I left a comment 6 months ago saying this is never happening, i take my word back. If you happen to read this Bobby, as of 2 days ago ive seen the first color image in my brain ever i was able to hold it long enougb to actually draw it. So i take back what i said. This actually worked for me.
I hope people will try what I did to see if their visualizing abilities improve. If it doesn’t improve after a couple months, then stop if you feel like it. Either way, there will be at least some that will see a noticeable difference and that’s why I wanted to make this video.
@chiu-on-this, It's funny how those of us with such conditions assume it's the norm. I don't have Aphantasia; I'm a genetic anosmiac. I have only around 5% of my senses of smell and taste (I get only sweet/salty/bitter/sour. No distinction between stuff in each category). Unlike someone who's blind, or deaf, or those poor souls with Congenital Analgesia (inability to feel pain), or worse, CIPA (lack of a sense of touch), smell and taste, much like one's ability to visualize, is both subjective, and non-obvious to those unafflicted. I was 17 before I knew anything was wrong. I just assumed everyone didn't know the difference between a potato chip and beef jerky. They're both just "salty". Cotton candy DOESN'T taste the same as a strawberry? Bullshit. I think you had the healthiest discovery and response to your condition. You just worked around and through it. No victim syndrome. No "boo-hoo poor me." Just a challenge to overcome. I'm actually an excellent cook, and a fantastic baker. I'm told. I mean, I can't _taste_ any of it... but that didn't prevent me from learning what flavors people like, and which combinations work well together (Ben Cohen - of Ben and Jerry's fame, the guy that created the ice cream recipes - has the same condition I do, and about as bad). I note you describe you began to visualize things with your eyes OPEN... a box _on the page,_ Tweedledee _on the TV_ and I have to ask: is it still static when they're closed? Did you train yourself AROUND the issue, same as Ben and I?
Happy to hear an account of someone training this! I have a feeling my natural, developing abilities became stunted and then greatly atrophied at a very young age due to many reasons personal to me. I can get the weakest sense of shapes and I'm encouraged to slowly follow what I can to train and discover what I'm capable of :-) thank you
I've never heard of this before but this video makes me feel like i have aphantasia, but i didn't imagined that people could really model things on top of the static of the closed eyes. When i try to visualise something before drawing it, i can see it but not "see" it, i dont close my eye, it's like the image exist in an other dimension, parallele to the dimension i see with my eyes. I can't make the image appear on top of the static of my closed eyes in the physical dimension, but i can kinda see it anyway, it's just somewhere else. The image is not clear, and sometimes i ask myself if i really see it or just kinda feel it. I've never thought people can see it with the physical eyes.
"it's like the image exist in an other dimension, parallele to the dimension i see with my eyes." That's totally normal and how it works for normal mind's eye visualization. The ability to project images on the back of your eyelids or into irl space is quite rare, and it's called prophantasia.
You described what I'm sensing to a Tee. I don't see it per se but it's there somewhere - vague, fleeting images. However, if I let go of seeing it and resort to feeling it, I'm generally successful. It's like visualization echolocation.
@@allagapelove1 I usually do both in an organic way, feeling it and trying to see it to look for details, but i'm not sure if i can call that seeing. It's comparable to a memory, the image is there somewhere but with other stuffs as well, i guess we can call that " information ".
This is the first time I've heard it described as I experience it. Does everyone else here have wildly visual dreams though? Mine are almost like hallucinations
About 15 years ago, when I was in high school, I distinctly remember that I was able to visualize to the point where I could turn an object in my minds eye and morph it into whatever shape as it turned. It was like clay on a potters wheel. I was drawing back then and also was reading A LOT. Recently, I came across a video that said if you couldn't visualize try purchasing a physical book and listen to the audio book as you read along, so all of your senses are being used. I'm going to give this a shot in the next week or so and would like to give it a fair shake for a few months. I'll report back if my mind's eye comes back.
As an artist with aphantasia, it makes me really happy to see you make a video on this topic! Having aphantasia has often made me feel a little left out since I’ve always wondered what it’s like to see and have the ability to manipulate images in your mind.
