I wonder if the implications of aphantasia in therapy have been studied. Most therapies involve visualisation and were inefficient for me. Therapists weren't even aware of the possibility of aphantasia. When talking about my past also, I felt like I didn't remember much, though everything that happened obviously played a huge role in whatever issue I had. But it was hard to point out a moment in time, a scene that had huge impact. Most of what I recall, I remember in more of a narrative form, and I don't know when or why I started telling myself that particular story. Memories of events interpreted through one's perception can be deformed, but in my case I believe it is even more so. I feel very much like an unreliable narrator of my own life, which makes it harder to make sense of my life and identity.

I have aphantasia. I always knew I couldn’t see anything but I always assumed that it was normal and it was a figure of speech when others asked me to visualize. I realized I was different about 20 years ago however there was zero information regarding it. I have attempted to force myself to see things all my life. I did realize that imaginary images were real when I had a vivid dream when I was about 12 years old. It was so exciting and different that I attempted my entire life to experience it again. I do have dreams and I seem to see images in my dreams, however, once I wake up it’s very difficult to recall what I saw. I also believe I don’t see faces in my dreams and instead see a blur where faces usually are. I know who they are but it’s not by what I see but rather how I feel. I can’t picture my loved ones, which is a point that saddens me. Pictures are very important to me since it’s the only way I can connect with someone. I also don’t have much of an internal dialogue. I can intentionally ask myself a question mentally but I have no dialogue, and no response. The only dialogue I have is usually the questions I purposely ask myself. It’s very difficult for me because asking a question but receiving no response does not seem to help me and frustrates me a lot. I also can’t recall smell or taste or sounds. I suppose my world is very limited and boring. I always wondered what it would be like to sense things normally. I only have my senses in the here and now. One thing I have not read anything about is with feelings. I experience super super powerful feelings. When someone hurts me, I experience debilitating pain. When someone dies, I experience it very intensely. When I see violence in a movie for example, I physically feel the pain in my body and it’s sometimes excruciating. That’s my experience. Thank you for reading

I just found out I have aphantasia yesterday and I'm still completely blown away that people can actually see and hear things in their mind. I can't even imagine what that would be like... Pun intended. I find that my thoughts are very abstract and as such I have always had problems articulating them well. I often cut off sentences or skip words, more so in my mental dialog, because I just think faster than I can put into words. It feels very abstract. Like a computer without a screen. Operating in the dark. Also, you guys can just imagine things in your head?? What kind of superpower is that! No wonder I'm addicted to AI-based image generation software. It's the only way for me to visualize my ideas. All I can do with my mind is be creative conceptually, not visually

I only discovered a few months ago, at age 71, that I have Aphantasia. Zero visuals, sound, taste, feeling, hearing. I also have SDAM and prosopagnosia. I find it amazing that people can visualise. I never knew they could do that until recently. It is so good to know that I have Aphantasia, it explains so much about my life, the memory issues, unless it's a memory around a conversation. The not remembering any of my childhood. Not recognising faces. Fascinating stuff!

Not being able to hear any music I want in my "mind's ear", would be devastating to me. This gives my life soundtrack I want.

I have recently discovered that I have aphantasia (and I scored 1 on the exercise). Surprisingly, I very much enjoy reading fiction, and I even write fiction (with vivid, imaginative descriptions) at a very proficient level (aspiring pro). I have a very good memory (including faces). I used to have superb (and visual) dream recall. I discovered that what I deemed to be visualisation was simply an understanding of an idea when I saw images for the first time in my mind. It was under the influence of psychedelics. Has anyone studied the use of psychedelics to "open the mind's eye"? Now that I know I can visualise under certain conditions, I am working hard on honing my visualisation skills. It's a shame no one is talking about ways to trigger visualisation and improve it.

It's so so sad. I'm 37 and just realized I have aphantasia, thanks to some short video on Instagram. It devastated me. It's like not having the most beautiful superpower in the world, except that almost everyone has it.

I admit I am down a rabbit hole of aphantasia because I am the polar opposite and it's actually helping me understand how I relate to people better. I am incredibly visual and do much in my head. Now when I talk to people I try and figure out if we're thinking differently and I think it is helping me to communicate better. When I discover someone is not a visual thinker I can adjust the way I communicate. I think this science is SUPER important and I'm so happy the world is finally starting to focus on it even though it's probably been with us since the dawn of time!

