what causes someone to never remember directions to places and?

[hope4us]

I can NEVER remember how to get ANYWHERE. even if its like 5 miles away and theres only 4 turns to take. I'd have to dive it every day for a week before i'd remember how to get there. ive lived in the same area for about 5 months, and sometimes if im only 3 miles from my house, i dont know how to get back to my house. it really scares me sometimes. what could be causing this?

 

[Ronin]

You're new to the area. :sneaky:

Half of a year is still very fresh to know everything.

 

[hope4us]

You're new to the area. :sneaky:

Half of a year is still very fresh to know everything.

no ive lived in this area for over a year now, ive only lived in this house for half of a year, but still not knowing where im at when im only 3 miles from my house kinda scares me a bit.

 

[Ronin]

So you just moved, yes?

Which means the direction from and to everywhere still changed, even if you're roughly familiar with the area itself. So you might get it wrong a few times. That's ok.

That's what GPS, and arguing with GPS, is for. Can't know everything at all times.

 

[Teasel]

I've been like it my whole life, I use sat nav all the time :)

 

[joeylittle]

I can NEVER remember how to get ANYWHERE. even if its like 5 miles away and theres only 4 turns to take...what could be causing this?

Difficulty concentrating is a common mental health complaint. You're not in good mental health right now. So, there's that.

If you've always had difficulty remembering directions? Probably something to do with your learning style...compensate by using any kind of navigation aid.

sometimes if im only 3 miles from my house, i dont know how to get back to my house. it really scares me sometimes

I'd recommend addressing this, so you don't feel unnecessary fear.

 

[Sideways]

I'm pretty good at remembering directions. Probably in part because I delivered pizzas for a few years back before GPS was everywhere.

People comment on it. Fairly routinely, if I'm driving someone pretty much anywhere, they ask how I remember where I'm going. I often take back routes, or change routes through the day based on peak traffic periods, all just off the top of my head.

I have a GPs in the glovebox, but I can't remember the last time I used it. If I'm driving somewhere new, I pull out the old street map, get a general sense of where I'm going, and just take it from there.

Being able to do that I think is like any other skill. You learn how to do it, then you practice. If you keep using the skill it gets better. If you never really learned/practiced? Then it makes sense to me it doesn't come naturally to you.

There was a time when people needed to know which way north was in the same way we now need to know whether there's phone reception. This is no longer the norm in the first world. If you have your phone, you don't need to know where you are, or where you're going. So, there's no longer a reason for people to develop the skill.

So, it may feel like it means there's something wrong with you. But from personal experience? Having a good sense of direction, and rarely getting lost (unless I'm seriously dissociated, in which case I usually stop the car altogether) is at least as peculiar, based on what people reflect back to me.

 

[Chris-duck]

Yeah. I still hold up my hands in an L shape (L for left, not L for right) for me to be able to tell. And I once got lost on my way home and my 2yo (at the time) directed me home cos he thought I was f*cking with him cos I didn't remember so ? :laugh:

 

[TruthSeeker]

I can NEVER remember how to get ANYWHERE. even if its like 5 miles away and theres only 4 turns to take. I'd have to dive it every day for a week before i'd remember how to get there. ive lived in the same area for about 5 months, and sometimes if im only 3 miles from my house, i dont know how to get back to my house. it really scares me sometimes. what could be causing this?

You drive dissociated? If so, it will take much longer to learn your area. I suggest you get a visual picture of the area (like in the olden days on a physical map you have to touch.). Write down the major routes and local highways. Use a tactile method...run your finger along the map, starting at your home-is there a visual shape to your directions from your home to town (square, circular, think-geometry), what are parallel roads, etc. Memorize the directions one way. Then memorize them backwards....be able to spell your streets to your house (in other words, this is important info, study it like you would for a test). Keep your physical map in the car....don't use Google Maps.....it tells you the directions so you don't have to think or remember....and while Google Maps thru your bluetooth speakers gets you grounded quickly- you can take a mental break (dissociate) inbetween and not realize where you are......and get confused and frustrated then the next step...the ugly inner critic comes out to abuse you. Staying grounded while learning the route is important.

You might also write down the directions to and from your house and typical places you go and keep them in the car. Then read the directions before leaving and actively memorize and look at the signs and corresponding landmarks for the road names(reading and writing directions- a research based technique for memory ) help the brain to memorize information and get it from short-term to long term. Listening to Google Maps....for most people, not a great way to help you store new information (directions) unless you have a strength in auditory processing and recall. Learning the area wrong......well....keeps you lost. Getting emotional on the road? Looping about trauma in the car? will get me lost!

Where's My Car Syndrome? Park in the same rows anywhere you go so you don't look like a goober who can't find his way. You can park in the two rows that are in front of the main door....even if you have to walk all the way to the last spot in the row-or ALWAYS park in the first or second row (whichever works for you). You have less terrain to cover if you weren't paying attention and just parked anywhere without a parking system-and you are feeling like a goober-lost in a parking lot and can't find your car-then it frigging rains! ;(

Good luck!