Mystery of Aphantasia: Where the Mind's Eye Remains Closed.

Imagine closing your eyes and try to visualize a beautiful, serene beach with the waves gently crashing against the shore. Can you see the blue sky, the white clouds that look like cotton balls? Now imagine something fictitious - a huge purple mountain with a huge bright florescent green dinosaur walking on it. Could you imagine and see both of the description? Is it a blur imagination or spotlessly clear?

For most people, this mental imagery comes naturally. If you cannot imagine, you are among the 3% people in the world to have “aphantasia”.  

Aphantasia is derived from the Greek words "a" (meaning without) and "phantasia" (meaning imagination). People with aphantasia have the inability to conjure mental images in their mind. Mysteriously, their mind's eye remains closed. It’s not very common. Yet one would surely find at least a few people around with aphantasia in their family or friends' circle. They are usually unaware of it as since they have lived this way their whole life. Until and unless they have been made to realise the difference, they have no idea that they are unique.

In this blog, we'll delve into the intriguing world of aphantasia. 

Before starting to the write this blog I had detailed conversations on the same with my family and close friends on understanding their imagination levels. To my surprise 3 of my friends were falling into the bracket of aphantasia at different levels. One of the three recollected an instance, wherein, in a training program at work they were given a task to speak on their most embarrassing moment in life and my friend went blank, even though he had vague memories of instances, he could not describe a word about it. While at school creative writing was very difficult for him, like writing an essay in English exam or a आत्मकथा  in Hindi exam. He had no clue that something was lacking in him which was the cause.

To define aphantasia; it is a neurological condition in which an individual lacks the ability to conjure mental images. This means that when they close their eyes and attempt to visualize something, they see nothing but darkness. 

This uniqueness was coined very recently by Dr. Adam Zemana, cognitive neurologist at the University of Exeter in England in 2015, and since then, it has gained attention in the fields of psychology and neuroscience.

Aphantasia is not a one-size-fits-all condition. It exists on a spectrum, with some individuals experiencing complete absence of mental imagery, while others have a partial or weak ability to visualize.

If asked to imagine an apple, few of the people with this uniqueness would imagine an apple in very blur red colour or some would see it in black and white colours, some will see just the outline, not the whole apple while others won’t see anything.

“Aphantasia has no bearing on intelligence or any other neurological syndrome”- neuroscientist Tara Swart, a Senior Lecturer at MIT Sloan. Infact, children with aphantasia can concentrate well with minimal or no distractions going in their mind.

Each one of us have different strength of imaginations. Have you wondered, why in school days, in drawing exam where we were expected to draw our imaginations on a random topic, some would be excellent at it, while others would struggle with it. Also, some remember a face once seen for life. While others totally forget the person once exchanged greetings with and act like strangers if you bump into them. This is because with some people the television in their mind gives them an OLED or a QLED kind of quality output, some probably get the 1980s crown TV blur image while with the remaining few there is no television in their mind at all. Students with aphantasia will write answers only to the point, they will not be able to elaborate nor just ramble on pages to fill the space. 

 

This not only includes imaginary images but also memories of our childhood or younger days. A person with complete visual aphantasia would have memories like a data would be able to visualize see nothing from their past memories.

Types: There is more to this. Aphantasia isn't limited to visual imagery. Some people with aphantasia also report a lack of auditory, olfactory, or tactile mental imagery. They may find it difficult to relive past experiences through their senses, including the sound of a loved one's voice or the scent of the favorite perfume or favorite flower.

Another friend who is a director in an investment bank has visual and tactile aphantasia. He has auditory memory of his favorite songs. But no memories of his childhood days or the feel of petting his pet dog with soft fur. There is one particular memory of his childhood where he was slapped by his father for getting low marks. This is remembered like in one line synopsis. And absolutely no visual memory nor the feel of the slap on his cheeks. Such people cope with a heart break or loss of loved one in a relatively stronger way. People would look at them as insensitive. But one needs to understand that the base of feeling low post breakup and even losing a loved one are the “visual, auditory and tactile memories” on how the person looked, spoked, different instances with that person, the feeling of their touch, etc. A person with aphantasia would have very minimum or nothing in their imagination of the lost person. They would definitely miss the presence of the person in their lives but will be able to cope with it in a better way.

 With aphantasia, daily life can be quite different too. Tasks that require visualization, such as recalling memories or planning future events, can be more challenging. However, individuals with aphantasia often develop compensatory strategies, relying on other senses and cognitive skills to navigate a world dominated by mental imagery. It’s easy for them to be toppers in their class or best at their work if chosen a right non creative career, as they have no distractions whatsoever going on in their mind while studying or at work. Example, while at work, multiple memories could run in our minds of personal or something happening at work, like the irritating pop-up digital marketing ads. But in aphantasia there are no popups, just the main screen in front to work.

My friend can watch a movie on phone kept next to the laptop while working on a detail spreadsheet. As at the time he is watching the movie, he is watching the movie and when he is looking at the excel, it is just the excel that he concentrates on, as the movie is not playing in his imagination even while the sound playing on in the background. 

Aphantasia is a unique and intriguing condition that challenges our understanding of the human mind. Experiences of people with aphantasia remind us that our mind is a complex and diverse landscape, and our perceptions of reality can vary greatly from person to person.

A question for those who do not have aphantasia. Are we really happy with our imaginations? Do we really need them?

Due to aphantasia, people are generally less stressful compared to those who are not. As along with visualisation, at times there is overthinking.  According to Dr. Narayan Gadkar, Cardiologist, Zen Multispeciality Hospital– Mumbai; “Overthinking can lead to high blood pressure, sleep problems, suppressed appetite, impact on the brain and effect on digestive and immune system.” While with aphantasia life is much simpler.  No visuals followed by no overthinking, there is calmness. I definitely envy them as for me during meditation or even prayers, I struggle to have just a few moments without flooded thoughts in my mind. 

There is a lot more to know or analyze on aphantasia but I end it here with a question to ponder. Is Aphantasia really a defect or a blessing in disguise?  If given a choice which side, would you choose to be on.  

Thank you.

Sharon. 

P.S: If you are confused on whether you have aphantasia or not, you can self-check by taking a quiz at the following link. 

https://www.buzzfeed.com/angelicaamartinez/minds-eye-quiz