Can you see actual images in your head?

[pontipinemum]

Sorry not really an AIBU but I wanted the voting buttons.

I was watching a reel earlier and they were joking that their dad cannot see images in his head.

I can't see images in my head. When I close my eyes it's black (or red if it's bright!) DH said the same.

I know what things look like, and when I am asked to visualise a beautiful beach, I can remember places I have been but I don't 'see' them in my head. I can get a good 'sense' of what it is like in a book but I don't see the characters.

I'm not sure I am explaining this right at all.

YABU - I can actually see the things I am visualising in my head
YANBU - I see black

I can make someone's voice in my head say things too, e.g. get Morgan Freeman to read these comments to me. Or play a full song I've memorised. Can people who can't visualise do that?

I don't visualise as I read a book. Sometimes there are flashes if I'm mulling over a scene. I don't see a movie in my head. I guess I could if I really concentrated, but it doesn't come naturally to me as it seems like it does to prev. posters.

With the horse pic, when it was fresh in my memory I could see it in my mind's eye exactly as it was on the screen. Now it's been a few mins, it's a lot more hazy.

I can't see pictures and have a rubbish visual memory. I have to repeat words and remember the sounds eg "Turn left at the pub. It's then the second on the right " Can't visualise it unless I've been there before . . .

I know that I'm in the minority but also know there are a few of us like this . . .

This is fascinating to read 🙂 I've always been really good at spelling. If my OH asks me to spell something, I always look up (like at the ceiling or a plain wall) and I can see the word there and then I spell it. Reading this makes me wonder whether it's more a case of having a visual memory (which I do) and remembering the words and seeing them before spelling them, rather than being inherently good at spelling. Great to read other people's experiences!

The horse thing is helpful. I can just about visualize the blaze - ie number 3 - but not the whole horse.

The table, ball exercise is really interesting. I can see the table and the ball but not the person at all!! They are just a blur of movement which o have to work really hard at getting into the scene.

I can't form mental images of any kind. It's more common than you think.

Aphantasia is a proven condition. There is a spectrum but some people have no internal
imagery at all. Regardless of how much or how little they try.

Basically, yes. I respond to what is in front of me by making decisions as I work. I may have an idea (i.e. "flower in the style of") and a lot of reference images for the initial sketches, then I just adjust as I draw. Most artists will use reference of some kind and then use their knowledge of adjacent fields to complete the picture (e.g. understanding facial anatomy when drawing a portrait).

I see images in my head, they aren't literally in front of my eyes but inside my head. But they're there, in full colour and lots of detail. I can make up an image or I can recall things I've seen. If I've seen something I can go 'back' to the picture in my head and examine it in detail....eg. a car I saw earlier, I can check what state the tyres were in or what colour the seat covers were. Obviously only details I actually saw at the time!

I'm also good at interior design, I can change things in my head. Eg. I 'image' my bedroom, then, in my head, move the furniture, paint the walls a different colour, change the curtains and I can "see" whether it looks OK or not.

I used to think everyone could do this but after a while I found they couldn't, my sister can't. I have a very visual memory though, if someone just tells me something I have to visualise it to remember it.

@NortieTortie yes I can make Morgan Freeman talk in my head. I have full blown conversations in my head with myself, DH, the dog!

I can’t see faces - most of everything else I can

Yes, I have a very vivid memory and can see things in my head quite clearly. Same with sound, touch, taste, and smell. It's a blessing and a curse really!

On a similar note, I find it fascinating that not everyone has an internal dialogue. I quite clearly hear myself think in actual words (this can get quite exhausting as I have multiple trains of thought... yay adhd!) and I was flabbergasted when I found out not everyone experiences this.

I wonder if there are parallels between people who hear themselves think and people who can clearly visualise things in their head?

That is really interesting!

I can do it all, but I can't see it all, completely clearly, all the time and to the exclusion of all else. I can know what it looks like, rather than see it I guess. Or rather, if I try to grab it too hard it melts away. But my brain makes it more, too, without me deciding.