I'm a physician and I only recently learned of this and that I have it. I can't believe it's not common! I always assumed it was the other way around. Interestingly I might have wrongly deducted this due to photographic memory not being common, and I have quite good memory, I've even been asked if I possess photographic memory, but I'm highly aphantasic.

I only discovered this quite recently. I'm 63. I really didn't know people could actually see the images in their mind's eye. I'm still not sure they really mean see rather than imagine the presence of something as if it were in the room with you but with the lights off as I do. I am actually not bad at spacial orientation tasks and am quite 'visually' imaginative even though there is no mental vision as such. In my late 40's I had an experience when I was in hospital with bacterial meningitis. As I started to recover, maybe on my third day in hospital I began to have visions of moving through amazing spaces such as fractal caves or complicated hindu or islamic temples. They were extremely vivid and realistic and this was all when I was perfectly awake although they were at their clearest the second I shut my eyes to go to sleep which meant I didn't sleep much. I could open my eyes and see the room but then instantly go back to some strange place as soon as I shut them again. After a few days they started to dim and all I could see were vague patterns and then nothing at all. It became quite annoying but very interesting at the same time and now I am basically visually blind again I wish I could conjure up the experience again. I'm not sure this is even relevant but it was the only time in my life that I had real visual images and I do miss it although I would like it to be more voluntary.

Ever since I discovered that I have aphantasia a week ago, I realized alot of things. I feel as though what we lack in the sensory department of our imagination we make up for in our ability to work with abstract concepts. And I'd even argue that with enough mental practice, those conceptual skills are able to reliably substitute for the lack of sensory imagination. I can't picture a ball rolling off the table, but I can create a conceptual stage on which a conceptual ball rolls off a conceptual surface. There's absolutely no imagery or sounds etc, but the scene itself feels very tangible. And most importantly the physics of it appear to be pretty accurate. I can come up with movie scenes or weird design ideas without being able to see them in my mind's eye. I do however use slight vocal and facial movements to accentuate the imagined scene. Also I barely have any inner monolog. Most of the time it's just silent while abstract processes are happening in the background. Whenever I do attempt to have an inner monolog it is almost always cut off because it's just way slower than the actual thinking itself. Would love to help with studies or research somehow!

This is freaking phenomenal. To me this opens up so many doors and explanations for many things. My wheels are turning. Thank you so much for this information.

I'm a reading teacher where we are mental imagery heavy and I discovered aphantasia a few years due to researching on behalf of students. I said to myself I can't ever see anything, only a select people can because of course mind's eye isn't literal. I made excuses & still in denial. I cannot see, hear inner monologue, nor smell anymore unless strong odor/scent. I'm trying to figure out if this is the reason I'm intuitive and absorb energy easily.

I realized it was something unusual when I was studying shamanism. A big part of my practice is journeying to different realms and times with my mind. The most I ever’see’ in my minds eye may be an impression, most of the time nothing. I learned to travel in a different way. It is totally experiential as a knowing, in a very sentient way. I am immersed in the experience without seeing🤷‍♀️

I found out I have aphantasia last week when my child found out they had it. I am so sad that reading will never be as exciting as it is for others. I love to read. I am still in shock and feel a great deal of loss. Which is weird because how can you miss what you never had.

I have aphantasia but to add on top of that i also have autism and congenital anosmia (born without a sense of smell). Having all three of these things at the same time can make life quite difficult. I have a very hard time connecting with people because of it. My situation is so specific that nobody ever understands how i think. Or at least it feels that way.

Hi, FYI - you might learn something... I have always suffered from Aphantasia - called in Scientology - a Black Field. ( not a recommended practice). It appears to be caused by early trauma. When I was young and stupid, I used some Psychedelic drugs. this use allowed me to actually see the hidden imagery - in full color ! - Also, on occasion when waking up in a dream, I get to see the imagery as well.

I have near-total aphantasia across all senses. The only exception is that when I'm extremely sleep deprived at the time I go to bed, as I'm drifting into sleep I can sometimes see dimly in my mind's eye. At those times, if I concentrate on the images they don't fade to nothingness right away.

