Aphantasia

[El Cid 212]

Aphantasia is the inability to voluntarily create mental images in one's mind.

 

I think I could have this condition, every ailment does have a name these days.

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/Q8SnmF33gpBNtpYWLMx806/aphantasia-what-its-like-when-you-cant-recall-mental-images-in-your-mind

[Delbow 686]

I wish I had this, I have some right mental images in my mind

[Thirsty Relic 208]

I looked at this thread just to see what it was.  Most new threads I open I find of no interest (some are just trying to see how long they can try put an ad on free before being rejected, others I can't work out what they are about by the title).  This is different, and deserves a comment.

 

Instead of talking of medical terms (which puts a lot of people off), I like to think in terms of abilities.   I think many of us/most of us perhaps would have some abilities or lack of them that would have names associated with them, but for me are just things that define a person and their personality.

 

We all know people who can remember facts easily, and others that can't, or at least need some form of stimulus.  Some can look at a button and immediately see that it is the same shade as a jumper they have at home, so would go well with it.  Others couldn't.  The same is true of the senses of smell, taste, and so on.  Some people have to accept labels (its no good looking at multi-coloured graphs and charts at work without explaining you are colour blind and can't tell the difference!), others find ways of muddling through.

 

What I have noted though, is that as soon as someone "comes out" about having an "ism", people react differently to them.  Some want to get closer (almost as if they want to have a friend with that condition), others move away, in case they catch it!  People see the condition, not the person.  That's often why people keep things under wraps.  Safe, but not always healthy!

 

I followed the link and found it interesting.  Thanks for it El Cid.  Thanks nikki-red

 

It's good to have the occasional interesting factual threads as well as our well-loved frivolous ones. 

 

 

 

[El Cid 212]

9 hours ago, Thirsty Relic said:

We all know people who can remember facts easily, and others that can't, or at least need some form of stimulus.  Some can look at a button and immediately see that it is the same shade as a jumper they have at home, so would go well with it.  Others couldn't.  The same is true of the senses of smell, taste, and so on.  Some people have to accept labels (its no good looking at multi-coloured graphs and charts at work without explaining you are colour blind and can't tell the difference!), others find ways of muddling through.

I agree with that.

Never been good at remembering faces, names and following directions inless I write them down.  I have always regarded my memory as being poor, but yet when I did a in-class memory test I came second. This was when I was in my 30s.

I do not visualise in my memory, which makes remembering more difficult. Sat nav and spell check make me appear normal 

 

[Thirsty Relic 208]

I've never liked that term - "normal".  That implies some people are abnormal (most would take that as meaning subnormal).  I'd rather talk of people with different skill sets.

 

For instance, I watch TV comedy panel shows and football on TV.  Highly skilled people in both areas.  Would I put Ian Hislop and Paul Merton in the England team at the Euros and expect us to win?  No.  Would I put Harry Kane and Marcus Rashford on the Have I Got News for You program and expect it to be as funny?  Probably not!

 

Often (but not always) people end up using their main skills for employment in areas where their lack of skills in other areas are at least not as apparent.

 

What I find enlightening is when people meet up in pubs and do quizzess.  You'll get a total mix of people and those good at quizzes are often not the people you would expect to be from their employment. 

 

I think as individuals we tend to know and work to our strengths, but sadly we accept criticism for areas we are not as good at, and often we get upset as a result.  We shouldn't.  Perhaps we should be more accepting of who we are!

[nikki-red 307]

If someone says to me, for example, picture a beach with a palm tree, I know what one looks like, could describe or draw one,  but I can’t actually visualise one.
I never realised this wasn’t ‘normal’ till a few years ago.

It makes me quite sad sometimes as I can’t get pictures of my sons or my family in my head, especially not from memories of them.

I can sometimes manage to visualise an image from a photograph of them if I close my eyes tho. All very strange.

I have a constant internal monologue too, which I have read can be linked to aphantasia.