Mental Health

Aphantasia is not a mental disorder, but the discovery of aphantasia can be a psychological stressor for some new discoverers. Discover more about the link between aphantasia and mental health through these resources.

Mental Health

Video

Disordered, Deficient, Dehumanized: How the Language of Aphantasia Research Shapes What We Think About It

A new paper in the Journal of Mad Studies argues that aphantasia research has a blind spot: it quietly treats visual imagery as the norm and aphantasia as the defect—shaping the questions scientists ask before anyone notices the assumption is there.

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Reference

The Nexus of Hoarding and Mental Imagery Extremes: Exploring Hoarding Tendencies in Aphantasia and Hyperphantasia

Aphantasics showed no increased hoarding symptoms, while hyperphantasics exhibited significantly lower tendencies than typical visualizers. This suggests that vivid mental imagery may protect against the development of hoarding behaviors.

Sabel, I., Kay, L., Pearson, J., & Grisham, J. (2026). The nexus of hoarding and mental imagery extremes: exploring hoarding tendencies in aphantasia and hyperphantasia. Psychological Reports. doi:10.1177/00332941261425581

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Reference

An inwardly focused cognitive style links mental imagery and mental health

Mental imagery vividness is part of an inwardly focused cognitive style linked to interoception and mindfulness. This trait mediates the relationship between imagery and mental health by shaping emotional awareness and regulation.

Kvamme, T. L., Rutiku, R., Wierzchoń, M., Griskova-Bulanova, I., Fardo, F., Barzykowski, K., Sandberg, K., & Silvanto, J. (2026). An inwardly focused cognitive style links mental imagery and mental health. Heliyon, 12(2), e44433. doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2025.e44433

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Reference

Comparing the characteristics of hallucinations and mental imagery: a large cross-sectional study in the general population

Researchers found that hallucinations and involuntary imagery share features but differ in vividness, agency, and distress. This supports a shared experiential continuum, helping to distinguish normal from pathological inner experiences.

Pepin, G., Lœvenbruck, H., Chauvin, A., Jacquet, C., Eichenlaub, J.-B., & Bortolon, C. (2026). Comparing the characteristics of hallucinations and mental imagery: a large cross-sectional study in the general population. Consciousness and Cognition, 137, 103974. doi:10.1016/j.concog.2025.103974

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Reference

Disordered, deficient, and dehumanised: How biomedical and cognitive approaches are limiting our understandings of aphantasia

Researchers found that biomedical and cognitive studies often frame aphantasia as a disorder or deficiency while ignoring lived experience. This suggests that centering experiential expertise is vital to challenge dehumanizing scientific biases.

Scholz, B., & Scholz, H. (2025). Disordered, deficient, and dehumanised: how biomedical and cognitive approaches are limiting our understandings of aphantasia. International Mad Studies Journal, 3(1), e1–17. doi:10.58544/imsj.v3i1.7389

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Reference

Mapping the imageless mind: Towards a taxonomy of aphantasia

Researchers proposed a taxonomy distinguishing between neurological, psychogenic, and congenital aphantasia. This framework helps organize research by recognizing that the condition arises from diverse neural and psychological origins.

Bartolomeo, P. (2025). Mapping the imageless mind: towards a taxonomy of aphantasia. Neuropsychologia, 219, 109276. doi:/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2025.109276

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Video

Rethinking Mental Imagery: Why Scientists Had It Wrong (And Why That's Good News)

For decades, neuroscientists assumed they understood mental imagery. Then people with aphantasia proved them wrong—and changed the future of consciousness research.

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Video

The Body-Mind Disconnect: How Your Autonomic Nervous System Shapes Mental Imagery

What if the key to understanding mental imagery differences isn't in your brain's visual centers? New research reveals why your ability to visualize may depend on something unexpected: how well you sense your own body.

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Article

A Case of Aphantasia

A Case of Aphantasia is a piece of soft science fiction about a man who’s aphantasia is cured in therapy with a fictional technology. That cure comes at a deep cost. This is the first fictional story ever written on aphantasia.

recentlyby Dustin Grinnell

Article

Aphantasia and ADHD: You Asked, We Dug Into the Research

If you've ever felt like your aphantasia and ADHD are tangled together in ways you can't quite explain, you're not alone. Researchers are beginning to untangle that same thread — and what they're finding suggests the mind's eye depends on attention in ways we're only starting to understand.

recentlyby Tom Ebeyer and

Video

The Language Problem: How Simple Word Changes Make Therapy Work for Aphantasia

One key barrier to effective anxiety treatment for people with aphantasia isn't the therapy itself—it's the words therapists use. New study reveals that imaginal exposure therapy can be effective for people with aphantasia when therapists adjust their approach.

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Article

Mental Health Breakthrough: Aphantasia Does Not Shield Against PTSD

How aphantasia affects mental health treatment, revealing that while aphantasics don't experience visual flashbacks, they still feel emotions intensely, requiring alternative therapeutic approaches beyond traditional imagery-based techniques.

recentlyby Reshanne Reeder and

Video

World Mental Health Day: Research Reveals How Healthcare Systems Are Failing People with Aphantasia

The biggest obstacle to getting proper mental health care for people with aphantasia isn't the condition itself—it's how therapists communicate about treatment. New research reveals significant barriers in mental health diagnosis and treatment for people with aphantasia, but also shows exactly how to fix them.

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Article

Aphantasia and Hyperphantasia: What We Know After a Decade of Research

Since 2015, "aphantasia" has reshaped our understanding of imagination, revealing that not everyone visualizes mentally. This discovery, along with "hyperphantasia," highlights the diverse nature of human imagination.

recentlyby Tom Ebeyer and

Article

Intrusive Thoughts Without Imagery

People with aphantasia can’t visualize, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have intrusive thoughts. Intrusive thoughts without imagery can be a whole-body, terrifying experience.

recentlyby Liana Scott

Discussion

mental health

recentlyHenrike

Can cognitive therapies help bridge the gap of loneliness and enhance our sense of vitality? Share your thoughts and experiences!

Reference

Measuring imagery strength in schizophrenia: no evidence of enhanced mental imagery priming

People with schizophrenia showed no increase in voluntary visual imagery strength on subjective or objective measures. This suggests that hallucinations are driven by mechanisms other than enhanced voluntary mental imagery.

Wagner, S., & Monzel, M. (2023). Measuring imagery strength in schizophrenia: no evidence of enhanced mental imagery priming. Brain and Behavior, 13(9). doi:10.1002/brb3.3146

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Aphantasia, Neurodiversity, and Aphantasia

Article

Aphantasia, Neurodiversity, and Healing

A psychology practitioner begins to bridge the gap between practitioner and client in relation to aphantasia.

recentlyby Rebecca McHale

Discussion

How does a memory differ from a visual image? And - how do aphants tackle therapy?

recentlyJohn

How do memories shape recognition without visual images? Plus, what are effective therapy strategies for those who think conceptually?

Article

I Am Aphantasic

Aphantasia is not something I have; it is something I am.

recentlyby Ed Labine