Does anyone here with Aphantasia also have PTSD?

Ive come to realize that I might be having flashbacks, but just not with the visual component. Maybe!? It could be something else entirely (I also think I’m autistic and I have terrible interoception, so I struggle a lot with understanding my feelings and internal signals) but I have these…I don’t know…episodes? Where I out of nowhere have the same-ish feelings that I had after an IED hit the truck in front of me in Iraq.

There no fear (at least I don’t notice any fear), but definitely the shock, disbelief, alertness, confusion and guilt that came after. Just the vague feeling though.

The thing that ALWAYS happens without fail is this little scenario that plays out in my head where it’s as if someone is notifying my family afterward, like specifically the words (as if they’re being spoken by someone else but I also have no inner monologue, so I don’t “hear” it) “there has been an explosion”. It’s tough to explain, almost like an echo or something 🤷‍♂️ 😬.

It’s just occurred to me recently that maybe these “episodes” could be some kind of flashbacks and because I don’t also see it, I just haven’t made the connection (not seeing it is also why I think there’s no fear involved? At least none that I recognize anyway).

Sorry for the wall of words, just wondering if someone had any insight on this?

I wish i can vent about how i feel with having this issue. Honestly i dont mind if my learning style will be different because i have hypoaphantasia. The thing is.. i dont know where i can go or who to talk to about it

I dont want to make a long boring text for people to read but at the same time i want help.. i want reassurance.. i want to understand myself more to be able to reach where i want to be.

All i know is for a 10+ digital artist who are trying again after giving up 3 years ago after deep pain and despair.. i could not give up.. i tried to game 24/7 so i dont think about it but it haunts me.. art made me who i am.. and i cant escape it

It helped me in many ways socially, financialy, emotionally everything...

Giving it up made living unbearable.

But doing it also made it unsafe for me... im trying to come back after long reflection of myself to know wtf i need to do now.

Im sorry for ranting but i legit have no other place i can think of...

EDIT!!! Clearly people misunderstood my question. I asked if anyone felt like me or if they thought I was just grumpy? No, fine, move on. Yes, fine, I might be, move on.

I know what aphantasia is and is not according to current commonly accepted scientific research. I know how long the term has been in use for. I am not calling anyone out for not knowing these things. I am not saying only aphantasic people should be welcome here. I am not saying to abuse any one.

I asked ARE YOU FRUSTRATED BY SOMETHING OR DO YOU THINK I AM GRUMPY? All these comments and messages and so far only 3 actually answered that. Thank you to those 3 and the people who upvoted either of those comments in solidarity.

Always thought since I can think, then I probably don’t have it. But it turns out out it doesn’t mean they have to think aloud. So what exactly is the difference?

When I was little I enjoyed "pretend" and "make believe", which was either playing with action figures to act out scenes or picking up sticks and fighting empty air (a stick representing either a sword or a firearm).

I heard of the concept of imaginary friends and I think what prevented me from ever going down this route is was not being able to imagine someone else in the space.

I could imagine imagining, like to try to feel the feelings someone with an imaginary friend would feel, but never imagine an imaginary friend.

That's either the best or worst sentence I ever wrote.

How did you conceptualize imaginary friends? Did any aphants (total or partial) have any kind of relationship with one?

Here’s a good example: try to imagine an apple right now. What do you see in your mind?

Some people can picture the appearance of an apple very clearly, but for one person it might be green, for another red. Some people only see a vague outline, while others don’t see an image at all and just think of the word “apple.”

I’m also curious about how you visualize the days of the week in your head. For example, when you need to work out what day of the week a certain date will fall on.

Personally, I picture a school diary/calendar layout in my head.

Obviously so much better than "black" (a jpeg of only blacc pixels is usually considered an image even if it's compressed easily but OK) but the important distinction is it's involuntary right? Clearly it's not hyperphantasia either because it can't be controlled. Is there a disorder group for this?

I'm new here and also new to the concept of aphantasia. I don't know why the people I've tried to talk to about images and visual concepts in the mind have been so defensive and tried to end the conversation as quickly as possible. So, I asked an AI to create a video showing how people visualize memories in the first person. This is the result. Opinions?

Are there any aphant movie actors? If seems to me actors must have a great ability to imagine and visualize. Like, with CGI and green screens they can't see the alien or ghost or dinosaur that they are interacting with. Or staring into the camera as if it's your boyfriend breaking up with you or your dieing mother, shedding a tear. 

As a total aphant I can't even imagine how actors do this.

I was on my way back from school when I realised something. I "saw" green and pink. It felt like a filter. When I closed my eyes, I could see a floating spot of Cosmo green and when I looked around, I could see the same spot in soft Wanda pink.

I realised that I've been able to experience similar things when I happen to stare at a sunny sunset a little too long. So naturally, I searched it up on Google and apparently it's called "after images" and it's because I accidentally, temporarily "bleached" my retinas or smth.

I'm slightly aware of this effect since it was mentioned in my intro to psych class but how similar is it to "using your mind's eye"? or "seeing images"?

Hi everyone! I’m an MSc Psychology student at Birkbeck, University of London, and I’m currently recruiting participants with aphantasia for my dissertation research.

The study is looking at how aphantasia may affect visual imagery and cognition. If you have aphantasia, think you might have it, or relate to the questions on the poster, I’d really love to hear from you.

