Face-blindness is leaving people feeling lonely and guilty, a Dunedin study reveals.
Former University of Otago student Anna Barham has finished her thesis on face-blindness, a cognitive disorder where people fail to instantly recognise someone they know.
The experiences of two face-blind Dunedin residents were studied and revealed feelings of being different from others, lonely and guilty, Ms Barham said.
"They feel like people are judging them unfairly.''
People often mistook people with face-blindness as being stupid and lazy, Ms Barham said.
Consequently, people with the condition created strategies to live with the disorder, he said.
Otago Girls' High School teacher Joe Hunter, a study participant, said face-blindness had her living "in a constant state of confusion'' since birth.
The condition was so severe she had failed to recognise her brother.
Family were forgiving but many mistook the behaviour as rudeness.
"It's frustrating and embarrassing,'' Ms Hunter said.
Recognising her pupils was difficult because many were blonde with blue eyes and wore blue uniforms.
To make recognition easier, she made pupils wear name tags and made them sit in the same place in class.
If a pupil changed their appearance, such as a new haircut or glasses, then recognition was near impossible.
Otago Polytechnic lecturer Anni Watkins said she had been face-blind since being concussed in 2000.
Since the injury, voice recognition became critical and following movies became impossible, she said.
Dr Watkin wanted people she failed to recognise to be more forthright and announce their name and how they knew her.
Ms Barham said when researching those with the condition, she always kept her hair down to avoid confusion.
Yesterday, she had her hair up after a swim, so wore a name badge to make it easier for Ms Hunter and Dr Watkins.
Ms Barham said people who believed they were face-blind could complete an online test, such as those at www.faceblind.org or testmybrain.org.
