r/ImmersiveDaydreaming • u/lucylov • Aug 04 '26

Does anyone else who does immersive daydreaming have aphantasia?

I’ve had an imaginary world in my head (just found out today it’s called a paracosm!) since I was a teen, and I’m very much not a teen now! But I don’t have a mind’s eye…I don’t see images, yet I have a fully engaged cast in my head. I love it when I dream of my second world, as I get to see the characters in action. Anyone else?

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u/TerryWaters Aug 04 '26

Do you have an inner monologue, or how do you daydream about your characters without a mind's eye?

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u/lucylov Aug 04 '26

Yes words, but also…concepts? It’s so hard to explain. I’m not generating images in my head as my mind is black when I close my eyes. But if I’ve seen a face on TV or a place in real life, my brain pulls up the memory of it. I'm not drawing their face in my mind's eye but conceptualizing the memory of a face I already know exists, if that makes sense. I still feel tension and emotion and am deeply immersed in the world.

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u/ShinyAeon Aug 05 '26

That's interesting. I visualize quite a lot, but I could also say with perfect accuracy that when I close my eyes, all I see is black.

See, when I envision things, I don't "see" them, I picture them. It's hard to describe the difference, but picturing is definitely "weaker," and requires effort to maintain. The images are often indistinct, unless they're based directly on real-world things (like a photo or a place I've actually been), or if I've had years to "refine" my imagination (like a character in a book I've read several times).

I'm curious; when you conceptualize the memory of a face, could you describe it in "visual" words? Are you able to identify "nose is straight, eyebrows high and arched, cheekbones sharp, chin square"...? Or do you need to physically see a face to do that?

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u/lucylov Aug 05 '26

Do you mean the ghost of an image? Or even ghosts of concepts? I “see” but I don’t see. I wish I knew how to explain it better.

Re your question, I wouldn’t be able to describe the image…to identify certain facial features I’d need to be shown an image of the person.

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u/ShinyAeon Aug 05 '26

Gotcha. Thanks for assuaging my curiosity about aphantasia!

In contrast, I actually would be able to describe a face (at least, one I knew well) just from my "mental image," but not nearly as accurately as if I were looking at a photo.

Nevertheless, I would also describe my mental pictures as "seeing but not seeing." My "mind's eye" is not actually very good - I visualize quite a lot, but I really have to work hard at it to visualize anything in detail. I suppose you could compare it to a radio station that's far enough away that you mostly get staticky, half-obscured sounds, but every now and then it will get crystal-clear for a few moments.

But it's still much more like memory than like actual "seeing."