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No. 358756
Does anyone else here believe they have
aphantasia? There's not a lot of information about it but it's supposed to be quite common. It's defined as:
>…the suggested name for a condition where one does not possess a functioning mind's eye and cannot voluntarily visualize imagery.If so, how did you discover that you can't visualise images and what are some things you feel you're missing out on because of it? Here's a website on the subject:
http://aphant.asia/ No. 358763
File: 1548259373406.jpg (Spoiler Image,16.93 KB, 568x639, exiht9hlb0c21.jpg)
I discovered there was something weird when I couldn't visualise the things guided meditations were asking me to. When they told me to imagine I was on a beach or in a forest, I'd pretend like I was there but my eyes were closed and I couldn't see anything. I just assumed that's how everyone did guided meditation but sometimes they'd ask me to pick up something and I used to think "I can't do that with my eyes closed". I didn't really feel like I had a problem until one day my bf was trying to teach me how to draw and he kept making me start over and saying "No, imagine the person's body first and then draw what you see" I was like ?? what the fuck does that mean I'm trying my best here lol.
Here are some things I feel like I miss out on:
>counting sheep to help fall asleep
can't masturbate without visuals but apparently masturbating to your own imagination is way more intense and satisfying
>when guided meditations ask "picture yourself on a beach", I can't but the audio is nice
>when people say "picture the audience naked" in order to get over stage fright, I've never understood that technique
>probably would have had an easier time in school/college understanding certain concepts
>apparently kids playing pretend actually visualise cool things like magic and explosions and that they're in another world, did not have that cool experience as a kid lol
>some people visualise people dancing or other images in their mind while listening to music, I just concentrate on the lyrics or individual instruments
>daydreaming to me is just thinking in my own voice about what I'm going to have for dinner that night, it doesn't take me to another place or distract me that much (which is probably a good thing)
>when reading books I don't imagine what the characters or locations look like, really lengthy descriptions of locations are really boring and I often skip them, I like it when descriptions use beautiful language though because the words are pretty and sound nice when read aloud, I also prefer non-fiction for this reason
>found a lot of things in therapy pointless because they ask you to imagine talking to someone or visualising a place that makes you feel comfortable and that's not helpful to me
>having a memory palace sounds cool and I want one
>I feel like learning languages has been difficult for me thanks to not having a visual image when someone says "pomme" or "mela"
>I don't have any visual memories, my bf was really upset when he found out that I can't remember holidays we've been on or nice things we've done together because he can and he relives those moments in his head
>I actually really struggle with memory problems in general
If you want to test yourself, I stole this image from Reddit. Try to imagine a red star (close your eyes if you need to) then tell us what you see.
No. 358784
>>358763>counting sheep to help fall asleep>"picture the audience naked" in order to get over stage frightThese two never help at all. So you're not missing out on that.
I find this so fascinating though. I'm an artist so I've always been quite creative and daydream/visualize things constantly. I'm literally unable to listen to music without images popping up in my head. It's so interesting how the human mind can work so differently.
No. 358788
Yes and it's everything like
>>358763 described. Down to the bf (well, ex now) being sad I can't relive memories lol.
The upside is that I don't obsess over embarrassing or negative memories like some ppl say they do.
No. 358792
>>358767Yup, I can clearly imagine stuff in my head, like places I'd like to visit, people I'd like to meet, situations in general, etc etc, and see it like a movie in my head. Especially before sleeping, my mind goes wild.
Also when people say stuff like "Oh, and I've heard X and Y are fucking now", I can instantly picture it in my head, which kinda sucks sometimes lmao
No. 358793
>>358767Yeah I'm super confused. People can actually have vivid, clear images in their head? Like there's a movie playing just "ahead" of their eyes?
When I try to close my eyes and imagine a red star it's just darkness/blackness. It feels like I can "think" something vaguely there but disappears immediately.
No. 358798
>>358756don't think i have aphantasia, kind of sceptical of its existence to be honest though this anons
>>358763 experience does sound strange
but i do feel like constant over stimulation of my brain from tv, movies, youtube, podcasts, music, porn, infinite image scrolling and everything else has severely affected my minds ability to conjure imagery itself. i always have something on for background noise, but i think all its really doing is just tuning out my own thoughts and my imagination or whatever is becoming weaker simply from a lack of use
No. 358817
>>358799Damn, anon, thats heartbreaking.
