To ask if you see pictures in your "mind's eye"?

[MakeItRain]

I was reading about "aphantasia" and realised that it applies to me to a large extent. It's when you have no visual pictures going on in your head. So if someone says "imagine a beach, what can you see?" I was shocked to realise that some people can see the whole beach with colour and detail. Where even is this picture? I get a sort of vague sense of sand and waves, but no detail or colour. I realised it's probably linked to my appalling ability to recall faces.
What do you see if you're asked to "imagine a beach?"

I don't know what I see. You've broken my brain!

I'm autistic and have very vivid and detailed images in my mind's eye. In fact, I can't really understand how people have thoughts without the accompanying images! Temple Grandin (famous autistic woman) thinks solely in pictures, so I don't believe the way people think and remember ie audio, visual, linguistic etc. is particularly linked to whether or not they are autistic.

We only realised our 17 (severely dyslexic) DD1 has aphantasia a year ago, which explains why she could never concentrate when listening to audio books. She overheard DD2 and I discussing a character in a film adaptation and we both agreed she was exactly how we had “pictured her” when we read the book. We had to explain what we meant. She was so surprised that people ‘saw’ pictures.
This week she watched another film 4 times and today when she was listening to the soundtrack she was so excited because she realised when she heard a particular song she could ‘see’ the scene from the movie in her head - a first for her and a real lightbulb moment.

I didn't realize some people have no minds eye to see or imagine a place or thing.
I see it all in colour and can hear the sea. I have the constant inner monologue going too.
I reconize faces, I know I know them from somewhere but don't ask me to remember the names that match the face.

I never really thought about it until near the start of the year when I read about the different types of thought - had some interesting conversations with people off the back of it!
I, like you, get a fuzziness when I try to picture things. I rely very much on internal monologues and find it fascinating that some people don’t have that, I’m reading this to myself as I write this too and I know some people don’t do that!

I don't think I have prosopagnosia as I do recognise everyone I know. But I teach, and it can take about 6 months for me to recognise the faces of some family members who pick their children up. It becomes quite embarrassing!! Most I remember after a few weeks!
I dream in pictures and sound. My dreams are quite interesting but on reflection there's probably not much visual detail. There's usually lots of sound, and sometimes a soundtrack to my dreams!

I have aphantasia, I cant see pictures clearly in my mind, I cant attach names to faces or recall faces so I dont recognise people or notice if they have had their hair done etc. I also cant taste in my head (e.g. I cant think of the taste of cheese for example) I dont hear other people voices, if I am thinking of their words I hear them in my own internal monologue etc. I have a very busy internal monologue, often several threads of words at once and its never silent. So I can never do the stop thinking and imagine a beach type meditations, I much prefer one where I concentrate on my breathing.

I am very creative though, often make up stories etc in my head, its just they are more like a book than a film, e.g words no pictures. I am also an avid reader but I speed read easily and often skip over descriptions in books because they bore me as I can visulise the scenery etc.

I have good visual awareness though, I can work out whether something will fit in a space, or a weaving pattern in basketry, or how to decorate a room etc.

My DH has no internal monologue but does have a minds eye so we drive each other crazy sometimes!

My mind is honestly blown. I didn't realise this was a thing. I literally can't visualise anything so obviously have no mind eyes.

I see, hear, smell, full movie style in my head!

I live many lives in my head. There's whole plot lines I revisit when bored or in bed at night or just for fun.

I do dream through quite vividly and I can see and hear etc in my dreams in a way that I cant when I am awake, I rather wish I couldnt as I get waking nightmares a lot

It's interesting reading about descriptive passages in books. I've always found them really tedious and now I think it must all be linked! I think when I read it's all auditory. So I hear the characters more than see them. I can get lost in a book but I think I'm hearing it all.

I cant imagine a real one but I recall images from a travel advertisement or wallpaper or a photo (as if I had an internal gallery and searched "beach")

I have visited lots and lived near one but they dont come to mind. I have snippets from memories of a real beach but i cant visualise well, it is more focused on sequence of events e.g. I had a strawberry ice cream on a rock.. (unless I have a photo then it is exactly that photo). I can also make up stories or be verbally descriptive about the beach. But I cant friggin see it!!!

