I recently discovered I have aphantasia. I cannot actively recall any imagery, my visual mind is completely blank at all times with the exception of the occasional dream. I am not sure if this is related, but I have found that I am insanely empathetic regarding my emotional response towards others, although on the contrary, I respond much more logically towards my own experiences. For example, if someone in a room is distraught (even a random stranger), I physically feel it. It is a visceral response for me to return the emotion. I do not have a say in the matter, which becomes incredibly exhausting, often causing me to seclude myself from others. After doing some research, I have found that individuals with aphantasia are very present oriented since we cannot visualize the past or picture the future. Meaning, we are very in-tune to reading others who are physically present around us. We pick up on body movements, facial expressions, tone of voice. Probably as a survival tactic to exist in society. We cannot remember facial expressions visually, so we become hyper aware of what to recognize in individuals when they’re in the physical (I.e., slight upturn of the mouth, relaxed muscles around the eyes, slight flaring of the nostrils equals contentment). People often ask me if I can “read minds”. It’s abnormal for them but, for myself, being hyper aware of others emotions is very typical and automatic by this point in my early 30’s. But, when it comes to my own experiences, it takes much more to make me feel emotions (besides anxiety and impending doom). I feel this is because I often do not look at myself when I feel something. Alls I have is my racing thoughts and incessant inner monologue which can often make me anxious. I think logically through algorithms. A happened in the past, meaning B is the most probable outcome. I’m not sure if many others can relate. This is just my experience. But if you feel that you can, then please share. It would help me to not feel so alone?

I am a newly discovered aphantasic and still in the shock and awe stage. I am a bit confused here with emotions being wrapped into an aphantasic's response with empathy. While I have always felt my empathy lacked depth, how does this relate to aphantasia?Also, slightly off topic but do others fail with reading other's body language?

Ive always considered the very concept of empathy to be very....egotistical...and presumptive, honestly. Its not a popular or common view point i know!  But Ive always thought that you can actually  never completely understand, let alone feel, EXACTLY what something is like for another person. Your understanding and knowledge of 'that something' is  unavoidably and irrevocably coloured by who you are, you experiences, your background etc etc etc; meaning it is actually physically impossible for you to feel what another is. However you can, in most general cases,  make a good approximation it, but an approximation means it isnt really feeling what another is, it is just sympathy and compassion...

I think your empathy comes from an abstract understanding of the source of the others emotional state. I can relate. Early training led me to treat others as I would want to be treated so, if in xyz situation I would want abc, then that would be my response. Most often it works out well, but not always! I had a mother-in-law whom I would not shame by deep cleaning that more which I would be ashamed to leave to discover she would rather I had done the deep cleaning:). These days, while I keep the notion of 'doing as one would be done by' close, I tend to ask first if this that or the other would be of any help. Why try to 'visualise' someone else's experience? It is impossible. The experience belongs to them. what belongs to the by-stander is the effect or consequence of the experience and it is this which elicits empathy. Remember that, at some stage, everything goes through the brain as it receives and responds to reports from within the body. When responding to a situation/person requiring empathy, the brain is being economical with energy by responding as you describe. It would be both a waste and a dishonest effort for your brain to attempt an emotional response to create empathy. The energy and effort in an emotional response is best reserved for situations when you are in need of empathy from another.  Once I had a lot to say until I learned what not to say in order not to give offence to avoid  battering against the fence of deeply held belief. So it was with relief that I broke the habit and no longer grabbed at conversation. Then I found it all too quiet and decided to break the verbal diet the initial obstacle to cross was the discovery of total loss of patterned words for conversation and worse, I found in consternation were the same trite truths from predicted angle the same nowhere threads left in the air to dangle silently. So to silence I again retired serene in knowledge late acquired of a truth never heard but often told that speech is silver, silence gold. Wrapped in the knowledge I now find conversation from mind to mind more accurately expressed by touch as hands and kisses dies lie - as much - as words.

I have the same problem. It's hard to help with showing emotions rather than giving advice.

I believe I am a total aphantasic, but am highly empathic and intuitive, and can also feel a great deal of sympathy for animals and a more qualified sympathy for people (as in, how much digging did they do to create the hole they find themselves in). People IRL will jokingly call me a witch (some not so jokingly) because I can "see" their patterns and read their emotions.    

I have high aphantasia and low empathy.  Similarly, I have to make some sort of internal logic process of "person seems to be doing ____, thus, I think I need to _______."  I have taken a LOT of classes on dealing with people, EQ, and empathy.  I believe I can relate.   

With myself it feels like cognitive empathy, I can put myself in peoples shoes and know that their situation is bad and but it doesn't change anything inside me, I know how to comfort them from learnt behavior.

I am very interested in this as well.   Thank you Zach for asking the question.  I hadn't thought this way before, but when I read the question, it hit home.