I also have Aphantasia, but i have extremely vivid dreams. I look forward to going to sleep because I know I'm going to have amazing dreams. When i was young i had terrible nightmares and my Mom would encourage me to try and control my dreams and after years of practicing i learned how. I also remember my past dreams while I'm dreaming. I can't imagine what it must be like to close your eyes and actually see images and colors. I only see black or red if light is shining on my closed eyes, and if i close my eyes and press on my eye i can see blue or purple sometimes.
I actually experienced something somewhat similar, I could not consciously imagine anything, it perplexed me because my dreams were always super vivid, after doing the exercise you mentioned myself during the drawabox 250 challenge. I really began to see the box before I drew it down, however it was more like quick flashes like a strobe, illuminating the box. It really was like flexing the brain hard just to get a flash of a box, present day I have done about 1000 boxes, and could visualize them in any lense or rotation. Since then I have found myself needing to do many repetitions of a subject to really grasp it, but on the plus side, it takes maybe 1/25 of the mental energy by the last iteration, and I'm happy to be able to visualize at all to be honest lol.
I'm going down this rabbit hole right now. I'll be 39 this year and just realized this was a thing. I met a couple of people with Hyperphantasia (lucky) but I just thought you could either visualize in 4k or you get eyelids. I can visualize a little open eyed but not well. I can barely remember dreams whenever I do remember even having them (haven't been able to dream vividly since high school even then I couldn't visualize that well).
It's very cool that you were able to make a change in your ability through practice. But I spent 4 years trying daily to visualize basic shapes and never got anything more than 3 glowing dots. I put a TON of effort into this, and it caused me a lot of stress because I knew that you needed to be able to do this to be an artist, and I wanted so badly to be an artist. I was told to give up on art by instructors because I couldn't get better at this. A decade later, I reconnected with my creativity by finding an art medium that DOESN'T require internal visualization at all, and finally began to flourish. I hope that your encouragement helps some people, but I hope that the people who earnestly try and still can't achieve internal visualization aren't discouraged by it. There's ways to make art for every kind of mind!
I've struggled with this all my life I quit drawing around 14 because all my friends could just come up with things like it was nothing. I couldn't draw anything out of my brain and a few years ago when I was 24 I started learning 3D art and picked up the pencil again. It REALLY is something that you can develop. I'm still in the weeds but when I lay down at night and listen to an audiobook, at times I'll get just a glimpse of what's being described before it fades again. I can't recommend that enough really focusing on what the narrator is saying and trying to imagine it. It's a great exercise. Now I'm 28 and I'm focusing on creatures and sculpting and although I often tend to just go with seeing whats working on the canvas sometimes I'll have an image in my head and if I can jot it down fast enough then that's enough for me. Keep going, you can do it.
All I see is static when I close my eyes as well. I am a glad that you have brought awareness to this condition! I am a Artist with two associates degrees in Illustration & Digital Media. I always wondered why I couldn’t visualize. This video explains it perfectly!
Funny that I hadn't imagined you also have Aphantasia. If anything, it seems MORE common among the artists I talk to than non artists. There is some talk that it may be a motivating factor among budding child artists - as a way to visualize the world by putting pencil to paper to do so. I wonder. Either way You've inspired me (once again) to start trying to see what I can do about mine.
Thank you so much for this, I gave up on doing anything art related professionally because of the articles saying that it's incurable and just went with software development (which I too enjoy) and only made random sketches once per year. But recently I'm reading a lot about people that I follow that they actually have this condition but just kept going with it, and I would have never guessed they had this obstacle. Now I feel a little more optimistic and, even if I could never progress on visualizing like you did, I don't want to give it up again because is something I really love, you just have to do what you love even if the odds are against you.
In the past few years I noticed a shift in the style of many artists, from the heavily detailed, textured and painterly images, to the more simpler ones, with large flat masses that are very easy to read from a distance. I wonder if the devices we view art on had something to do with it.
Thank you very much, Bobby!! This made me realize that I have an ability that I have to harvest myself!! I had a great imagination and mind's eye as a kid up until my teenage years, but after some years I noticed I had the same problem. I only saw my eyelids' darkness when I closed my eyes. But then I started pushing myself and experienced the same thing as you mentioned! I believe that not only is it to some extent curable, but if we don't use it, we're gonna lose it and it's so hard to get it back!
I don't have complete aphantasia, but it's pretty close. I've always wondered if I could be a stronger artist if I had much better visualization ability. The fact that you were able to develop a visualization ability from nothing is very encouraging.
