Does anyone else see pictures instead of emotions?

[BoujiSnail]

When I was a kid and I was lonely or anxious, I used to tell my dm that 'the wolves were in the wood, waiting.' Now if I feel scared, my mind immediately goes to that silhouette of a rat under the baby's cot in Lady and the Tramp, with it's horrible glowing eyes.
I've realised my dd is the same, when she was 3 she described a headache as 'a hedgehog is in my head and he's scratching my brain with his brain with his toes!' Similarly she described a stomach ache as 'an apple pip stuck in my belly that's growing and growing!'
Please tell me your visual feelings

I’m not very visual but I love this post. Also I think it’s one of the great pleasures of motherhood when your genetic offspring have the same brain quirks that you do and you realise you’re actually not alone in this world!

I used to have certain turns of phrase in my head rather than visual images. I also go to certain songs

Your particular story is very much reminding me of the Kate Bush song Hounds of Love. Which shows that you and Kate May be similar.

I love Kate Bush! I do also enjoy my dc's being as strange as I am.

Wow that's amazing! And how marvellous that your DD expresses herself in that way. Think of the creative ability you both have! You should draw these! Do you think you're otherwise 'neurotypical' or do you have other things like this? I have colours for days of the week and sometimes, normally only at work for some reason, when I feel angry or anxious/nervous I have a strong mental image of me throwing up all over someone. Strange! I suffer with imposter syndrome a fair bit and maybe it's when the feelings are too difficult to process?

(TW for self harm)

I do for certain things. Whenever I am anxious or feel bad about myself, I get the visual stuck in my head of me cutting my arm and blood running down my wrist (I used to self harm as a teenager but haven’t in years and years).

And when I am feeling relaxed / content, I have the visual of the pattern sunlight makes on the bottom of a blue swimming pool when it shines through the choppy surface.

I have lots of strong visuals for different kinds of pain as well. Period pain is always a hand holding my guts and squeezing them too tight, and a headache is like when a crab is pushing out of its old shell which is too tight.

I’ve never really thought about it / whether it’s unusual before! Interesting thread OP.

I relate so much to you all! When I'm really angry I imagine a fire starting at my crotch and burning me all up from the inside out, then I sort of see myself from the outside as a burning person, like those Buddhist monks.
I also get the self harm thing. If I feel shame, I see sort of horrible images, running into a wall over and over. I pull at my mouth until it hurts if I regret something I said.

@Blurpblorp yes to the colours, green Tuesday, blue Wednesday, yellow Saturday, mustard yellow Sunday...

The association with colours is more akin to synesthesia.

Seeing whole pictures or sequences sounds like a vivid imagination. Are you very creative?

This is classic synesthesia isn't it? I don't myself, but I'm always fascinated by those who do. And the hedgehog image is wonderful

Not really very creative, I can draw a bit. I have the vision but not the talents to execute them.

Oo it made me feel a bit sick to see a poster describe Wednesday as 'blue' as that's quite wrong for me. Re the apple pip, did anyone ever tell your daughter that apple pips were poisonous?

@Toombumber what colour is your Wednesday?

I saw a guy on telly this week whose brain interpreted sounds as tastes, so why not other senses being experienced differently. I find it fascinating.

Not the same thing but words and particularly names have a food! Weird to explain really!

“ what colour is your Wednesday?”

This made me smile

I'm not sure whether it's synthesia or just a very visual memory. If I see white and red together I suddenly see a girl from primary school licking the jam from her fingers as she eats her packed lunch. It comes back so vivid, the sound, the feeling of slight disgust.

My Wednesday is burgundy. In fact all my days are shades of red, yellow or green.

Oh wow this is amazing to read!!! And so sweet that your daughter sees it that same way!

I can't visualise images, I see colours and words. If anyone asked me to describe dh I see orange and the words that describe him best. Dd I see bright daffodil yellow and ds its an almost turquoise green.

I don't see people as colours, but I see them as animals. Like Harmony from the Queens nose.

My Wednesday is green :)

Word sounds have visual associations, and I "see" time.

I have none of these abilities, but it's a great post and so interesting to read. The brain is truly amazing!

If I think of the year I think of a hill and we're going up until April then we start going down. Unfortunately Outlook calendar doesn't work like that!

It might be a form of synaesthesia. The poster who has green Wednesdays is quite classic.

When I think about the week ahead it's in black blocks, and Saturday and Sunday are taller blocks. When I think about the days individually, Saturday is shiny and orange-red and Sunday is a duller version of this. Wednesday is green. The letters W, E, Z are very ugly to me. I'm going to have a good think about how my thoughts and emotions are represented, but I don't think I see them in pictures.