INFJ and Aphantasia

Hi,

I’m also an INFJ with aphantasia! I struggle with this as well. Sometimes I feel like I’m going crazy and have described it to a counselor as feeling like my brain is on fire. It’s like I want to be in my inner world, but there’s nothing there, so I either repeat the same phrases over and over again in my mind (makes me feel crazy), totally blank out/stare at a wall, or pace around trying to release my nervous energy that gets built up from a lack of stimulation. People often ask me what I’m thinking about, I guess because they assume I have a lot on my mind with how quiet I am, but I never seem to have a reply to that question. I’m not thinking about anything. Sometimes it makes me feel stupid that I don’t have a lot going on in my mind, but I know I’m an intelligent person when I have something to work on. Hopefully that wasn’t too off topic.

When it comes to being present, that has taken a lot of practice, and I still fail often. I’ve been to lots of counseling and therapy for clinical anxiety, so I’ve learned to focus on the now through things like “grounding techniques” where you list 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 you can hear, 2 you can smell, and 1 you can taste. I guess you can always adjust the numbers and factors depending on your surroundings, but the general idea is to bring your attention to your surroundings. Hope this helps!

Hey! 

24 year old INFJ here. I only recently found out that I have aphantasia and I can’t visualise images in my head, nor do I have an audible internal dialogue. 

Up until recently I was never really too ‘aware’ of my thoughts. Obviously I had thoughts, but because I couldn’t ‘hear’ them, they just came and went without me really realizing what was going on?  Lol, I don’t know if that makes sense but oh well. Anyway, I learned about Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, which helped me to stop and actually recognize negative thoughts when I was having them, and being able to change it into a more constructive thought. So that definitely was a big help for me.

Other than that my mind is pretty quiet, which I’m not particularly thrilled about, and I tend to judge myself for it. That I’m stupid or something, you know. But to be fair it does help with meditation and sleep and it’s pretty great for mindfulness and living in the present lol.

Idk if anyone can relate to this, but I figured it post about my experience, since I don’t have anyone in my environment that can really relate.

Hope this helped 😙

Wow thanks for the tips! This is very helpful. I can totally relate.

Though I always struggle with meditation I will give it a try again. Just makes me feel even more alone in there 😀 do you have any guided meditations that are good?

I also will try the grounding techniques, so I can fill my mind with stuff to think about or to concentrate on.

Thanks for the replies. I didn’t think I could explain it that we’ll, but your replies made me feel understood.

Hi, speak to me.

I am a 75 year old INTJ who discovered last year that I have aphantasia. Although I have a degree in Physics, I was limited by the fact I couldn’t imagine how the advanced math worked.

It seems I compensate by remembering facts. I often find myself reviewing facts old or new.

It’s also pretty dark in my mind but I’ve never felt lonely there. I always thought that I have a good imagination cause I’ve always loved reading novels and then imagining my own stories in that world. I just prefer to see an image first and then read about it. I remember a few fantasy series where I only heard of the book serious because a tv show came out. So what I usually do is look up images of the characters and locations (not watching the tv show) and then read the books. This way I can “remember” what everything looks like and it’s way easier to imagine the story in my mind.

I try to use this technique as much as possible also in other aspects of my life.

People describe me as a very creative person when I never really believed them. How could I be creative when I don’t create original content or art, I’m “just” good at copying. I struggled quite a bit with that as a teenager. Now I know that this is my talent. I don’t sit down and “magically” have this idea of a beautiful pattern. I do a lot of research and look at other people’s amazing work and then I combine it into my own pattern.

I also recently found out that I’m highly sensitive. Some research suggests that highly sensitive people have an especially good imagination and aphantasics are usually not highly sensitive. I might just be the exception 😉 Or there might not be enough research on the topic.

To sum it all up: I realised that what can seem like a weakness is actually a strength when you look at it from the right point of view and adjust your expectations. It can take a while to find the best approach/strategy/technique for yourself but don’t give up. You will find it!

32 year old INTJ here from NZ. I’ve experienced a lot of what is written here. The ability to just not think of anything. I also have had my brain ECG scanned and it was remarked that it transitioned to low activity very quickly, like an experienced meditator’s might. I spent a lot of time staring at the wall as a kid.  I’m also extremely creative. Brain scans showed that all the parts of my brain fire simultaneously as a response to almost anything, which is a feature of INTJs and INFJs. I have lots of INFJ friends and really enjoy talking to that type. I can pick the type very easily in people I meet.  I can understand that feeling of being dissociated from yourself. 

Hi! I just learned that I have aphantasia. I identify as an INFJ but masked as an ENTP for a long time. Idky I felt like mentioning that. 

Sorry. I should’ve mentioned, I’ve been learning about the neuroscience behind the functions for a long time. I also have ADHD so some things that help me stay out of my head: listening to music while I do things. Brain dumping (i.e. sitting down and writing down all of the things in your head. There’s no rules here. It’s difficult for me to put my thoughts into words or images sometimes. Just do whatever you’ve gotta do to get it onto paper. 

Hey there. I’m an Aphantasic and my personality type is ENFP. 

I’m also diagnosed as ADD sub-type “combined” (inattentive/hyperactive). 

Late to the party, but INTJ here with combined type ADHD. I wonder if that’s a fairly common combo meal.