I recently discovered I have aphantasia. I cannot actively recall any imagery, my visual mind is completely blank at all times with the exception of the occasional dream. I am not sure if this is related, but I have found that I am insanely empathetic regarding my emotional response towards others, although on the contrary, I respond much more logically towards my own experiences. For example, if someone in a room is distraught (even a random stranger), I physically feel it. It is a visceral response for me to return the emotion. I do not have a say in the matter, which becomes incredibly exhausting, often causing me to seclude myself from others. After doing some research, I have found that individuals with aphantasia are very present oriented since we cannot visualize the past or picture the future. Meaning, we are very in-tune to reading others who are physically present around us. We pick up on body movements, facial expressions, tone of voice. Probably as a survival tactic to exist in society. We cannot remember facial expressions visually, so we become hyper aware of what to recognize in individuals when they’re in the physical (I.e., slight upturn of the mouth, relaxed muscles around the eyes, slight flaring of the nostrils equals contentment). People often ask me if I can “read minds”. It’s abnormal for them but, for myself, being hyper aware of others emotions is very typical and automatic by this point in my early 30’s. But, when it comes to my own experiences, it takes much more to make me feel emotions (besides anxiety and impending doom). I feel this is because I often do not look at myself when I feel something. Alls I have is my racing thoughts and incessant inner monologue which can often make me anxious. I think logically through algorithms. A happened in the past, meaning B is the most probable outcome. I’m not sure if many others can relate. This is just my experience. But if you feel that you can, then please share. It would help me to not feel so alone?

I am a newly discovered aphantasic and still in the shock and awe stage. I am a bit confused here with emotions being wrapped into an aphantasic's response with empathy. While I have always felt my empathy lacked depth, how does this relate to aphantasia?Also, slightly off topic but do others fail with reading other's body language?

Ive always considered the very concept of empathy to be very....egotistical...and presumptive, honestly. Its not a popular or common view point i know!  But Ive always thought that you can actually  never completely understand, let alone feel, EXACTLY what something is like for another person. Your understanding and knowledge of 'that something' is  unavoidably and irrevocably coloured by who you are, you experiences, your background etc etc etc; meaning it is actually physically impossible for you to feel what another is. However you can, in most general cases,  make a good approximation it, but an approximation means it isnt really feeling what another is, it is just sympathy and compassion...

I think your empathy comes from an abstract understanding of the source of the others emotional state. I can relate. Early training led me to treat others as I would want to be treated so, if in xyz situation I would want abc, then that would be my response. Most often it works out well, but not always! I had a mother-in-law whom I would not shame by deep cleaning that more which I would be ashamed to leave to discover she would rather I had done the deep cleaning:). These days, while I keep the notion of 'doing as one would be done by' close, I tend to ask first if this that or the other would be of any help. Why try to 'visualise' someone else's experience? It is impossible. The experience belongs to them. what belongs to the by-stander is the effect or consequence of the experience and it is this which elicits empathy. Remember that, at some stage, everything goes through the brain as it receives and responds to reports from within the body. When responding to a situation/person requiring empathy, the brain is being economical with energy by responding as you describe. It would be both a waste and a dishonest effort for your brain to attempt an emotional response to create empathy. The energy and effort in an emotional response is best reserved for situations when you are in need of empathy from another.  Once I had a lot to say until I learned what not to say in order not to give offence to avoid  battering against the fence of deeply held belief. So it was with relief that I broke the habit and no longer grabbed at conversation. Then I found it all too quiet and decided to break the verbal diet the initial obstacle to cross was the discovery of total loss of patterned words for conversation and worse, I found in consternation were the same trite truths from predicted angle the same nowhere threads left in the air to dangle silently. So to silence I again retired serene in knowledge late acquired of a truth never heard but often told that speech is silver, silence gold. Wrapped in the knowledge I now find conversation from mind to mind more accurately expressed by touch as hands and kisses dies lie - as much - as words.

I have the same problem. It's hard to help with showing emotions rather than giving advice.

I believe I am a total aphantasic, but am highly empathic and intuitive, and can also feel a great deal of sympathy for animals and a more qualified sympathy for people (as in, how much digging did they do to create the hole they find themselves in). People IRL will jokingly call me a witch (some not so jokingly) because I can "see" their patterns and read their emotions.    

I have high aphantasia and low empathy.  Similarly, I have to make some sort of internal logic process of "person seems to be doing ____, thus, I think I need to _______."  I have taken a LOT of classes on dealing with people, EQ, and empathy.  I believe I can relate.   

With myself it feels like cognitive empathy, I can put myself in peoples shoes and know that their situation is bad and but it doesn't change anything inside me, I know how to comfort them from learnt behavior.

I am very interested in this as well.   Thank you Zach for asking the question.  I hadn't thought this way before, but when I read the question, it hit home.