I thought everyone visualized when reading. Shows how ignorant I am. Not dreaming scares me in some way.
No. 358818
It looks like this fucked some people up like it fucked me up a few months ago lol sorry. It actually kind of changed my life to know that people can actually SEE things. Like now I know how artists or web designers plan things out before they actually execute them, they're not just using the trial and error I have to use. Or how people plan out all their different options before they pick the best one because they can see how it's going to play out in their head. It freaks me out knowing that when people say they're "visually undressing" someone, they're
actually seeing them naked wtf. Now it makes SO much sense to me why kids have imaginary friends, like they're actually seeing someone and not just talking to a wall like I always thought they were lol.
>>358782>>358784Probably not but seeing sheep sounds cute.
>>358785I do dream but I'm not really sure how vivid it is because I'm never lucid! I normally forget my dreams immediately or I'll remember what happened but I can't visualise it. It's really hard to explain but I guess I see in words or my mind's voice? People can visualise things to different degrees so maybe you're in the middle somewhere. It actually is possible to train your mind to get better at seeing images or create them quicker (check out image streaming if you want to strengthen what you do have).
>>358788Yeah apparently people can relive traumatising experiences and I'm so glad I can't do that. A lot of the time once something's over, I remember that it hurt me but it can't hurt me over and over again like it does other people. My bf said when he remembers something horrible, it's like seeing it for the first time again and that's why it upsets him so much. That sounds pretty scary to me.
>>358798Some people with aphantasia think that people who can visualise things are making it up lol so it goes both ways. You could probably work up to having really vivid imagery if you wanted.
No. 358828
I honestly always forget that this is a thing, because I have quite the vivid imagination.
>>358818I imagine situations and how they might happen down to minute details but they're always quite ridiculous and over the top/not real? I can't do realistic situations, probably because of depression and adhd
No. 358830
>>358821I love reading, but yeah when too much actiony stuff is going on, it's hard to keep track of it. I used to think I was just dumb or had ADD or something, it's nice to know it's not just me.
I can visualize a tiny bit, but only things I've seen before. And the more I've seen it the easier it is, if that makes sense. Except for faces. I can't visualize faces at all, but I'm somehow good at recognizing them? (I'm not face blind)
No. 358832
>>358756Anons I'm about to cry… I think I have this and I have always felt very guilty about not being able to "see" my boyfriend's or any of my family members' faces when I think about them… I can sometimes get faint glimpses of things but it takes a lot of concentration and I can't recall something I've never seen. I'm an artist too, but when I draw I don't really envision what I want my art to look like, I just sort of do it. Can't imagine erotic imagery either, making it almost impossible for me to masturbate without porn (which morally, makes me feel very guilty.)
This all makes so much sense… Thank you for posting this
No. 358835
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>>358818>Or how people plan out all their different options before they pick the best one because they can see how it's going to play out in their head. I do this but instead of imagining the actual scenario it's more like a checklist or a decision tree type of thing.
No. 358843
I can see some things in my head, got better at it when I got better at drawing. Generally I don't see detailed things though, more like construction for drawing, I can estimate the amount of space something will take, placement of elements, remember a texture… I can recreate the feeling of seeing something too, rather than actually see it (for example a memory of someone playing a game, I can remember the color scheme and the sense of movement without much detail, and remember feeling motion sickness). It's easier for me to imagine the hand/arm movements that would be involved in drawing something than to see the actual picture sometimes.
When I read I generally don't imagine the scenes because I read quickly. If I absolutely have to, I can reconstruct what I think someone is describing but it doesn't really have the same impact as an actual image. Words still have an impact on me even if I don't visualize much if it's well written. I get the information directly. Also sometimes the words are just pretty. I think sometimes when someone invokes something visual I might not see the actual object but I still get some feeling, as if I'd glanced at it. Fight scenes are mostly just a bunch of words and tension, I don't fact check if everything actually makes sense unless it's pretty obvious there's a plot hole. It makes writing difficult for me though because I have to figure out what would make sense in a scene (maybe visualizing to be sure it looks correct) and then find a way to describe what I decided without it being a laundry list of things happening.
I think some of my lack of ability is due to how I'd stare at the floor when I walked and how I was very sleep deprived during my whole childhood. It probably didn't leave me with a very good visual library. Also I was indoors most of the time staring at a screen or books.
