Juliette BEHA

"This is a very interesting question. There is some early evidence that suggests aphantasia might be linked to another phenomenon known as Severely Deficient Autobiographical Memory, or SDAM for short. Autobiographical memory is defined as both the recollection of personal past events (i.e. special events from your past) and factual knowledge about oneself (i.e. your favourite food as a kid). People with SDAM have reported an ability to remember details about an event (because they've either seen a photo or deliberately learnt a story about what happened) but they cannot "picture" being there. This means that while they cannot experience the nostalgia of 'reliving the best times in life,' the upside is that they can’t recall the pain associated with the bad things either. This makes them far less likely to hold grudges as they can’t conjure up the emotion that made them feel bad in the first place. Pretty neat! Wish I was this way... Some aphants have reported having both conditions present. You can read more about Susie McKinnon's experience here. Does this experience sound familiar? What's your memory like?"

"I don't have the ability to relive or re-experience memories, but in my case it doesn't seem to impair my ability to recall the details. My memory does seem to be more non-linear than average; it takes a conscious effort to sort things into sequential order. I also have a poor memory for specific sensory details like people's faces and voices. But I have no problem with the general components of narrative memory: who, where, when, what, why and how. Oddly enough, I do have nostalgia even though I don't relive memories. In my case, it's because I form emotional attachments to places. I think I'm one of the lucky ones -- I don't need mental time travel in order to have a strong sense of personal history and identity. To me, actually reliving a memory sounds like a bizarre oddity."

"I was worried about my memory well before I found out I was Aphantasiac.I'd put my name down for a university study to get trhings checked out.The waiting list was long.I then had my epiphany and realised that I wasn't visualising.I wondereded if this was connected too.I recently got the call and spent 4 gruelling sessions getting tested.Some things were easy, some nigh on impossible.I got the results back on Tuesday and found to my surprise that I'm rather bright ( top 98percentile)and top 99.5 percentile for a couple of task types) and my memory was above average, but not as good ( 77percentile and 82 percentile) for the two types of memory tested.So I don't have early onset dementia, but the things that worried my might be explained, I was told, by trauma, stress, andopiod pain killers.So no link between lost time, missing memories and Aphantasia for me.Maybe you could contact your local universities and see if they can check you out too?Might give you a deeper insight."

"I feel like this is the first time my memory has been described correctly. I believe I have SDAM as I can only remember things from my childhood if I've seen a picture of that event within the last 10 years or so. I only have one memory that I can think of that brings back strong emotions (negative emotion) from about 12 years ago. I feel like I'm missing out on being able to retell stories about my childhood as I just don't remember what happened... I don't have a bad short term memory (usually) but, my long term memory continues to get worse and worse. I'm only 27 and as I learn more about Aphantasia and how my brain works, I get more and more worried that I'm going to forget other key moments of my life (wedding day, daughter being born, etc)."

"Having just read Tom Ebeyer's comments about memory and Maarten Serneels article about SDAM I am feeling normalized (?). So many odd and disturbing thing about myself, like lack of childhood (and adulthood) memories, very few long term relationships and no real nostalgia for past family holidays or other events. What a relief to know that I am not deficient, just a bit different. And then again not so different from other people I am learning from and about since finding aphantasia. Thanks to everyone who has shared their experience here."

"I certainly don't recall any event as if it was a home movie, more like a book I know I've read but end up reading again because I can' remember how it ended.  Two weddings, two births, lots of birthdays and just facts and photos.  I worked 20 yrs at a high school and there is little I can tell you about it - just a handful of stories.  I even had to contact my daughter to ask if I was there when her child was born 23 yrs ago - I couldn't remember (she says I was).  I have little emotion attached to events of the past or the people in it.  When I was a child there was a traumatic event in our family.  My sister is still processing it and I've been "over it" since the day it happened.  My aphantasia is complete across the senses, I can't "dwell on the past," I just meet the new day and see what it brings."

"I remember facts but zero visuals. I have a very hard time remembering most all past events and even those I remember I do not remember much detail. Others can bring out memories in a limited way by talking about those times. I do not remember emotions other than vaguely. I generally am pretty much just living in the present."