st of October 2020.This spell-binding outdoor adventure game will take your team on a mysterious and magical journey across town. Work with your team-mates to cra...

10/09/2020

There’s one very important thing that nature does completely on it’s own, without the use of artificial calendars and technology that is. My plants always know when it’s Spring because they burst into bloom again after being bare over Winter (including my lavender and jasmine here)💚

02/07/2020

As a child in the 90s my first ever Nintendo game was Pokémon Yellow, and I literally played it until the disc was unplayable (I really did love the game that much)!😂 Now that same game has been released again with 2018 graphics. As I’m playing Let’s Go Pikachu I haven’t been stuck so far because of how many times I played it when I was 8, 9 and 10🕹

01/06/2020

Today when I crossed off my calendar I got another flashback which is in truth just useless clutter. It was June the 1st, 1997 (I was 7 years old) and was a Sunday after a school week. I was reading a maths book on my bed and it was much colder than it was today (which feels more like Spring). The seasons were something I had just learned at school and I told mum what date it was and said “Happy Winter”. There are so many recollections like these that are so strange to continue being at the front of my mind🤷‍♀️

29/05/2020

Before I was prescribed with Anafranil I was terrified to wake up in the middle of the night. As a child I would do anything to prevent myself from falling back into REM sleep, including holding my eyelids open and gently bouncing on my bed.
Thanks to medication I no longer experience this. However at times when I can’t take Anafranil (such as when the pharmacist is out of stock) I again have Sleep Paralysis every time I come in and out of REM Sleep:
https://specialkids.company/blogs/rebeccas-blogs/sleep-paralysis-disorder-symptoms-and-treatments

What are the signs of Sleep Paralysis Disorder and are there any treatments

13/05/2020

Two more pictures of my life memories for the book I’m writing! One is from me helping mum in the kitchen and the other is from the Christmas when I was three. Both of these pictures are from when I was a toddler:

04/05/2020

For the past week I’ve been having strong flashbacks from the year 2007. I’ve made a guess that it must be because my current feelings from my work are much like that year of secondary school. Anyhow, my mind is frequently going over my school timetable and I’m thinking of all of my classmates, as we were as teens. My dreams are also about events of my life at that time. Reminding myself of the passage of 13 years is strange:

28/04/2020

In the previous month’s blog I discussed the current coronavirus situation, and how there’s much that is familiar to me about it, in terms of my Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Being fearful of my life getting threatened by exposing myself to public germs and diseases is something I’ve experien...

20/04/2020

As a school kid I was a geography nerd and I would so have liked David Attenborough as my teacher for a term😀 It’s a shame that the same technology didn’t exist around the time of the swine flu lockdowns😂
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/20/entertainment/sir-david-attenborough-teaching-geography-pandemic-intl-scli-gbr/index.html

David Attenborough is adding "geography teacher" to his résumé, stepping up to offer his unrivaled knowledge to British school children during the coronavirus lockdown.

15/04/2020

Today I experienced another HSAM moment I wish to share. My family and I got our flu vaccinations today and needles are rather normal for me now. After having va**um injections (which hurt a lot), any other vaccine or blood test is virtually senseless. Yet this morning I woke up nervous, and it had nothing to do with the needle I got today. Instead the feelings of nervousness came from me reliving (not merely remembering) all of my childhood vaccines. It’s complicated to say that I had nerves without being worried. Apparently this must be possible🤔

09/04/2020

It has now been 7 years since I began doing regular memory research tests with the University of California. I initially spoke to them in 2011, though in 2013 I began doing multiple tests each month. April the 9th, 2013 was a Tuesday and this year the date is still a T-day! I spoke with the lab and conducted the test in the early hours of the morning on that day (Brisbane time) over Skype. At this moment we can say that I was living life almost a decade ahead of that time😂

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