Shenaz Treasury on being diagnosed with prosopagnosia: Even my parents don’t believe I can’t recognise faces

Picture this: You meet someone, but no matter how hard you try, you just can’t seem to place them. If this has ever happened to you, you probably aren’t alone. Not being able to recognise people, even those familiar, by their faces, is what loosely defines face blindness or prosopagnosia — a cognitive disorder that Shenaz Treasury recently revealed she has been diagnosed with.

“To start with, it is nothing serious,” the actor-travel influencer tells us, sharing how she’s been inundated with calls ever since she spoke about the condition on Instagram a few days ago. She adds, “I just can’t recognise people’s faces, my brain doesn’t put people’s faces together. I’ve had this forever. I would always think, ‘What’s wrong with me? Why can’t I recognise people? Maybe I’m just not that smart’. But, turns out it is actually an issue. I wouldn’t call it a disorder, but a brain cognitive issue. Even if I am used to seeing a close friend in my neighbourhood, and I see them out of context elsewhere, probably after a haircut, I won’t be able to recognise them immediately.” However, Treasury, who made a foray into Hindi films with Ishq Vishk (2003), can identify individuals based on their voices, the way they dress, mannerisms, etc.

While a set of her friends did notice her inability to identify individuals, many assumed she was just being aloof or making it all up; some even got offended by her not being able to recognise them! “My friends sent me online articles as they were sure I have it, after which I took a test… In the past, I have offended people. They feel like, ‘What kind of a person is this?’ Over the years, so many people have said to me, ‘I’ve been introduced to you 10 times, you still can’t recognise me!’. I feel so bad, they feel so bad because they think I’m being a b****, but I’m not! I’m trying really hard, so I’d appreciate if people know about this. But, I think people don’t know enough about it. I don’t know how common this issue is, I haven’t met anyone who has this to the level I do… I think Brad Pitt (actor) has it, so I don’t feel so bad about having it (laughs)!” says Treasury, who celebrated her birthday on June 29. “I started my day with yoga, had lunch with the family and in the evening, my friends threw a surprise (party) for me,” she shares.

One couldn’t help but notice how her post called for people to be “kind”. “When I discovered I have face blindness, it all made sense. I finally understood why I couldn’t recognise faces. I have offended people in the past, and I apologise for that. People think it’s something that I made up, or that I am being snobbish or stupid. The truth is, this is a real brain cognitive issue. Even my own parents don’t believe me!” she says, mentioning how she has now learnt to deal with it all: “I just wave and say, ‘Of course I know you’ to everyone I meet, so that I don’t make them feel bad!”

Has this cognitive issue ever come in the way of her professional life? Treasury, who has been a VJ and also hosted a number of events, says: “Sometimes in the past, it has come in my way, especially when I’ve to host a red carpet or green carpet. It’s been nerve-wrecking for me, thinking what if I don’t recognise the person who walks this red carpet, I’ve to interview everybody! But, I’ve managed to pull it off. I just talk and have a friendly chat, and within the time that I’m speaking, I’ll realise who the person is, by their voice, what they say or what they’ve done. So far so good!”

“I just want to say, don’t be offended if I don’t recognise you the next time. Just know that this is actually a genuine cognitive brain issue, and I’m not being snobbish, aloof, crazy or dumb,” she sums up.

Author tweets @srinidhi_gk

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