Interesting.

My DH thinks I have mild aspergers but I think I'm ok.

Another one (sorry I find this fasinating) I am no good at sculpture/carving type hpbbies unless I am copying a specific shape, so I can carve a spoon because I can copy a wooden spoon, but I you asked me to carve an owl I couldnt because I cant visualise it. But I can make up my own knitting patterns etc because thats more maths than visualisation to me

If I close my eyes and try to picture a beach I see nothing, just black no matter how hard I try, honestly thought that was what everyone saw. I am an avid reader though and I love books. I can read a scene and think of what it might look like but I can't actually picture it in any way. Super disappointed now 🙁

I have a really poor ability to mentally visualise. When I try and picture a beach if I really focus I can imagine what sand looks like in terms of colour and texture, then I can imagine what the sea looks like but it is very compartmentalised. My mind can't put together the sand+sea+sky compartments into an overall image. However I have a good spatial memory like when studying for exams I could remember where in my notes a certain piece of information was written down and that is how I recalled information.

I also really struggle to recognise people. I really struggled at university as lots of girls dressed similar with similar hairstyles etc.

I find descriptive passages in books tedious too. For me it's all just, get to the point, what happens next?

I can see a whole second layer of whatever I want on top of what my eyes are seeing. This is always there, any and all of my thoughts are also in pictures. So if I'm thinking about that email I have to write to my boss I am seeing myself type it out. When you ask me to think of a beach I can actually have more than one image up. I can see the imaginary one, it is sadly with a cliff to the edge and some seagulls in the surf, but I can also see various beaches I have visited. So memories and imagination images can both be up at the same time.

I am fascinated by people who can't.

What the hell, People can actually see things in their head? I never knew that was even a thing!

I can't see anything, but I do have vivid dreams now and again and out of body experiences.

Oh and yes, it is t a flat picture, there is always sound and colour and touch sensation. If i wanted to I could imagine the feel of the sand between my toes and the sun on my skin. Surely that's just memory?

Oh and people saying they can't recognise faces, I have something similar but when I'm out in public and walk past people I always think they're someone I already know but it turns out they aren't

@nokidshere

If I close my eyes I see nothing but dark. I can't put pictures or colours in my mind at all.

But I am very creative and, whilst I don't have a picture in my mind, I know exactly what a finished project (cake, decor, art) is going to look like.

I'm exactly the same, I don't see anything in my minds eye, it's dark with no colour. But I do know what the finished result will look like. I can't draw so it's difficult to explain, I've been thinking about how to describe my thought processes and it's a bit like the ICloud, I know it's there, it's on the periphery in my mind but I almost feel the result. I've done a lot of creative things with our house and garden. I have to do a lot of arm waving to explain how I want people to do things. I know how it will look but it's beyond my mind and I can't put it into words. That sounds seriously weird.

I also do not have an internal monologue. I think in concepts and can quiet my mind easily for meditation if needed. For example, I just had a thought that I want to have a shower soon as it's getting late. I just thought that as a complete concept, I didn't literally say to myself mentally "Oh it's getting late. I should get a shower soon". I can make myself have an internal monologue and start talking to myself in my head but it feels almost redundant and slow and kind of like how a parent would talk to their child if that makes sense? Thinking without a monologue is a lot quicker for me.

I can’t see many things in my minds eye. I know exactly what my mum and sister look like but I can’t see their faces in my mind if I tried to visualise them. I can see my mums hair though.
I use mediation daily and have always gotten frustrated with the ‘imagine walking along a sandy beach’ ones as I just can’t do it.

For those of you without a mind's eye, can you do your best to explain to me what's going on in your mind when you are describing a memory to someone. So if I asked you what you did yesterday, how do you access and share that information with me. As I would pull out the 'video' of yesterday and as it played in my mind I would describe what I saw.

I definitely don’t have ASD but I have issues visualising stuff. I’m dreadful with faces to the point I sometimes haven’t recognised someone I know if they’re in an unexpected context. I can barely visualise my own child. The only way I can do these things is by thinking of a photo.