Hi Bobby, What a great video on something I've been struggling with and actively working on for 5 years. When I was young I had the ability to visualize pretty clearly. However, when I became a teenager, and began having anxiety issues that eventually turned into a disorder, I lost my ability to visualize. I spent years with chronic nightmares that shook my entire body. I now recognize them as being so disturbing they caused me to awaken directly into panic attacks. Once I lost my ability to visualize my nightmares, and panic attacks stopped. I still dream and dream vividly. I even experimented with lucid dreaming to middling success. I'd like to dig into the weeds on some things you stated in this video. I am under the impression, from my years of study and practice, that there are two seemingly unique ways to visualize and they seem to potentially utilize slightly different mechanics. Granted this is all self reported from other Aphantasic people. I could be very wrong but this is my current understanding. - Standard visual imagination. Which most have seemed to describe as a window in a window. When you're imagining something you don't see it superimposed on what you're looking at but rather see it in your mind, or rather a completely different view point. So you're not actively seeing it in your waking visual field. - Projection (hyper-phantasia) Seeing things, images or shadowy shapes in your waking vision, superimposed over what you're looking at or on the back of your eyelids. I have found anecdotal evidence of other aphantasic people being able to learn to project, but I haven't found much evidence for aphantasic people learning to utilize the window in your mind imagination. From your video it sounds like you're experiencing projection imagination. Is this correct? You're experiencing an imagined image on a surface, or projected onto the back of your eyelids. I've been trying for years with very little success. I have experienced projection imagination several times. It now gets stronger the tireder I am. I'm unable to conjure complex things, only shadowy outlines of basic shapes. Occasionally I'll be able to produce blue or green circles or squares. I've been practicing daily while I meditate for years. I even tried image streaming for months to no success. I'm going to try an blank tv though, that's a very interesting idea as we're accustomed to random images popping up on its surface! I have absolutely no luck imagining in my head, however, after talking with family members who can all visualize, I seem to be unique in the fact that when I try to visualize I can almost feel the shape I'm thinking of. For example if I try to think of a bowl sitting on a table I can, in a very hard to explain intangible way, feel the shapes in my mind. The little curve of the bowl edge where it curls over, and the rough grain of the unfinished wood. I can't see anything but I can imagine very clearly sensation, depth and space. Instead of seeing a cube and rotating it, it's like it's in my hands and I'm turning it with out looking. (I don't feel it in my hands, but you get the idea) I've done the cube exercise in the past and did well. I now know I didn't do it like everyone else, but there was a sort of sensation intuitive approach to doing the drawings for me. When I was young I dabbled in 3d modeling and it came incredibly quickly and easily to me. Sculpting in person or digitally as well is incredibly intuitive for me. However in recent years my focus has turned 100% to painting as I like that it's impossibly hard for me. I don't think I would like to draw and paint if I wasn't aphantasic. For me, drawing is the only way things present themselves to me visually. Its the only way I can imagine. Just some food for thought. Thank you for sharing your wealth of information as always. You've been instrumental in my artistic growth over the years.
Fantastic video Bobby 🔥, for me personally I find that an approach similar to yours works reading a fiction book is like a workout for the visual part of the brain. Keep up the good work looking forward to the next video!
I don't have aphantasia but I've always thought it was like a muscle as well, I was always able to visualize but when I was a beginner artist I didn't know how to visualize what a good artwork looks like, how the lighting works etc. But after years of learning & improvement I can much easily visualize those things now! And there are also plenty of artists out there who have aphantasia and can still draw very well, so I hope it doesn't discourage others from trying to accomplish their goals^^ Also love your room lights
This is inspiring! I realised maybe five or so years ago that I have aphantasia and have struggled with this whole 'is it or isn't it curable?' question ever since. Being married to a hypervisualiser, I do recognise that there are some benefits to aphantasia, but I would really love to have the option! I have just started looking, and found yours and a few other videos suggesting it may be possible to train our brains, so I am going to try, although I'm not sure how good i'll be at daily half hour staring practice! Here goes...