Semi-related, I played instruments for many years and now I have pseudo perfect pitch. I can remember certain notes and identify other notes based on the distance. I can remember songs I've heard pretty well, although I tend to mostly remember the melody and maybe the bass / harmony. It's like I'm listening to a low quality recording with some instruments missing.
I had a friend that was a good artist, she apparently had aphantasia and said that she couldn't see things in her head nor hear sounds. She had a voice in her head when she read but it was flat and monotone. I think her sister was the same. Also she was face blind.
tldr ya this is cool stuff
No. 358900
>>358840What the fuck, me too.
I always thought I was such a stupid fuck for having to use my fingers but I could never see any numbers in my head.
Like having to line up two, triple digit numbers and add/subtract/multiply was nearly impossible for me because nothing appeared in my mind.
Inorganic chemistry was impossible for me as well, because that requires tons of mental rotating/flipping of molecular structures.
No. 358965
>>358793This is actually freaking me out because I thought people are just able to do this
>>358804YES I JUST DID WHILE READING THIS
No. 358969
>>358964When I do dream/ nightmare it could be anything.
Like the other day I was freaking myself out because I stayed up late watching crazy shit about space and then I couldn't stop thinking about how short our lives are in the grand scheme of the universe. When I did fall asleep I dreamed of the world ending Armageddon style.
No. 358975
>>358964Seconding this anon to ask if anyone itt with aphantasia dreams, if you dream at all?
What confuses me about it is that I can "imagine" a bottle spinning, a red star, or I can go back to a past memory and recount it vividly. But it's not as if when I close my eyes I get a picture, it's like I have the imagination but no real visual when I'm conscious.
When I dream it's very much like a movie I interact with. Colors, faces, etc. So that doesn't seem like a problem.
No. 358977
>>358975I dream but only when I'm pretty stressed or I've been thinking about something specific before I fall asleep.
When I dream, like I said above it's kind of black or empty unless something important is happening then it's like a confusing flash of something. Then when I wake up I can't visualise it I'll just know that it was in my dream.
No. 358978
File: 1548280615279.jpg (5.13 KB, 274x184, images.jpg)
I actually have the opposite. I have a form of synesthesia where I visualize words as I say them and hear them, in addition to visualzing numbers on a line and especially visualzing dates and times. All years and months to me are seen on a circle, like a clock face. In centuries, the 1800's are visualized as being on the 8oclock spot. In decades, the same is true. 90's on the 9oclock. In history class I always knew what order the events happened bc of this.
Ive read the wiki about this, and apparently more its common for children who had to learn things in new ways to visualize it if they can't say it. I came to the US as a kid and didn't speak any English, so that might have something to do with the fact that my memory and way I learn things is almost entirely based on visual presets.
No. 359028
>>359005I also struggle with visualizing math problems and I struggle to retain some of the basic facts as well. It makes me feel
dumb and I get intense anxiety if I have to do an equation in front of people because I still need to refer to my notes for simple things. I’m good with writing, arts, languages, but math has been my downfall since elementary school. I’ve gotten a little better with practice but it doesn’t come easy to me, not like words or colors.
No. 359263
I can "see things" in my mind and I have a good imagination, but I can't visualize text. I've grown quite skillful at skipping through any descriptive language used in books since I'm not gonna have any use of reading what the environment or the characters look like. And while I don't have problems with math if it's just like "1+3x4=?", I struggle if it's in verbal form like "mike takes three apples, how many apples are left" because I can't "see" the actual question in my mind and it takes me a long time to dissect what's going on, and I can't do it in my head alone, I need to write stuff down.
Simple stuff I can do, like "woman with blond hair", but anything beyond that (like "woman with blond hair, narrow nose wearing a silk robe") just results as an image/idea of a generic blond woman with no other features.
I also can't "see" details in the pictures my mind forms. Like I can think about Pikachu for example, and "see" what it looks like, but I can't draw it or describe it. I know the general shapes so I can draw a blob with a tail, but that's because I know it's a blob with a tail, so it's not really drawing what I'm picturing in my head. In my mind I have a very clear image/idea of what Pikachu looks like, but it's impossible to put it on paper, because I can't figure out the details. It's like there's an invisible wall somewhere in my brain. But idk this seems like it's somewhat common in some form, like when you tell an average person to draw a bike they struggle just like me, I just seem to have it a little bit worse and idk if it's related to the problem I have with visualizing what I read.
