Kevin Jarrell

Thank you for this very helpful article! And I appreciate the comments everyone has left. It is all so relatable to me. I cannot remember any of my birthdays, vacations, or graduations (or those of other people in my life). But if there was a picture taken of me at an event, that's how I know I was there. If I was smiling in the picture, I conclude that I must have either been happy or was pretending to be happy - I never know what my emotions actually were at the time of the picture.  Vulnerability alert: To be honest, SDAM has been the primary source of my depression due to its disruption of a coherent/consistent sense of self and its effect on my friendships. And then there is the fact that I remember nothing of the plots and characters of books and movies that I know I love. I hope all of you are finding ways to cope with anything about SDAM that may be affecting you negatively. Sometimes I am helped by simply stopping the attempt to remember my past and instead focusing on a subject that I enjoy, like biology or art, and in this I find a measure of relief. I think it's great to invest in the things you are passionate about when you are struggling with a sense of disconnection between your current and past self. However, this is just my own approach that *sometimes* works for me. I'd be glad to hear any suggestions from others as to how you find meaning in your life with SDAM! (To be fair, I am sure not everyone with SDAM has this difficulty) Best, Kevin