So, my table is wood. The ball is red. Then as soon as I wanted to imagine someone walking into the room, suddenly it's on a grey plush carpet, in a white room, with a grey corner sofa with a cream throw on too. And the way in isn't a door, it's an archway. I can see the hallway and stairs through the arch. The person is a white man, in chinos and a check shirt with a brown belt and shoes. He has short dark hair and a thin face with a large nose. He's not someone I've ever met. I didn't decide any of that, I just thought 'person walks into room' and that's what I got.

No, I have aphantasia. I can't see anything in my head if I try to create a scene from imagination but sometimes if I try to recall an actual memory, I see a sort of imprint in the dark, then it fades. Like when you turn off an old TV and you see an imprint on the screen for a few seconds.

I also have zero sense of direction and horrendous face blindness. I'm autistic and these things all appear to be linked.

DH can conjure up detailed images in his mind, like watching a film in his head. When he needs to spell a word, he says the word scrolls through his mind like a banner and he just "reads" each letter aloud. I physically can't spell out loud and have to write the word down first, so I'm now attributing it to aphantasia.

That's fascinating to read... and as I read it, I could picture everything. Wouldn't it be cool if we could both somehow print an image of everything we could see, and see how close they were to each others?

It's aphantasia, and is fairly common for those with ADHD. I can't bring a picture to mind either. I have ADHD.

This sounds really peaceful to be honest. My inner monologue is my tormentor sometimes.

My daughter cannot visualise things in her head. For example, if she has something physically in front of her, she can draw it. If you say "draw a flower", she can't because she just cant picture it

Yes I can visualise things.

Eyes open or closed, doesn't matter. Images can either just pop in my head or I can conjure them up. I can have whole scenes going on whilst walking down the street.

If I close my eyes it's just black. But if I imagine something, then I can visualise it. Or just have a kaleidoscope of shapes, colours and movement. Depends on the day.

I always find this a bit confusing. If I close my eyes I just see the red blood in my eyelids because that’s what’s in front of my eyes.

but if someone says “remember when we were at X location” I can summon the image of that. Or make things up from a description.

I don’t really create faces though, eg for a story. I sort of see a blurry image of the character as I’ve never seen their face before.

I also dream in detail and it can feel like I’m there.

I can’t imagine simply seeing something for no reason when closing my eyes (if that’s what some posters mean?)

I see images in my minds eye very clearly.

I also have a photographic memory and can recall exact words on a page and the position / page number they were on.

This actually sounds a bit miserable if you can never recount memories of the places you’ve been or the things you’ve done :( I basically live in my head at times thinking about when I was on holiday or a day out or something

I am hyperphantasic so I have a really vivid mind's eye. I can also bring up sounds quite easily and smells/tastes/touch to a lesser extent. And an ongoing inner monologue, and a constant earworm (it's currently on Elton John, having heard Bernie Taupin interviewed on R4 yesterday.) They're like separate concurrent bands running through my mind, and one or other will be foremost at any point. I can usually background the others to the point I'm barely aware of them, but they're still there. I have a good sense of direction and a good memory for faces. My dreams are technicolour marvels with a cast of thousands, though can be exhausting...

My partner is visually impaired - it was diagnosed in his 40s. He has no peripheral vision, no depth perception and almost no colour vision (he did get very excited the other day watching TV, because he could tell someone in screen was wearing red!) His vision is surrounded by yellow and purple flashes. But he says his mind's eye was always and is good, as are his dreams. He does know what the colour of my eyes are though. I've told him, but he's never seen it, just shades of grey.

It's probably not too bad if you've never had it, because it's normal from you (though I note a pp is sad she can't "see" her parents.) But I read a case of a woman who lost her mind's eye after a head injury, and found that difficult, as she was directly able to compare before and after, and knew what she had lost.

Oh losing it is definitely worse I guess, but how do people remember what they’ve done?

I’m longing to go back to Lapland at the moment so I’m floating through my memories in my head …. the colours, the sights, whizzing down ski slopes, the view from the ski lift…. how do you enjoy your memories if you can’t see all that?

Isn't seeing them and imagining them the same thing?

I see images in my head, I am a very visual person. I can't imagine what it must be like if you can't. It's how I get to sleep sometimes, guided visualisation. I also have an inner monologue.