Always look forward to the next video and how Lacey is doing and she never disappoints. Keep fighting, Lacey! You're a great inspiration. God bless you and your parents. Love ❤❤❤

Awesome to have a name for it now. It's comforting to know others are affected the same way. If you find any connections to O negative blood or green eyes, I'll feel really special. 😉

yooooo this is so interesting! That was an amazing conference and I wish I could have known the event earlier!

Thank you thank you thank you. This is being passed along to my GP. I have found an answer to my brain, it may be more exotic than just Aphantasia but when you finally have an eureka moment at 51 yrs old, it almost makes me cry.

My oldest son and partner have incredible visualization. My partner can literally break down any object in his mind in great detail. My son says to him it's like wearing a VR headset. Both can visualize in detail with their eye closed and open. Myself and younger son cannot visualize ANYTHING. It's just black, no matter how hard we focus on even the most simple object. I wonder if there is a genetic component to this?

I have always been blind... I can draw, but only what I actually see. I remember things but can't actually see them... but I done LSD and started seeing all sorts of cartoons or whatever I imagined with my eyes closed. I thought it was amazing.... but people actually do this everyday! I'm missing out. I wonder if I compensate some how?

And is there a way to stop having aphantasia? Meditation, Visualization Techniques? Something like Image streaming maybe?

I have Alphantasia and I am in the creative industry. So it's true that my process is different because of that.

I always had the capacity to reproduce (or even imagine) how someone could say something in my head, as well as "hearing" music without actuallly listen to a song (that is also how I read silently. Funnily enough, I don't hear my own voice). But that's all. I can't visualiuze at all, and quite often I don't even dream. I just wake up in the morning. Only when I sleep on stress I dream. A recurring nightmare in fact, but I do see it. About the other senses, I can't even comprehend how someone can conjure up a smell or a given taste or feel cold or hot when the temperature is the same. I think my incapacity to visualize also contributed to my path to atheistism, because I couldn't see God even when praying very hard, while my classmates did say that hey could. Also, i often say that it is hard for me to put names on faces, so I think I may have some form of prosophanosia. I do recongnize people I know (friends, familiy, even some celebrities) but for random people or people that I've just met, I have to repeat their names quite a few times before I can say I know them.

If there is a direct sibling link, then it maybe could be that this is trama / upbringing related. Damaging or preventing development of the brain in some areas, or prioritising development in other areas over these visual areas.

I cannot visualise anything. Never have been able to do this and thought everyone was the same and only remembered a thing or person or event. I was very surprised when I found out that people actually ‘see’ things when they close their eyes. I would love to be able to do this. How amazing

I have aphantasia and I work psychically ❤

Thanks Dr Zeman I found your video most intriguing. Is there any correlation with dyslexia and poor artists skills, I too always thought the suggestion of a mind's eye was a metaphor. I recently took a watercolour painting class. knowing I had little to no talent in any kind of artistic endeavour. But it really did surprise me how bad I actually was. I could not imagine anything to paint. Quiet embarrassing. When I read books I only read non fiction, it's almost impossible for me to read a fiction book, I just get lost. I thought this was because of my dyslexia. Really sorry for going on far too much, I could talk all day. Thank you so much. I am only halfway through the video so you might have answered my question already. If so I thank you in advance.

12:22 Dreaming- When I sleep I'm far more visual. Sound is what is happening not much narration (but there is some) often at the end even background music just before I wake up. Then my inner voice becomes dominant which I think is why I have so much trouble remembering dreams. When I try to think of them in words they fade away because they are nonverbal.

hi doctor adam , i have discussed this with some of my friends but some of them can imagine things only with open eyes but not with eyes closed. some could imagine what they read in a book but if i asked them to visualize something with their eyes closed they see only black . is this still considered as aphantasia ?

2:02 I have a strong inner monologue and exercises like these just seem to have too few words, but some of my favorite fiction writers are able to paint word pictures which are wonderful but require some work. So Huxley's Brave New World had a lot of things going on and was therefore an easy read. But Ray Bradbury is a far more pictoral writer so Fahrenheit 451 was a harder read but still quite enjoyable. I tried a John Steinbeck novel but his first chapter described every dirt clod in the Salinas Valley of California, I got the pictures alright but it was like he had just dumped me there and drove off and nothing was happening. I didn't get past the first chapter. Music can produce pictures in my head. If you have ever seen Disney's Fantasia, I can imagine whole movies like that listening to my favorite Classical works. The Romantic period works better. Beethoven, Berlioz and Malher (1st Symphony Titan especially)...Oh how I wish Disney would go back to that quality instead of all this woke crap.

