Did anyone else know there are people who can not visualize their thoughts?

[OSUIvan]

It is called aphantasia, and I have it. It's really hard to explain, but when you close your eyes and think about a beach you see a beach that you have been to. I do not, I see the black blankness of the back of my eyelids, but I can describe what a beach looks like. My mind is made up of words instead of images. And the funny thing I just found out that I was different and people could actually see things they were thinking just recently at 34.

Anyone else know anyone like this? Here is a video of a Ted Talk that does a good job explaining it as well.

 

[tcpoke]

Did not know it "was a thing" and like you I didn't realize I was any different. I too also only see black. I can describe the event or scene that I lived or saw, but I cannot see it.

 

[OSUIvan]

Did not know it "was a thing" and like you I didn't realize I was any different. I too also only see black. I can describe the event or scene that I lived or saw, but I cannot see it.

what about dreams? for me it's very faint and dark if at all.

 

[CowboyPhil]

So you can't close your eyes at work and see your wife naked?

 

[OSUIvan]

So you can't close your eyes at work and see your wife naked?

nope

 

[HighStickHarry_]

Damn that sucks. FYI she looks great.

 

[HighStickHarry_]

When I close my eyes and really Stare at the back of my eye lids it turns into a barrage of random shapes/images some make sense and some don't. Sometimes it goes so fast there isn't enough time to dwell on any of them. It's dark, but it is constant something. I have to not think about anything else and just watch, but it's a show.

Is that a thing?

 

[OSUIvan]

I think that's called LSD

 

[tcpoke]

what about dreams? for me it's very faint and dark if at all.

Nope. In fact I can't think of the last time I even woke up and remembered anything about a dream that I had. I know everyone dreams, but I very rarely recall them.

 

[tcpoke]

So you can't close your eyes at work and see your wife naked?

Nope.

 

[anon_ph7vrsh7abnty]

If we lived in a comic book, I'd be your nemisis.

 

[PepeDeFrog29]

So what do you all do when you masturbate? Imagine the sensation?

 

[Cowpoke]

If we lived in a comic book, I'd be your nemisis.

This.

 

[shortbus]

Being 13 had to suck!

 

[PepeDeFrog29]

Being 13 had to suck!

This!!! I wanna know how you all get through a session of self-diddling with no pron to view or ability to visualize.

 

[shortbus]

Even the jcpenny catalog back in the day required a little imagination.

 

[MegaPoke]

Do you suffer from anxiety? If not, it may be a blessing in disguise.

For me visualization is too easy to the point that negative ones can get in my head and feel as though they happened. And anxiety can result. It's a bad combo with being a hypochondriac.

I dream about detailed photoshop projects all the time and wake up tired from them. But sometimes with good ideas.

Do you daydream? Ever just drift off on thoughts without literally seeing what you are looking at?

When I was I college, I had to doodle incessantly during lectures - to occupy just enough of my brain not to drift off completely or I would recall nothing.

 

[Been Jammin]

I can't even imagine this. So you two @OSUIvan and @tcpoke can't lay in bed and visualize OSU playing Bama in the national championship game in January, and Hill tossing a flea flicker back to Rudolph, who goes deep to Seales for the game winning TD?

I make up all kinds of scenarios like that, and picture exactly how it happens when I am trying to fall asleep at night. Works like a charm.

 

[ctrawick]

So you can't close your eyes at work and see your wife naked?

Why would anyone want to do that?

 

[tcpoke]

I can't even imagine this. So you two @OSUIvan and @tcpoke can't lay in bed and visualize OSU playing Bama in the national championship game in January, and Hill tossing a flea flicker back to Rudolph, who goes deep to Seales for the game winning TD?

I make up all kinds of scenarios like that, and picture exactly how it happens when I am trying to fall asleep at night. Works like a charm.

It's hard to explain, but no. Not in pictures at least. I would claim that I have both a very good memory and imagination (puberty was no problem for those asking above), but it's all in descriptive word format for lack of a better explanation.

I can see vague outlines of people, building, scenes, etc. but they are just that vague. Then my mind fills in the details with adjectives, adverbs, etc. The mental image never really changes I guess but my brain manages to fill it all in just fine using words.

