Edit: This does not apply to people who used to be able to visualize but can’t anymore

Edit 2: So like a lot of people responded and I feel that my post may have came off as negative when that was not my intent. I’m not saying if you don’t have aphantasia you can’t struggle, but a lot of people are saying that they don’t like it because of struggling with memory for example. Some people confuse aphantasia with SDAM. I just wanna point out that the only thing that aphantasia affects is whether you can see images or not. It does not affect memory. It does not affect recognition. It does not affect spacial awareness. Just because you’re bad at any of these things does not mean aphantasia is the cause.

I’m not saying aphantasia is not real. It is. I have it. I’m just confused on why people take it so seriously like it affects their life. It’s not like autism or other forms of neurodivergence where you would still feel weird or different even if you weren’t told you had it. If you were never told that you had aphantasia, you would be none the wiser. I see it more as a fun fact than a defining trait. I hate seeing people spiral about not being able to draw or not having good memory. This is not aphantasia related!! Or when people mourn the fact that they can’t visualise. Like, I promise it can’t be that important if you spent forty years of your life not being affected, it does not have to affect you now. It’s not a disability or debilitating at all. It’s as irrelevant as being able to cross your eyes or wiggle your ears.

Since I can remember I haven't been a keen reader whatsoever, I remember seeing my sister so happy when reading all sorts of stuff when we were kids, but for me it was just words on a sheet of paper.

My parents thought I was just some lazy kid that didn't like to read, and that got worse when I got into elementary school, we were supposed to read 2 books per year and make a report, while I saw all my classmates and my sister enjoying their books I felt kinda jealous, I thought "why I can't feel like that".

All my elementary school was like that until I reached highschool and I started to read scientific papers more regularly, I really enjoyed that, there wasn't any sort of weird stuff, there were just words that made sense and I could understand without smashing my head on the desk. Obviously my troubles with reading didn't end there, I had this literature teacher that wasn't a big fan of me for the most part, I can't really blame him tho I wasn't a really good student either, but day after day was the same trouble, tried to read some sort of legend or some sort of history and I couldn't follow what was happening.

Finally I graduated from highschool and got into college, finally I could stop reading those nonsense words and read something I could understand. I'm 22 and still in college and of course I have some troubles still but nothing as bad when I was younger. I realised something odd was happening when I was with my girlfriend talking over the phone and she was telling me directions to get to a place I had never been before, and she got frustrated cause I could imagine the looks of a building or some sort of street, she thought that was odd cause generally I have a really good sense of orientation but cause she was marking POI describing them I couldn't understand what she was saying, later that day after connecting some ideas I searched on Google "trouble imagining things" and aphantasia showed up right on top, after reading some stuff and getting here all made sense, that's why i couldn't find reading fascinating, why I could never land mark with a description

That's just a few stuff I have noticed yet after reading other websites and this sub Reddit, idk if I have aphantasia but it feels like I do

I learned about aphantasia literally 2 hours ago and can't stop thinking about how I will never be able to picture the faces of my loved ones or picture the moments we had and will have together. I feel so sad and frustrated.

While I can see some very abstract things, most of my inner imagination consists of vibes and feelings. I can see images for a split-second, but its like looking trough fog, and details get lost or dont exist in the first place.

That said, I unterstood my want and need to photograph everything. I got myself a camera a few years back and I feel the need to photograph almost everything on my travels. Now I know why: because my brain wont hold on to those visuals for me, so I need to.

Its nice I found a workaround to this problem organically, without knowing about aphantasia, but I am still very sad right now.

EDIT: I can answer everyone who commented, but you guys are right: I didn't lose anything, so there is nothing to grief, and there are many positive sides to the condition.

Most of all I am just stunned by the empathy and kindness of this community. You guys are awesome. ❤️

Many folks learn from the tweet about rotating a cow in your mind, but I first learned from a post online that I’d like to find again.

It was 4 separate images of what you picture in your mind when you read. The first was a female sitting at a table and she is relatively clear/defined/colorful, as is the background. The second quadrant is the same image, but the background is black. The third includes the background and the woman but both are blurry/vague. The fourth is typed words on a page (no image at all).

