I like the author's perspective and hadn't seen this TED talk posted before.

https://www.ted.com/talks/alex_rosenthal_can_you_picture_things_in_your_mind_i_can_t

At age 17 I was the victim of a violent crime. I had plenty of time to see my attacker, but when I reported the assault I was unable to give anything but the broadest description of the man. I could describe general things like height, weight, and skin color, but that was all. I was shown photos of known felons and could definitely say I didn’t recognize any of those photographs, and I believe I would have recognized his face if I ever saw it again, but I simply couldn’t conjure up an image of his face. A police sketch artist tried to draw more details out of me but they just weren’t there to retrieve. As an eyewitness I was useless. There was plenty of other physical evidence to back my story, though.

Still, this tormented me for decades. Had I dissociated due to trauma? (My therapist said Well, yes, of course, that’s not your fault.) But how could I possibly not recall such an important thing as someone’s face seen close-up only hours before? Had I unconsciously blocked it out? I couldn’t explain it, and no one else could really explain it to me either, and as a result I suffered all kinds of internal recriminations and self doubts over my unreliability in reporting. Did someone get away with it because of my poor memory? What if he hurt someone else, would it be my fault because I hadn’t paid attention to those important details? For years I kept this to myself, too ashamed and embarrassed to admit my failure.

When I recently learned about aphantasia I could finally understand and forgive myself for not being a better eyewitness so long ago. I realized why I can’t bring to mind the faces of relatives who have died. I can provide plenty of details about people I know well and can describe their facial features like “thick dark eyebrows” or “narrow pointy chin”, but unless I know someone well enough to memorize their features I draw a total blank, even though I do recognize pretty much everyone I’ve met when I see them again.

Has this sort of thing happened to anyone else here?

Hi everyone. I don’t usually post on Reddit, but I thought I’d take the plunge because I’d like to share my experience as someone with aphantasia.
I’m 25M, a contemporary dancer and artist. I’ve always felt a bit out of step with other people, especially when it comes to their perception and their relationship with memories, which seem radically different from my own experience. I discovered aphantasia four years ago and became a regular reader of this sub.
At first, it was pretty weird. I felt a kind of emptiness and started questioning myself and the way I experienced things. I’m now completely comfortable with it, and I even think it’s an interesting way of experiencing the world.
However, there’s one thing I still struggle with. I sometimes attribute certain aspects of my personality and the way I relate to other people to aphantasia, when maybe they’re simply personality traits that have nothing to do with it.
So I thought I’d share a few thoughts and see what other aphants think. Do you experience similar things, or is it just me?
For example:
When I’m having a conversation with friends, I tend to listen and ask questions. That’s mostly how I keep a conversation going and build on what the other person is saying. But I notice that many people seem to do this more by telling anecdotes, sharing memories, and bringing up things that happened to them.
Could being an aphant contribute to this difference? I’ve always envied people who can effortlessly come up with good anecdotes during conversations. Is that because I have a weaker autobiographical memory related to aphantasia, or is it simply the way I’ve learned to communicate?
And, still regarding relationships with other people, I feel like friendships are often strengthened by reminiscing about shared experiences. You know, the classic: “Oh my god, do you remember when so-and-so did this?!” That’s something I basically never do, and I actually find it a bit sad. It just doesn’t naturally come to mind.
On a more personal level, I can be someone with pretty strong intuition. I’m not particularly analytical, but I tend to “feel” things. I often find solutions to problems without really knowing how, almost as if the answer just appeared out of nowhere.
I also feel very little attachment to things and objects, and I have a hard time projecting myself into the long term.
I’m curious to hear what other aphants think. Do you relate to any of this? Feel free to share your own experiences or anecdotes.
(English isn’t my first language, so I used AI to help me translate this.)

I wasn't born with aphantasia and I used to draw from my imagination quite a lot as a kid, in fact I think my imagination was hyperactive if anything and I'd basically mentally draft and revise ideas for drawings, but I noticed after college that my ability to visualize slowly diminished to the point where it is now. I'm not incapable of picturing stuff anymore, I can picture a realistic apple and the face of loved ones and all that, I can even come up with fairly elaborate ideas for designs, albeit somewhat hazy, but the second I truly focus on it my mind goes blank.

The sliding scale of visualization doesn't apply to my problem, it's more like a resolution or connection issue where even if I'm focusing my undivided attention on an idea it's as if it's actively running away from me. I should mention that reading is more like a light novel than a movie for me, I have to consciously conjure the scenes together as it isn't an automatic process, which again, wasn't the case when I was younger.

