Hollywood superstar, Brad Pitt, has claimed he suffers from a highly unusual condition known as “face blindness,” which has caused him numerous problems in his social life.
The Fight Club actor said he’s concerned that the condition has left people thinking he is aloof, self-absorbed, and inaccessible.
The 58-year-old actor has not been officially diagnosed with face blindness, or as it’s known in the medical profession, prosopagnosia or facial agnosia, but is convinced he’s a sufferer. So, what exactly is this condition?
Brad Pitt suffers from ‘face blindness,’ but what is it?
Brad Pitt spoke to GQ Magazine last month when he explained that his face blindness makes it difficult to recognize people’s faces. Brad particularly struggles at parties to recognize faces and claims it’s a problem he’s quite ashamed about.
According to the National Institute of Health, prosopagnosia is a neurological disorder that makes people unable to recognize faces.
There are different degrees of impairment. Some patients will struggle with familiar faces, whereas others are unable to tell the difference between faces at all. At its worst, a sufferer may struggle to differentiate a face from an object.
The NIH even states that some sufferers of prosopagnosia may not be able to recognize their own faces. Luckily for Brad, he doesn’t seem to have a particularly bad case of the condition, but he worries that it has caused people to think he is reserved and aloof.
In 2013, he told Esquire that when he meets someone for the first time, he will quickly forget them after they’ve parted company. He explained that the memory of a face soon fades and will appear new to him when they meet again.
He told the outlet, “So many people hate me because they think I’m disrespecting them,” and claimed that, as a result, he preferred to stay home rather than go out and meet people.
When Brad spoke to GQ, the interviewer told him their husband also suffered from the condition, causing the actor to excitedly exclaim, “Nobody believes me! I wanna meet another.”
How do you treat Brad Pitt’s ‘face blindness’?
Prosopagnosia or face blindness can result from a stroke, brain injury, or a neurological brain disorder. It can also be genetic, meaning Brad could have been born with the condition.
The NIH states that the best way to deal with the condition is to adapt to new ways of identifying people, such as focusing on their voice or another attribute that’s not their face. Stroke or brain trauma patients can also be retrained to recognize people. But unfortunately for Brad, there is currently no wonder cure for the ailment.
In the same interview, Brad also spoke about how he’s getting old and is probably on the “last leg” of his career. His legions of fans from around the world will be hoping he’s got a few more good acting years in him.
A photoshoot accompanying the interview also left the Meet Joe Black star open to plenty of ridicule from fans. Follow the link to check out how Brad Pitt was dragged by fans over the ridiculous pics.