Like Ivan, I never really knew this was any different than anyone else and I'm 35.

 

[shortbus]

Do you suffer from anxiety? If not, it may be a blessing in disguise.

For me visualization is too easy to the point that negative ones can get in my head and feel as though they happened. And anxiety can result. It's a bad combo with being a hypochondriac.

I dream about detailed photoshop projects all the time and wake up tired from them. But sometimes with good ideas.

Do you daydream? Ever just drift off on thoughts without literally seeing what you are looking at?

When I was I college, I had to doodle incessantly during lectures - to occupy just enough of my brain not to drift off completely or I would recall nothing.

I have a hard time shutting down at night for this very reason.

Adderal keeps me in check and focused on task pretty good during the day but it'll keep me up if I take it too late so I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't.

If I have any new projects going on, there's not a chance in hell my brain stops doing the very same thing as yours.

Honestly, I think it's both a blessing and a curse.

I can't imagine not being able to visualize my thoughts at all. It would be like losing one of my senses.

 

[tcpoke]

Do you suffer from anxiety? If not, it may be a blessing in disguise.

For me visualization is too easy to the point that negative ones can get in my head and feel as though they happened. And anxiety can result. It's a bad combo with being a hypochondriac.

I dream about detailed photoshop projects all the time and wake up tired from them. But sometimes with good ideas.

Do you daydream? Ever just drift off on thoughts without literally seeing what you are looking at?

When I was I college, I had to doodle incessantly during lectures - to occupy just enough of my brain not to drift off completely or I would recall nothing.

Yes. I don't sleep well (never have according my mom and dad). My mind races most nights. Sometimes with important stuff (family, work, health, etc) and often with random less important or not important at all thoughts.

But never are these thoughts really in "picture form". I do occasionally see words, but most of the time it's an internal conversation as opposed to looking at pictures.

 

[MegaPoke]

Yes. I don't sleep well (never have according my mom and dad). My mind races most nights. Sometimes with important stuff (family, work, health, etc) and often with random less important or not important at all thoughts.

But never are these thoughts really in "picture form". I do occasionally see words, but most of the time it's an internal conversation as opposed to looking at pictures.

Really interesting.

During a habitual task like a morning commute, do you not ever zone out and picture another thought or anything? Do you take in every detail during a drive like that?

Not sure I've ever paid complete attention to a drive after I've made it more than 3 times.

 

[tcpoke]

Habitual daydreamer and zone out on drives more often than not.

 

[Rdcldad]

fascinating stuff.
Thanks for sharing

 

[OSUIvan]

Do you suffer from anxiety? If not, it may be a blessing in disguise.

For me visualization is too easy to the point that negative ones can get in my head and feel as though they happened. And anxiety can result. It's a bad combo with being a hypochondriac.

I dream about detailed photoshop projects all the time and wake up tired from them. But sometimes with good ideas.

Do you daydream? Ever just drift off on thoughts without literally seeing what you are looking at?

When I was I college, I had to doodle incessantly during lectures - to occupy just enough of my brain not to drift off completely or I would recall nothing.

It is one good side effect that I can't see the negative things in life, but it doesn't mean that they're not there. There are plenty of negative things that I dwell on from time to time, I just cant see them.

I do day dream, but it's just like my normal thoughts, I use words instead of images.

 

[OSUIvan]

This is a video of how some people visualize (my visualization is 100% dark), but this is my dreams. I do dream, I do see in my dreams, it's just very dark and ZERO faces.

 

[OSUIvan]

I can't even imagine this. So you two @OSUIvan and @tcpoke can't lay in bed and visualize OSU playing Bama in the national championship game in January, and Hill tossing a flea flicker back to Rudolph, who goes deep to Seales for the game winning TD?

I make up all kinds of scenarios like that, and picture exactly how it happens when I am trying to fall asleep at night. Works like a charm.

I can imagine it, but not see it. Think of it as you're listening to the radio broadcast instead of on TV.

 

[OSUIvan]

Really interesting.

