vexedbyvestibule

eople seem visualizations? What do you mean? Like I can remember photos, but events. I’m not sure I’ve ever visually remembered something, like I can recall colors and details but there’s no visualization there. What do y’all see?

If my husband asked me, "Remember that road trip we went on? Remember Kansas?" I would be able to visualize in my mind the endless flat land, the hundreds (if not thousands) of windmills, the lack of any buildings, the blue sky. I would be able to imagine/re-experience the feelings of physical restlessness, the sounds of the radio (80s rock, mostly) and smell of cow manure as well.

That isn't to say that I have photographic memory, but if I think of the event, that's the stuff I recall. I couldn't tell you, "Oh yeah, at 3:43 PM Stairway to Heaven was playing as we passed a red BMW."

HOWEVER, if you told me to imagine that it is 3:43 PM and I'm in the passenger seat listening to Stairway to Heaven as our vehicle passed a red BMW, I would be able to visualize that just fine. The 'mind's eye' will fill in any blanks, like the volume of the music or whether that red BMW was in the slow lane or stopped at the side of the road.

Is this limited to visual images? Can you still imagine sounds, smells, tastes, etc?

In college we were told vanilla extract, but from experience, it's more often than not toothpaste. It's so readily available in a healthcare setting, even psych in which extracts are not permitted due to containing alcohol.

Can you do it with your eyes open? Does it overwrite what you see?

For me, my attention gets divided.

I can focus on the present and try to "clear my mind", like one is instructed to do during meditation. My imagination is also on the back burner during social conversations except for activities which would involve it (like giving directions).

I can also focus on my imagination, and let my body be on autopilot. That tends to happen during long drives or when I am doing an activity that doesn't require a lot of focus (like walking on a treadmill.)

Usually I am devoting some focus to both.

How does it affect your social life?

Do you think that having aphantasia has a positive or negative effect on your connection to other people? Is it easier to forgive other people? Is it harder to reminisce together?