It's really really funny. I've learnt of aphantasia thanks to your video title, a couple of days ago. Never heard of it before. So I looked for the definition, read some articles. I tried to do some tests mentioned in the articles. Fact is: I can not visualize things or even faces of my brothers or parents. It's impossible. A couple of years ago when I started some meditation I tried a method based on visualization. Meditation is meant to be relaxing. But I was not able to visualize. At this time I wondered why some meditation forms were based on visualization since vizualization seemed to be so difficult. The opposite of relaxing. But I didn't go further to understand, thinking that it was totally normal. I didn't speak about it. So, a couple of day ago I learnt about aphantasia. I read an article describing exactly my experience with the meditation based on visualization. Some people discover their inability to visualize during meditation initiation. That's funny to read about one's own experience. This time, I asked around in my family if they were able to visualize my face. They say "of course we are". I explained to them that I was not able to visualize anyone's face. They wondered. They didn't know it was possible. The didn't know either about aphantasia. It's really funny, and it all started with your video title.
I literally stopped drawing 6 years ago because of this. I realized I can visualize the best when I just woke up from a 6-8 hour sleep. I still can't imagine on command though, but I'll actively meditate and try now.
Omg! I ...I..I am without words to describe that just less then 10 minutes ago I was deep in my head trying to come up with comical lyrics for a cosmic song about God's creation of the universe... infinity,time?no time? Etc,etc. I was getting so into it then bling. A notification on my phone . So i checked it thinking it was someone sending me a message. It was a message alright! It was one of your videos about the crows in the tree and well you know the rest. I was and am blown a away!!! What!? Total God thing!! I to am an artist that has had this visualisation minds eye problem that was difficult'to explain to others blah blah blah . Anyway THANK YOU!! TODAY JUST MINUTES AGO MY LIFE IS CHANGED!! GOD BLESS YOU !! WOW!
The strange part is that when I dream, I sometimes see things so vividly and since I can remember my dreams sometimes I know I am seeing things in my mind. If I can utilize the part of my brain that creates this during sleep I should be able to utilize it during wakefulness. Or maybe what we think we should be seeing and what we think other people see is incorrect. It also could be that the word "trying" is the downfall. You don't "try" to meditate because it would make it impossible. We may just need to hear the the right words to make it happen, like not getting a certain subject in school for the whole year then a substitute teacher explains it a different way and eureka!
I have aphantasia and i imagined myself in a movie theatre and i could swear i saw outlines of a big screen and rows of seats, and i was also trying to imagine Scarface and saw some distorted pictures on the screen but it wasn’t in color or anything just blackness
Maybe this is something I should aim to practice again. I used to practice visualizing as a teen, not for art but for fun, because some people said they could imagine having a pet dragon by doing some kind of daily exercises (who knows maybe it was just an internet troll but I had time and curiosity). Well, I practiced that for a year (daily) and I could learn to feel a presence, the smell, occasionally even sounds (though that required static background noise as an ingredient). However, I never learned to -see- anything. And I guess with imagination you're supposed to quite literally see what you imagine, all I can do is feel somekind of abstract dimensional vectors, like a touchable wire frame. That rarely helps me with drawing, rather I'll just start sketching and it comes from that, when I can literally see what I'm doing. As a little glimmer of hope, there was one instance back then where I was able to distort the image of reality in a very dimly lit room (where you barely see anything), so perhaps ability is there, it's just hard to obtain for me.
I have a strange variation of this possibly, I can imagine something very briefly for about a second with fairly decent vividly and then it disappears, and then it starts to just show random things like very vibrant grass followed by stuff like ruins, shapes and mazes, its really strange
Really interesting subject. I'd say I have some trouble visualizing but then again, I don't intentionally practice that skill. Something to try working on for sure!
I was born with the complete opposite called hyperphantasia. I’ve always been really good at visualizing. I can basically make a movie in my head with my minds eye acting as the camera man. But I suck at drawing, what’s on the paper never looks like what’s in my head.
I've heard the term before, but didn't think it applied to me. But I've never been able to "see something before it's drawn", and at this point in the video I felt a sudden "aha". Thank you, thank you, thank you for this insight.
