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I have Aphantasia and I am Ok

Hello all, I’m Chuck and I have Aphantasia. I have an amazing memory for facts, bits of history, and all kinds of things. I multi task better than most. I do have dyslexia, and I don’t spell as well as others.

If you ask me a question about something I know, I can give you all the big and little detail.  I play music, I’m a flautist and I don’t practice enough but I can make music.  I can read a book and memorize much of it the first time through it. I’m a publish author.

I do not see any images in my as some call it the “Mind’s eye.” I do have a little bit of visual in dreams, but very little and mostly things are soft gray. 

Here’s where this has been leading to, my having Aphantasia does not need therapy. It does not need fixing.  I do not say, “I can see that,”  but I do say, “I know that.”

There are things I do throughout my dailey life that help me do things better, but I do not need therapy.

I a,m enjoying life, I make a good living, and I am happy. I don’t need to be fixed, Aphantasia is not a deicit within my live.

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Isabel Storey
on May 31, 2023

I am coming around to the idea that ‘aphantasia’ is another word for illusionism. I was part of a PhD’s study group testing tendency to perceive illusions and was one of a small group who do not perceive even the most commonly accepted illusions. In other words we see things as they truly are.
I am also a published writer and now wish I had never heard of aphantasia asit now seems to be regarded as some form of mental deficiency rather than just plain different with benefits.

Colin Coltrane
on August 8, 2024

Thank you Charles, I think your experience is similar to mine (except for dyslexia/bad spelling) and I agree with your approach on this. I just realized I have had aphantasia all my life, but I prefer to think of it as an inability and a superpower, not a disability. Just think, you and I can’t do what most other people can (visualize images), but instead of considering it that way, I try to instead highlight all of the benefits I gain. Without being burdened by an abundance of imagery, I am more freely able to make abstract connections and categorize information. Instead of feeling like I cannot do what others can, I am realizing more and more ways that almost noone can do what I can.