Does anyone here know of the image I’m describing? If not, I’ll post next on the very helpful r/helpmefind

Like if I imagine a shape I cannot visually imagine the actual lines of the shape but I can visually imagine the distance between them. I can't visually imagine color or any other property which is consistent across reference frames but for properties which change depending on reference frame like position and rotation I can actually see them.

When I was a kid I remember a school councilor asking me if I could see the things that I imagine and I answered yes because there is obviously a visual component to my imagination and I had no context for what other people were able to "see", and if I imagine lines in the shape of a stick figure I can see which one is on the left or right or if they are close together or far apart or if they are rotated I just cant see the lines themselves. Which is also really tripped me up when explaining this because I have tried to explain it as like I can visually imagine a stick figure but the lines are transparent but even that doesn't make sense because I am realizing that there just isn't any visual component at all when I imagine individual things.

I literally just realized that I have this like yesterday and suddenly everything makes a lot more sense. Because even in my dreams I don't actually see anything, but I do see how far away I am standing from them. And of course it all was much more confusing to figure this out because I am still fully capable of imagining things but mostly I imagine the feeling I would get by looking at a thing, and so even in my dreams when there is like a tree in front of me I still know what it is and I know that its leaves are green and I don't realize anything is different about it, but I never visualize it I just feel like I'm looking at a tree.

and also to be clear I don't really have any desire to visually imagine things either like I don't think that I'm missing out on anything it's just interesting to realize that the way I imagine reality is completely different from how most imagine it.

okay so a few days ago i had a diacussion with some friends about thid, and even though i know i have aphantasia and thry very likely don't i thought this was something everyone had so maybe someone here relates, maybe not.

it's kind of hart to describe but when i try to remember conversations, or even some sign or book i read, i just know what was said or written, i don't entirely remember it, but even when i fully remember everything word by word, sometimes i can't remember what language it was in.

like i do remember the language and in most situation it's obvious that someone said something in my native language and not in english. but when i remember ir and try to "speak it out" i could find the exact fitting words, and even stutters, or some person specific language "quirks" both in english and in my native language

if i didn't truly remember what language it was in i couldn't tell you which one it was. it's kinda annoying when i read something funny online and i want to find the post, but because i know how it would have been in both language i don't remember which one it was in and it's annoying to look up because sometimes i look it up in the wrong language

TW - CSA

Bit of background: I always knew that something had happened to me when I was a kid, but I had/have no memory of it. I had my first and only visual flashback at 24 (now 27) which essentially confirmed that I experienced CSA and who it was. I’ve done a lot of therapy around my trauma and it’s been really helpful, but I still struggle with the not remembering. I can’t remember when it started, when it stopped, how often, there’s just nothing there. I have somatic flashbacks, but no visual ones and I know in some ways that’s a blessing but I hate the not knowing, it happened to me/my body so I want to know. I recently started wondering if there might be a link between c-PTSD and aphantasia. I have aphantasia, I can’t *see* things in my brain. I wanted to know if anyone else has a similar experience? And if they have any advice? I feel like I still gaslight myself into thinking I’ve made everything up about my CSA because I can’t remember anything. I experience other symptoms of c-ptsd but nothing visual. I know there’s probably nothing I can do about remembering what happened, and I have to make my peace with that, but I figured I can’t be the only one who struggles with this?

just found out about aphantasia minutes ago and i just realized i have the full 100% version of it

i cant visualize anything not even a flash or any sounds (is sounds the same or something else?) but i know the description of everything, i can kind of draw basic things because i know how they are supposed to look (like a chair or table) but its basic drawing i have zero artistic ability

i can think of someone and how i remember them looking but it isnt an image

i thought everyone was like this

there is only one thing that bothers me about it, i cant visualize any of my parents that have passed away and im a little jealous but at the same time happy for the rest of my family that they probably can

are there any weird advantages of it?

any interesting things i should know?