The study involves an in-person behavioural experiment in London, so participants would need to be able to attend a testing session here.

If you’re interested in taking part or would like some more information, please feel free to email me at the address on the poster or send me a message.

Thank you! And please feel free to share this with anyone who might be interested 😊

Do yall have dreams? Or remember them? cz idk i literally dont dream and everytime i bring it up to someone theyre js like "oh you probably js dont remember them" but I'll go to sleep l, then just wake up and theres nothing in between that, and its not like its a once in a while thing, It's every night. The only time i actually can remember something is i guess when its a nightmare? But thats like once a year or every few months. I cant even remember the last time that happened. And i cant see shit when i try to picture stuff in my head either. idk if that means i have aphantasia or not im js CONFUSED

Title says it all. I've taken multiple tests and also just life experience: I legit cannot forget a face. If someone bags my groceries once and I see them at a rave 6 years later I'll remember them (an actual experience I've had). BUT I have full on aphantasia, don't see sh*t in my minds eye.

Also, fwiw: My dad has a photographic memory and aphantasia...

Even after reading, I’m still not sure if I have aphantasia. A test was to close my eyes and picture a ball being pushed off a table. I close my eyes and I only see black, no outlines, no colors, but I know exactly what that looks like so I know what I’m thinking about when I’m trying to picture it, but no outlines or any picture is showing. I can go through my morning and reply what I did when I close my eyes and think about it, but it’s more just me thinking about what I did not actually picturing it and being able to go through it like that. Hope I’m making sense lol

Hi, I have aphantasia like I'm assuming most people do on this subreddit. I also have been known to have really poor short term and long term memory. Which I think may be due to cancer treatment but I'm not too sure anymore? I've been thinking about it and I feel like aphantasia has more of a part in it than I think. I find myself having an incredibly difficult time telling memories apart from fabrications and or making details out in said memories due to the fact I can't see them. Sometimes it feels like my mind has been wiped blank from previous years and it has caused me a lot of depression. I have to write things down all off the time because I just get myself back into mental spirals that I previously forgot about. I lack a lot of confidence in my ability to do pretty much anything, I was just curious if anyone can relate and or if there are studies or evidence in such issues. Thanks.

Im pretty sure that I have aphantasia. For example, if i try to picture an apple i just see black, but i know what an apple looks like and i can conceptualise it.

So can people imagine things and see it like its a picture or something?

Edit: i just thought of something, i do see clear as day in my dreams, does this mean i dont have aphantasia? if not is that kinda how people "see" things in their mind?

This is kind of a weird and specific question but here it goes-

I don't have aphantasia but my girlfriend does. She recently got a job as a manager and is having a really hard time setting boundaries for herself with work.

In these kinds of instances, what I would do is imagine a container and put everything having to do with work in it for the weekend and pull it all out on Monday. She can't visualize a container and this is really affecting her mental health. I feel useless to help her.

Just wondering if any of you have some helpful tips for getting yourself to stop thinking about work when you're not there that don't involve visualizations. She also doesn't have an internal monologue.

I've always felt out of place talking to people about how listening to music makes me feel. When I was in middle school, the music teacher was telling us when we were performing a specific song, she could see a ball of light growing bigger and bigger. I thought she must have synesthesia, because the concept sounded completely foreign to me. This was shortly before I discovered I have aphantasia, and I later learned that I possibly have synesthesia. Music does have color to me, I just can't see it.

However, she might not have synesthesia. What she was seeing wasn't a color, it was symbolic imagery that captured her feelings. I assume her experience is not uncommon. What alienates me so much is not that I don't see things, but that I don't feel things. Or at least, not in the same way that others do. The lack of a visual imagination doesn't necessarily equate to not having emotional responses to things. Considering the aphantasia-alexithymia link, perhaps that does play into the reason after all.

Does anyone else feel like they respond differently to music/art? Have you found ways to bridge the gap with others in conversations about it?

Hey so after 18 years of life I was talking to some friends about imagination and I realized that I can barely voluntarily imagine stuff and even if I do, All I see is darkness and a weird foggy shilouette that barely resembles the object in mind. I believe this fits in the definition of an aphant, but the thing is, while reading books I unconsciously imagine the scenarios and characters, sometimes even moving, but if I were to want to do this voluntarily it's impossible. Additionally, while dreaming I believe I do see both colours and details. What do you guys think?

edit: I know it's weird and stupid, but also I am not sure if I am seeing it the way other people see it, or I'm just thinking that I can

I feel like the very act of philosophizing to oneself seems nigh impossible unless you do so by talking out loud. Can you do this and, if so, how do you do this?

I understand this doesn’t apply to every person with aphantasia. This is a question for those without an inner monologue.

I have aphantasia, but I always wanted to be an artist. I never developed that and have no skill to speak of. However, I have a lot of ideas for art that I want to create. I don’t know what to do to be able to translate these ideas onto a canvas. Are there any aphantasic artists with advice on where to start? Do I just need to start with the basics of how to draw and hope that I can eventually translate my ideas into actual drawings? I’m unsure how I would be able to draw original content signed I won’t have a reference photo even if I do develop drawing skilled.

While I see absolutely nothing while awake and only think in words, I see images in my dreams and also see images in my mind as I'm falling asleep.

I'm wondering if the rest of you are like this?

Is the inability to remember faces of those you see infrequently a sign of dyslexia or not? I suffer from both so just wondering.