I have synesthesia AMA

[ShinyWorthKeeping]

I have synesthesia.

The way I experience it is, when I see a person I see them as colours, usually blocks of colours sometimes with lines running through. Only twice have I seen 'swirly' colours.

I also can see names, these aren't blocks of colours, these tend to be 'things' very rarely I can smell a name too!

I understand lots of people won't want to out themselves with photos and names but I'm happy to do celebs or if anyone wants to name change etc I'll read your colours or names/baby names or answer any questions.

I'm pregnant and feeling rough and have my 7 month old here with me but I'll be back and forth here today.

AMA

I once read a novel called the Colour Of Lies about this.

Does a colour indicate the intrinsic nature of the person. Ie would a lovely person have a brighter colour than someone who was not the nicest person in the world?

@Egeria Yes, I get it with all names.

The names give me a separate image to the colours I see when I look at people, unrelated as far as I can tell.

And the colour doesn't change but maybe gets stringer.

I have always had this with days of the week.
Monday is dark brown and jelly shaped.
Tuesday is orange four sided with a thinner base.
Wednesday is light blue four sided and wide.
Thursday is light purple same shape as Tuesday
Friday is pink and the shape of a bike handle
Saturday is White and jelly shaped and Sunday is light brown jelly shaped.
I have always had this as long as I can remember.
I'm also really artistic and had had a head injury aged 4.

Interesting.

The colours don't seem to mean anything, I knew a man who had the most beautiful swirly pattern with pastel colours, and he assaulted me.

My name is Linda. What colour do you see for me and how do I find out what the colours mean.
Thank you

Yes! I have colours for days also but different to you. I also have colours for numbers.

I see people as colours and things for names, the colours don't actually mean anything (disappointingly!) But Linda looks like a lime green skirt suit to me!

My new Granddaughter is going to be called Alexis, what colours do you see with that name ? So glad you started this thread, it is fascinating.

That's such a pretty name, I don't see colours for names, just people, names give me an image.

Alexis looks like super shiny scissors lit up by bright lights, almost holographic looking.

I have this too, but with abstract things like numbers, letters, days and months, all of which I see in colours

This is fascinating, I wish I had this!

Has anyone read "The man who tasted shapes"? I had almost forgotten about this book, the thread reminded me.

I have synesthesia too!

Food tastes of colours. Days of the week are colours. Listening to music causes pain, sometimes very intense pain.

I'm autistic (diagnosed) and had head traumas (including a skull fracture) in childhood.

My son is also autistic.

Now that's weird, because when a pp asked whether all Peters are the same colour, I saw blue. So maybe I do have it with more things if I think about it.

Interestingly, I think that I have some neuro diversity, but cba with a diagnosis at 54. And I also suffer from migraines.

My partner has a weird thing that seems like Alice in Wonderland syndrome. He can't sleep in rooms where the ceilings are too high, for example. He feels like he's smaller than he is. So weird.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_in_Wonderland_syndrome

My DS has autism and I have (just) read it is 3 times more common in people with autism.

I'm loving this TBH. I love learning how DS1's mind works as he is endlessly fascinating. (DS2 as well of course! but DS1 has been more of a closed book until recently as he was non-verbal until 5-ish and then has struggled with explaining how he feels about things). I'm interested @Clarice99 you say food tastes of colours. That is something I might gently explore with DS- he has severe sensory issues with food- I know about his texture issues, but perhaps colours are in there somewhere as well. I've been working with a paediatric dietician since he was 8 or so and always said 'It's about textures, but something else as well- i don't know what'.

@MantleStatue

Yes, definitely explore the colour thing (as well as texture). I'm old now and I was labelled as a PITA as a child because I was so rigid with what I'd eat, especially with brown tasting food - toast, boiled potatoes, parsnips, tinned peas, I'd be 'force fed' resulting in heaving/vomiting and shouting 'it tastes brown'.

That would earn me a hard slap and I'd be sent to bed.

Things became much easier in adulthood because I could choose what I ate, and I learnt to tolerate some of the 'brown' food.

I can't eat blue M&M's because they taste brown! But weirdly, brown M&M's are my favourite, they taste yellow, like sunshine.

I have lots of issues with texture, especially 'slop' such as mashed potato.

This could be absolutely life changing info @Clarice99 ! Thank you so much. It seems to be slotting into place and most definitely is something for me to explore! DS can't really explain what it is he does not like about different foods. But when we (quite recently) discovered he saw numbers as colours and expressed interest he was a bit non-plussed about it- everyone sees numbers as colours he thought. So perhaps this is another piece of the puzzle!

@ShinyWorthKeeping this is a brilliant thread- thank you so much for starting it.

And DS says things like 'it tastes brown'. The penny is dropping.

Good lord.

@ShinyWorthKeeping and @Clarice99 I feel like i have been hit with a sledgehammer. This all makes so much sense now.

I have this, mainly with days, months and numbers. It's actually quite common I think but people who have it don't realise that not everyone sees words and numbers as colours.

For example for me February is always orange. June is Purple, December is Black.

Tuesday is a pale blue, Wednesday is green, Friday is red and Sunday is yellow.

I have this but only with days of the week and months.

The months are always laid out in a kind of grid too. Hard to explain.

I'm not ND at all and see this as the opposite of a disability. It's like an enhancement if anything. But doesn't hugely impact on life. I thought everyone had it too initially, hence never bringing it up as a difference. I just kind of see it as having strong senses if that makes sense? I am v sensitive to smell and used to get migraines now I think of it.

My colours change too but they are not related to meaning. So for example June wouldn't automatically be a bright summer colour. It is currently a lovely clear turquoise.

Your days are exactly the same as mine!

As a child I was also an extremely fussy eater and for a long time I'd barely drink, only tiny sips off a spoon because most things would make me feel 'warm' not in temperature but like a warm cloying feeling that would make me gag... I've never made this connection before

Thanks OP!

I have synaesthesia too, but it's feeble compared to yours, with no colours and nothing for people or names. The year is an egg shape with months radiating out from the middle, winter months crammed in at the top and summer spread out across the bottom; centuries from 0AD are in columns (we fell off the top of a column at the millennium), with earlier centuries somewhat different; and numbers are on a kind of logarithmic stepped scale going up to the left. I was maybe in my 30s before I realised not everyone had something similar.

I'm a Sue, what do you see for my name?

What colour is Trump? (Horrible colour I hope)