No. 359397
>>359302Yeah, that's what I thought too. If someone asks me "visualize an apple", I don't literally see an apple when I close my eyes, but my brain will say "yeah, we know what an apple looks like". I can tell you all about the apple my brain has created, even if my eyes can't actually form an apple from nothing.
I'm not a doctor, and I never really asked one about it, but I never thought I had aphantasia. The "mind's eye" isn't literal sight, after all. I always thought aphantasia was where your brain can't really pull information from things you've previously seen, leaving you blank (or hazy) when you try to visualize anything.
No. 360581
>>360577You really think most people struggle to visualize things?
t. average ass visualizer btw, definitely no aphantasia
No. 360596
>>360581ask anyone to visualise a 10 dollar note from their country. it's rare someone will see it in whole detail with the face, the number, the other stuff at the same time. instead you have a kind of bag of bits that you can call up- the face, then how the number is maybe, and separately overall vague vibe of the thing. That's how human memory recall 'visualisation' works. It's not like fucking bmp images. Normally you can't visualise things clearly.
Someone was saying "my dreams are vague". That's what fucking dreams are.
But i don't just mean the aphantics the whole thread is an excuse for every homestuck dork to start concocting possible cool rare traits
>im a super visualiser>im a synaesthete>im double jointedremember that, every kid bending their flexible kid tendons buh i'm double jointed. that's all of you you're fucking NORMAL
No. 360690
>>360596Well some people have dreams which are incredibly vivid which they confuse with real life. Some people don't dream at all. Your description of how the brain visualises is how I see things in my dreams (I broke my brain by forcing it to create text once in a dream, it created hieroglyphics or symbols on the page, whereas usually if there is an unforced piece of text it's in clear English.)
In day to day life I see nothing other than real life, not even particular details, complete blank. I thought all that "visualise an apple" or "daydreaming" stuff was just figures of speech. Some people daydream with their eyes open, they see stories play out while they're awake and standing up. Some people even imagine violent intrusive thoughts, like those scenes in movies where the character imagines something ridiculous happening and then switches back to reality.
We all have different capacity for visual imagination, whether it is dreams, daydreams, hallucinations or anything else. It's not people trying to be uwu speshul, it's just a fact of life.
No. 384487
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>>358767It's not totally clear as day but I can almost imagine the 'gist' of what I want but it also takes some effort to do. Little details aren't rendered unless I'm really trying hard to imagine them.
It's interesting that dreaming takes what feels like no effort and can be clear as day (I think this is true for most) where it almost feels like I'm the observer, not the producer of the experience.
No. 384575
>>384562Lmao exactly. This shit is making people feel like there's something wrong with them.
I think the person who posted this thread watched this video on YT which I also watched because it was recommended to me for some reason.
I consider myself someone with a pretty vivid imagination and I daydream a lot…but even when I'm totally in my own world I don't actually "see" anything. It's more of a feeling than an actual visual experience. I highly doubt that this is not the norm. People don't close their eyes and imagine an apple and literally have an apple appear.
Visualization while awake is not even close to dreaming.
No. 384756
File: 1552109126829.gif (119.85 KB, 300x100, 35.gif)
>and i have aPhAnTaSiA
No. 384891
>>384834Seriously lol, it's horrible.
I think that awake visualization is the least visual state a person has aside from not dreaming while sleeping or, closing our eyes or… being dead lol. If being awake and seeing the world around us is the most visual, dreaming would be the second most visual state. It's a bit blurry and weird, but still pretty visual. Using our minds to imagine things is the least detailed visual experience a person can have. It's borderline not visual. I think that the term "visualization" confuses some people who automatically equate it with SIGHT due to the word "visual" in it.
It's an abstract concept and hard for most people to describe accurately. It's a personal experience. Because of all of this it's hard to grasp what it's actually like for other people. Acting like this is something weird is making people confused and think they're broken when they aren't.
No. 385427
>>385151I think it's a scale and not such a black or white "you can either visualize things or not" thing. Some people visualise things clearer than others. I also have a very clear "mind's eye" and have extremely lifelike dreams. It's easy for me to visualise a 3-D image and rotating it in my head. I wonder if this is a result of me making a lot of visual art (drawing, painting, sculpting) or if me being good at art is a result of being good at visualising.
I had an ex that had aphantasia or at least something close to it. He did dream, but only ever in black and white and extremely blurry.