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Back to all discussions
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Join the conversation and share your experiences with the community.

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Building awareness and understanding of aphantasia through research, education, and community support.

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  • What is Hyperphantasia?
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A temporary way around Aphantasia?

August 6, 20241 min readByJohn Williams
Strategies
I have just today realized that I have had complete Aphantasia since birth. I never knew. I suppose I found a way around it in my early 20's. Here's how? I'm 68 and I took acid in the late 1970s to 1980s on a regular basis. I could visualize expansively while under the influence. I could do what I called "time traveling". Vividly remembering places and situations from previous events and situations. I could smell, taste, see, and feel the emotions from remembered events in my life. I could NEVER do that before or since. Now, I am frightened of taking LSD again,(it's been 40 years) because I might recall emotions from some horrible experiences that have taken place in my life since that time. It seems that what I experienced was what everyone else experiences normally. How can those people deal with accidentally recalling a loved one passing away? Do they have protective tools that I don't? It horrifies me to think that suddenly I could vividly relive a death, or a divorce. John
M
Michael Peele•recently•edited
I think that is one of the superpowers of aphantasia. Memories that are horrible are abstracted and don't create the same sort of emotions as when it happened.
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J
Juliet Peake•recently•edited
I have a similar concern. I'd like to visualise again, but I am aware of things that would be traumatic to visualise too. My boyfriend mentioned hallucinogenics as a potential fix and that would be a reeeeaally interesting experiment (I have not done LSD before), but I too am really concerned that I may not be ready to regain visualisation, short term or long term, if it'll retraumatise me. Would be interested in other responses.
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