During a habitual task like a morning commute, do you not ever zone out and picture another thought or anything? Do you take in every detail during a drive like that?

Not sure I've ever paid complete attention to a drive after I've made it more than 3 times.

Really interesting.

During a habitual task like a morning commute, do you not ever zone out and picture another thought or anything? Do you take in every detail during a drive like that?

Not sure I've ever paid complete attention to a drive after I've made it more than 3 times.

It is funny you ask that, yes I do space out and go into zombie mode while driving (was taking my daughter to my MIL and took my work exit instead of staying on the high way last week). But no I don't see anything while doing it. I'm usually listening to Howard Stern, and what's funny is on the drive home if they're replaying the same thing I was listening on the way in I know exactly where I was on the highway when that part of the segment happened.

 

[OSUIvan]

So I have been talking to 2 Dr's over in England about this and filled out a survey (TC I'd like to put you on contact with them if you'd like to contribute) and one question was about smell, sound and touch. And my mind was blown away again that people can think of a smell and remember how it smelt. Same with sound, when I think of a song I am making the music ( much like you would singing in a car by your self) I don't hear the singers voice, I "hear" my voice mimicking the singer. It blew my mind all over again!

 

[OSUIvan]

So what do you all do when you masturbate? Imagine the sensation?

Like TC I made due =]

 

[PepeDeFrog29]

Like TC I made due =]

I figured you made due, you're not a serial killer

 

[OSUIvan]

@tc

I figured you made due, you're not a serial killer

haha, it's just really hard to describe the thought process. I can't think of the feeling, because like visualizing thoughts I can't imagine feeling, just like I can't smell, or sound. example.... I know what the smell grass smells like after mowing, but I can't pull it up in my head and "smell" it.

 

[tcpoke]

So I have been talking to 2 Dr's over in England about this and filled out a survey (TC I'd like to put you on contact with them if you'd like to contribute) and one question was about smell, sound and touch. And my mind was blown away again that people can think of a smell and remember how it smelt. Same with sound, when I think of a song I am making the music ( much like you would singing in a car by your self) I don't hear the singers voice, I "hear" my voice mimicking the singer. It blew my mind all over again!

Sure thing.

 

[tcpoke]

The best way I can describe it is like this:

As a kid, when we were running around building forts and tree houses I knew what I wanted to do but I talked through it internally. I couldn't "see it" but I could describe it to myself in pretty good detail. Sometimes that didn't work and I would have to adjust, but most of the time it worked just fine. The only difference was I didn't really know what it would look like until I finished it. I built based on a goal of end use as oppossed to trying to build a specific picture.

 

[PepeDeFrog29]

@tc



haha, it's just really hard to describe the thought process. I can't think of the feeling, because like visualizing thoughts I can't imagine feeling, just like I can't smell, or sound. example.... I know what the smell grass smells like after mowing, but I can't pull it up in my head and "smell" it.

I probably should have said I assume you are not a serial killer.

 

[Rdcldad]

I wonder what this ties to in a root sense

 

[osutater]

It is funny you ask that, yes I do space out and go into zombie mode while driving (was taking my daughter to my MIL and took my work exit instead of staying on the high way last week). But no I don't see anything while doing it. I'm usually listening to Howard Stern, and what's funny is on the drive home if they're replaying the same thing I was listening on the way in I know exactly where I was on the highway when that part of the segment happened.

I do this also. I can recall the tree I was looking at when I hear the same part of an interview I had listened to that morning but it's visual for me. I can actually see the tree.

 

[OSUIvan]

I wonder what this ties to in a root sense

From what I have read this has been around since the late 1800's , but no studies were done until recently a guy had eye surgery and lost his ability to visualize his thoughts. There are people on reddit who had it as kids and lost is as well, one guy blames a drug his dr put him on, but who knows.

 

[Rdcldad]

From what I have read this has been around since the late 1800's , but no studies were done until recently a guy had eye surgery and lost his ability to visualize his thoughts. There are people on reddit who had it as kids and lost is as well, one guy blames a drug his dr put him on, but who knows.

So I wonder if it's something a therapist can re-wire