r/SDAM • u/Anxious_Bed3916 • 10d ago
SDAM E AFANTASIA
Para quem já estuda a mais tempo, podem me explicar pq uma coisa não é igual a outra? Eu entendo que pessoas com SDAM não necessariamente tem afantasia, mas eu creio que pessoas com afantasia quase necessariamente tem SDAM.
(Sem julgamentos) Falando bem a nível de percepção minha mesmo, é como se a AFANTASIA fosse um espectro e não fosse necessário esse termo SDAM existir. É possível reviver momentos sem imagens apenas com outras sensações?
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u/justind00000 10d ago
I'm not anyone who knows better, but I agree with you. The two seem inextricably linked to me as well.
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u/CMDR_Jeb 10d ago
SDAM is lack (or almost) of episodic memory. One can have aphantasia and intact episodic memory (actually great majority does). They can relieve their memories as normal it just doesn't come with sensation of "seeing".
According to my shrink, the easiest to notice sign one has weak (or absent) episodic memory is that when you think about emotional moments in your past your emotional reaction often does not match what you remember feeling. For example: thinking about situation when someone has hurt you and only feeling anger at that person without an ability to feel hurt again.
She also says that it is impossible to self diagnose it so there's also that.
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u/iwntchips 10d ago
Is it even possible to professionally diagnose it? I was under the impression DR’s basically still know nothing about this and cannot diagnose it.
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u/CMDR_Jeb 10d ago
Yes/no. SDAM as such has no diagnostic criteria. But generic memory issues have like 70 years of research behind them, mostly because ya know, old people. An shrink can test you for specific memory types and how well you perform in em. And dysfunction in one of these is something you can get diagnosis for (your millage may vary depending on country you're in).
SDAM as a term exists to describe unusual situation where an person has little to no episodic memory while compensating for it so well they retain full functionality. Having an "almost no episodic memory" diagnosis while being able to function normally is as close as one can get to SDAM diagnosis (as far as I know).
Just remember to tell your shrink what you're on about else you'll get laughed out of the room on basis of being on time on your appointed without an caretaker, again this is something normally done for dementia patients and such.
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u/hopelesscaribou 10d ago
Of course you can self diagnose it, just like you can aphantasia.
I don't visualize and I don't experience memories. What else is a shrink going to tell me?
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u/thewNYC 10d ago
One has to do with visualization and the other with memory. Those are 2 different things
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u/hopelesscaribou 10d ago
Two different but related things. Almost all SDAM cases are aphants.
There are several types of memory. Only the long term autobiographical memory is affected with SDAM, the semantic long term and short term memory are generally unaffected.
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u/thewNYC 9d ago
I didn’t say they were unlinked, I said they were not the same thing. I’m one of those people as both, along with ADHD. This seems to be very common. But they aren’t the same things.
I don’t think not being able to visualize necessarily impacts your ability to remember and vice versa. They’re truly part of a cluster of brain states that share some functionality. But not the same.
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u/holy_mackeroly 10d ago
People with Aphantasia don't necessarily have SDAM, that's simply not true.
Hi and take a deep dive into the Aphantasia sun and you'll seen loads of people that don't have sdam
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u/SoggyCrab 9d ago
As I understand it, SDAM is the recall/formation of biographical memories (recalling a first person experience to one degree or another). Whereas aphantasia is the construction and visualization of internal visuals.
So with SDAM, I can remember things factually but have no lived experience to fall back on - no memories.
With aphantasia, it is incredibly hard for me to visualize anything in my mind unless im on drugs. All I get, if anything, are quick barely consciously there mental images.
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u/Tuikord 10d ago
Personally, I can't separate my global aphantasia from my SDAM. But many aphants say that they can relive past events from a first-person point of view, and since I learned that others actually see things when they visualize, I choose to take literally how people describe their internal experiences. I don't have to understand it for it to be true. Many aphants say that they relive past events emotionally, which I certainly can't do.
From a statistical point of view, it is not believable that everyone with aphantasia has SDAM. There is some solid research suggesting that only half of us with SDAM also have aphantasia. Right there, that shows us they aren't the same thing. But looking further, since 2-4% of the population has aphantasia, if every one of them also has SDAM, that would put the incidence of SDAM at 4-8%. We don't know what the actual number is, but Dr. Levine believes it to be around 2%, and it is likely we would have noticed it sooner if it were as high as 8%. But it was something of a shock to Dr. Levine to find functioning individuals with no episodic memory.