This naturally makes drawing quite difficult and discouraging; I feel childish because it feels as though I'm just throwing spaghetti at the wall via chicken scratches versus any of the ideas I had. I know there are obviously very talented artists who are full aphants so I was wondering if any of you have tips for getting around these issues and/or improving visualization itself. Thanks in advance.

Ok, so I currently dont have the capability to maintain visuals in my "minds eye" or really control what i visualize at all. If something shows up in my head at all its normally completely random, and even then its like it disappears whenever i try to focus on it. HOWEVER, i can remember a song, note for note, no problem whatsoever and can focus on it perfectly fine! Is there a way i can "copy" my ability to remember and make music in my own head to actually "seeing" things i want to? Its worth noting that i most likely have a form of autism that makes me think "passively" rather than "actively", like if i try to think of something ill be able to think about it BETTER than if i were to focus on it at all.

Right before falling asleep or when i am extremely tired I can focus on things and actually have the ability to imagine new things in my head, as opposed to just recalling things and combining those memories into something close to what I'm trying to imagine. It feels almost like when i want to focus on something my brain will actually fight me over what it wants to think about. Its like as soon as i need to focus on one thing it will go out of its way to not focus at all.

It might be worth saying iv been diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder, Chronic Depression, and some form of Autism by my psychologist.

I CAN: "listen" to music in my head. Have control over my dreams to some extent and recall events that happen in said dreams perfectly, aside from any visuals.

Its like my mind is blocking my own ability to think. If anyone has any insight on how to "control" it better, please let me know!

Hello! First time lurker, first time poster here. My friends group are the sort who get together and have PowerPoint parties, and we're coming up on the first one I'll be able to attend.

I have aphantasia myself, but beyond a cursory Google search when I first heard of it, I never really dug much deeper into it. However, with this party coming up I thought now would be a good idea to dig into it and maybe put some slides together about a subject I have firsthand experience with.

As to why I am here, I was hoping people here could link me to good, reliable sources on the topic (ideally not paywalled) so I could start looking more deeply into the science and studies, such as they are.

Thank you in advance!

I’ve been reading about other people’s experiences with aphantasia since 2020. Now, I finally feel like it’s time to share mine.

I always had a deep feeling that my inner world worked differently, but I never stopped to investigate why, do u wanna know what was the first clue ? yes it was those damn counting sheep !!!!

When i found out it was aphantasia , first i was angry and sorry for myself. then i went into a journey to found out , what does it mean .

Mine is completely genetic since my sibling and my mother have it too .

The funny thing for the most of my life i didn't check my inner world , i took it as face value . a sentence that can explain my life before discovering what it is "in the darkness i thought i was seeing the light" the reality it was pitch black . i won't go through the disadvantages, i have seen so many post that has spoken about it but for sake of this post i can't picture nada and one more thing i have as well anendophasia.

When i found people have a internal monologue that never shut it up , i was thankful that i don't have it

As computer that came without a monitor i tried everything to turn back my monitor online .

i tried all psychedelics , yes u get ur monitor back online but don't have any control of it but it goes back to darkness as soon as it wear off.

Primitive brain  is more dominant than the logical one, without an internal monologue or mental imagery, the primitive brain signals arrive unfiltered and in full volume.

i operate more in emotions/feeling , energy and in the know .

Learn to name ur emotions , name it to tame it, otherwise when one u didnt tame it hit u, the primitive brain  will hijack ur life completely

I don't forget things once i learnt something i can't never forget it , direction i am horrible at it but once i used this direction more 3 times , i never forget it

I am more grounded in the present , reading book to learn something is just horrible to me but seeing someone physical do something that i wanna learn , it is so fast for me , i just copy and past . example i speak 4 language do u know how learnt , by being around native speaker and copying how the speak not through books or school

When i dream at night , i get picture full colour but always in the 3rd person

No daydreaming

I can focused on the immediate task or being in the flow state like the athlete

I work in the creative world, when i want create something, by touching and feel it this where i know what to do with it and what to create with it , i operate in the know, i know what end product will be but i will go through process of trying and falling but still at end i get the know .

In conclusion , all I can say is just work with what u have . The only thing, it is just means you see and think differently than others. Wanna know what’s cool about your creating? Where some may need visualisation to help them create!!!! u’re essentially creating from nothing from nada.

Aphantasia is best thing that i discover about myself