Hey Miko, What you describe is pretty much the norm for Aphantasia.  To briefly summarize what I've read, it's described like dreaming is from the bottom up, in that dreams come from the brainstem and make their way up into the visual centers of our brain.  But, conscious creation of imagery works from the top down, or from the Cortex down.  That's a really rough breakdown, and I encourage you to read more articles on the topic because you are definitely not alone in your experience.

I can have extremely clear dreams with visuals and everything, but when I wake up, I can't visualize any of it. Smells, sounds, feelings and textures, tastes I could remember, but not visual. It just seems that our subconscious is already creating the images, but our conscious that we do control seems to dull it out or mute it entirely for those like myself who straight up can't visualize. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's my best explanation.

I do have vivid dreams with the ability to see. If I want to recall them I'm not recalling them visually, though. I know that they've happened; it's like watching a movie, but I don't imagine visually when I'm awake.

Hey Miko, What you describe is pretty much the norm for Aphantasia.  To briefly summarize what I've read, it's described like dreaming is from the bottom up, in that dreams come from the brainstem and make their way up into the visual centers of our brain.  But, conscious creation of imagery works from the top down, or from the Cortex down.  That's a really rough breakdown, and I encourage you to read more articles on the topic because you are definitely not alone in your experience.

I can have extremely clear dreams with visuals and everything, but when I wake up, I can't visualize any of it. Smells, sounds, feelings and textures, tastes I could remember, but not visual. It just seems that our subconscious is already creating the images, but our conscious that we do control seems to dull it out or mute it entirely for those like myself who straight up can't visualize. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's my best explanation.

I do have vivid dreams with the ability to see. If I want to recall them I'm not recalling them visually, though. I know that they've happened; it's like watching a movie, but I don't imagine visually when I'm awake.