About a year ago I learned for the first time that other people can actually visualize things in their minds. I have always had this vague sense that how my mind worked wasn't quite right, but I could never put my finger on it until I stumbled across this. Not knowing I was missing out on something so big was fine, but now that I know it is painful. I can ignore the fact for a time and act like I'm normal, but then suddenly it's there glaring me in the face that I am missing something so basic. I've always felt I was a creative person that just couldn't quite make things click and now I know why and there's nothing I can do to fix it. I love to read, but realizing that other people can actually picture the characters and the scenes while I just get a general 'feel' for everything is painful. Knowing other people can picture the faces of their loved ones and I can't makes me feel awful too. I am not as bad off as Blake Ross. I have a very small amount of sensory imagination, I have some imagination for audio and scent, I have a vague visualization of 'movement' as though I can imagine the most basic of lines it would take to make up the thing or event, but never the complete thing or event itself. I do have dreams, so I feel like perhaps the connection could still be made and I could one day visualize, but I have no idea where to start and research on the topic of aphantasia is so new that I feel I have little hope of finding out how in my life time.
So far not a single person I have talked to in real life suffers aphantasia and it makes me feel very alone. Who else on GAF suffer from it?
So far not a single person I have talked to in real life suffers aphantasia and it makes me feel very alone. Who else on GAF suffer from it?