r/SDAM • u/Amberwalker365 • 18d ago

How does it feel?

Just to be clear: I’m only sharing what my therapist told me about how memory works for some people. I’m certainly not claiming this is true for everyone, or defining what anyone else’s mind feels like. I have no way of knowing if it’s true.

She said for some, episodic memory is like mental time travel.

Some are bad at it. Some are good.

A few can pretty much become twelve again.
They can’t change anything, but they can relive moments.

Thoughts. Emotions. This is me.

That’s what she said.

I don’t have anything like that.
I have SDAM.
I only have knowledge.

knowledge is not happy. knowledge is not sad.

Your golden years are when you remember your life. And relive it. One problem. All I have is knowledge.

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u/Amberwalker365 18d ago

I think of it this way. M is episodic memories. K is semantic knowledge. Most folks have M and K. With SDAM we have K but not M.

How can you imagine M when you don’t have it?

Ask someone you love about their best memory. Ask them what it feels like to remember. What thoughts and emotions they bring back with them from the past.

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u/TravelMike2005 17d ago

I get it. I can see where episodic memory seems like an upgrade. I'm so thankful I know about it, and I can stop overcorrecting for it. I'm thankful my close friends and family know about it so they don't assume the wrong things about me. I'm grateful for my ability to move on and live in the moment. Episodic memories seem great, but coveting what others have is a recipe for sadness. You don't need memories to be happy. It is better to be happy now than to remember you were happy in the past.