All I can do is consider idea’s

I still struggle to believe that people actually see stuff, but this video is persuasive.

As someone with aphantasia imagination seems impossible. Yet then I realize all the images I see with my eyes open are created effortlessly by my brain, so why can't I produce them with my thoughts? The odd thing is when I have been able to visualize, while meditating, which are very limited, what I visualize is not what I'm thinking.

I have it, my sister has it, and my dad has it. I dream but I can’t really describe them but many times I can’t remember if I dreamed at night at all. I am tired all the time.

Do you want to make an autobiographical memory test ? And explain what it is on your website? I'm half surprised people can see memories visually and daydream visually . I've never been able to do that.

I believe I also have it, but can sort of visualize grey outlines of animals and some people for example but getting that can be difficult and fleeting. I wonder about colors - I dream a lot but not in color. Are there people who can easily visualize but only in black and white or are they always able to see colors as well? Another question is regarding hypnosis. I am not at all subject to hypnosis and wonder if those who are are generally people who can easily visualize as well? Since neural plasticity is a recognized thing, is there hope for changing the brain to visualize more normally - in detail and in color? I'd like to think that it is possible to rewire the brain to do so. Intentions, thoughts, affirmations, mystical experiences, (magic mushrooms?) or deep meditation states, or just a bump on the head in the right place ... ? Interesting about the subject who began your study - was it likely induced by the anesthesia?

I can't see anything, but I have a running monolog . I wish I could visualize.

I wonder what the implications are for having aphantasia. I have never been able to conjure up any senses with my imagination (visual, auditory, haptic, etc.) and pretty much never has visual dreams. If I close my eyes it's just pitch black, no sensory input from the brain at all. Maybe that's why sleep paralysis feels so normal to me and I never saw any "sleep paralysis demon" because my brain is literally not wired for that? Very hard to remember roads and things like that though.

I found out I had it when I went to see a therapist for my depression, which was absolutely no help because everything they talked about involved visualization and imagination which I have never been able to do. I understand that in some ways it can be considered positive to some people but to me it feels like a disability. Does anyone know if there are any good books or courses on the best ways to cope with this deficiency?

If I keep my eyes open, then I can see images or flashes of images. But I can’t focus with my eyes closed because my current vision is only coming from what I’m seeing at the time. Any ideas?

I wonder if it's a recent phenomenon Caused from Television? Or if it has peter pan roots?

well I wish I could understand the voice, it is muffled, and not clear enough for me to hear. In addition to aphantasia I have hyperacusis and this is painful for me.

can i do a dubbing and repost in portuguese?

I am from Hong Kong, majority of the people I know seem don’t process a minds eye like myself, definitely not 2% of the population here, I wonder if there is a cultural thing to it

I think aphantasia must be the "hunter's mind."

I was today years old (almost 50) when I learned this is even a thing. I'm Aphantasic (is that the right term) Mother is too. Brother is not, neither is my aunt. So weird.

What on Earth is a mind's fingertip!?

A

As a aphantasic and a Christian I cannot conjure up a picture of how I imagine Jesus to be This is also true when I pray to him and read the Bible

can you literally "see" in your mind? I think i have aphantasia

I really hate the term aphantasia as it is very similar soundin to aphasia. But aphasia is a neurological disorder. I have aphantasia but my brain is ok, thank you very much.

I only discovered a few days ago, I'm 28. I'm confused why I don't remember my love anymore I ignore that day because kind of busy at work and then again I remember after that day that I don't remember him like I don't think about him, like I always did， like I remember him 24 hours, wherever I go I remember him, but suddenly I don't remember him or I can't visualize him and I found out that I can't visualize my family, friends, and even my own face, but I remember the letters, shapes, & the numbers. I feel like I have less emotions too. I feel scared that this happen to me but I think maybe it's for the better . 🥲