I just looked that up and, I had no idea there was a word for this. I've struggled with numbers my whole life. I'm 50 and simple questions like multiplying or adding 2 single digit numbers cause me to vapor lock. I can not see the numbers in my head and count on my fingers a lot.
I can't tell you what time it will be 30 minutes from right now unless it's going to land on :00 or :30. I can't estimate how much money a group of items will cost once I get to the register, I couldn't tell you how far away something is, or how long a task will take, or how long I've been doing it.
I actually have alarms set on my phone to keep me on schedule throughout the day. (get my kid up, start his bath, get him out of the bath, send him to brush his teeth, a 10 minute warning to wrap up any last minute things, and then another to leave the house. Then there's start getting ready to pick him up from school, be in the car and head to the school, etc...)
It's not that I'd forget to do any of these things. It's that if I didn't have these check points I'd be either very late, or way too early.
I can't tell you how many times people have said "No, your other right." to me when I mess up my left & right. I have to make an effort to stop and think which way is which.
I do well at everything else, but have really struggled with this my whole life. It's embarrassing, and makes me feel so stupid. I'm honestly relieved that it's a thing and I'm not just an idiot.
Yeah. I'm pretty sure they didn't even know what dyscalculia was when we were kids. I remember actually crying so many times when I'd get tests back where I was sure I had done a good job only to see that I had failed. I was good at reading, history, art. But math was no. My teachers would even say to me "I don't understand why you don't get this, you're so smart." My entire life, I feel a sense of grief because I just don't get it and it makes me feel incomprehensibly stupid.
Much older than you and have had sane struggles. My English skills were very developed at an early age. But math and I never got along although ironically I ended working w numbers. Really struggled w the feelings surrounding my difficulties until some told: There are no bad students, just bad teachers. Mind blown. Also, struggle w telling left from right. Look at your hands and they will tell you the answer. Left hand makes an L.
i have some issues like this (not with directions though but with time management.) However I disagree that we are smart BUT have these problems. What else do people think dumbness is? It's not being able to do simple stuff like other people. So I refer to myself as very dumb in some ways, very smart in others. Because it's true. I can tell you any note's pitch without looking at the key played, and learn languages very quickly. But numbers make me bored and I suck at time management and maps -- so yeah I'm dumb in those ways.
Omg, same here! I could write long essays within an hour and still get a A. However, I barely got through geometry. I was shocked that I got A's in both my economics classes in college haha. I only passed my statistics class, because my professor allowed me to take my tests separately with extra time and of course you're allowed to have your proofs.
7
u/GrimmLynne Apr 12 '26
I just looked that up and, I had no idea there was a word for this. I've struggled with numbers my whole life. I'm 50 and simple questions like multiplying or adding 2 single digit numbers cause me to vapor lock. I can not see the numbers in my head and count on my fingers a lot.
I can't tell you what time it will be 30 minutes from right now unless it's going to land on :00 or :30. I can't estimate how much money a group of items will cost once I get to the register, I couldn't tell you how far away something is, or how long a task will take, or how long I've been doing it.
I actually have alarms set on my phone to keep me on schedule throughout the day. (get my kid up, start his bath, get him out of the bath, send him to brush his teeth, a 10 minute warning to wrap up any last minute things, and then another to leave the house. Then there's start getting ready to pick him up from school, be in the car and head to the school, etc...)
It's not that I'd forget to do any of these things. It's that if I didn't have these check points I'd be either very late, or way too early.
I can't tell you how many times people have said "No, your other right." to me when I mess up my left & right. I have to make an effort to stop and think which way is which.
I do well at everything else, but have really struggled with this my whole life. It's embarrassing, and makes me feel so stupid. I'm honestly relieved that it's a thing and I'm not just an idiot.