Thanks for this video, Like you I always thought it was normal to just see nothing when I close my eyes. I get vivid dreams but when it comes to visualizing things while I close my eyes I've always struggled. Ill definitely try what you did to see if it will help improve my ability to visualize in my mind. Funny enough while watching the video I closed my eyes and tried to picture a cube, and managed to see a bit of a blurry one. So will try to do more exercises each day to see if it helps
I know I’m capable of vivid imagery cause when I (allegedly) took a funny substance, in game, I was seeing unbelievably clear images in my head, as well as dreaming in general I had vivid imagery in my mind; my problem is that my mind plays images super super fast so it can never lock onto something without it turning into something else or being extremely unclear and hazy. But this video is a great reaffirmation that, at least for me, there’s still hope left it seems🦍
Thanks... I gave up art because I realized I didn't have ability to visualize. I thought it must be a gift for some, but to find out people who aren't even artist can kind of made me feel handicapped. I've had times when maybe I took something and it made my visualization work. And I thought wow... I wish I could always have this.
Edit : Ok so I guess my Idea of what Aphantasia is was wrong but I think your idea of what its like to visualize is maybe a bit idealistic if that makes sense ? Like say I've seen the mental image of an extraterrestrial in my dream recently , I would have an impression of what it might look like and be able to sculpt or draw it which I did but it wouldn't be some clear guideline that appears on the page , I would have to start constructing it just like everyone else using lines , circles etc to arrive at that image.
I think words like "cure" and "diagnosis" imply a disease - I'm not sure aphantasia is a disease per se, but one of many variants of human neurodevelopment (like those who have no inner monologue, for instance, or hyperphantasia). I wonder if people with aphantasia might be stronger in verbal and written communication? I don't think it's surprising that you could build neural pathways to learn to visualize but it must have taken a lot of work! Interesting video Bobby, thanks!
its that the mind gives you a "Snap Shot" of that image you want to visualize. its so fast that people think they can't see with the minds eye. you have to teach the mind/muscles to show you what you want to see at a slower pace. it does take tike to train those mind/muscles. but, if you can tell the difference between an apple or an orange , you don't have the "A" thing. oh, think of a moment when you hit a baseball, at that moment in time, the minds eye showed you when to swing. and i bet you knew where the ball was heading, before you hit it.
i have a very vivid imagination, but it didn't help me be a better artist, maybe it even was a crutch, because i didn't focus on what was on the page, so the pictures were always unfinished and sloppy. lately i've moved from heavy imagination into focusing on what's on the page
In my experience with aphantasia I noticed when I'm properly exhausted, tired, perhaps even delirious I'd be able visualise some. Kinda felt like having a dream while awake since the image still wasn't really there, very dark, perhaps some blurs, I moreso felt the feeling of being in there to perceive it. However I could draw it, I could still remember the composition or pose later without having the image in my mind. Have you had any similar experiences with your aphantasia Bobby? Or recall anything that either helped or hindered visualising?
Bang on description I have this to I'm extremely creative and have always wondered if I can unlock my minds eye would help me so much I find hard to create from ground up but can carve out any object I desire because I can see it and trim down to what looks good but if I build from ground up I struggle until the bulk of mass has built up and then chip back to Finnish mine is like static when i was younger now it's mostly pure darkness some times faint blobs of dull colour or light but very very faint and they move around like floaty clouds no control at all!!
I identify as an aphant. Or whatever. And my memories of dreams are not clear at all. Closing my eyes is pure black static. But, I've started something similar on trying to visualise something out of the static, most nights. And I now remember of placing markers of memory in my dreams that "hey, I can undoubtedly see something right now". And I can see flashes of imagery when transitioning from awake to asleep. I'll try to force visualization of cube, or colored circle on blank paper and see how it goes. Thanks for the tip! Ps: I almost think I can see something faint when I tried it over a blank wall. Feels similar to when I look at a chessboard and focus on movement for a single piece, brain kind of highlights directions where that piece can move to.
i have aphantasia, but i’ve always seen myself as an artist, which is funny because there are a lot of other artists with aphantasia in the comments. Maybe it’s because it’s our only way to see things that aren’t physically in front of us. I also feel like i didn’t used to have it, i remember being able to visualize images in my head for short periods of time, but now, no matter how hard i try i just can’t.
It is worse for me because i didnt use to have it and could have entire daydreams with insane universes in my brain in 4k and slowly i developed it and now i cant even imagine a friggin circle. Whats annoying is that my dreams are still visual.
For me I see vague images that flash and I can only guide what I see. My 'mind's eye' has gotten better though, I used see blurry silhouettes in darkness, now I can see vague faces if I imagine a face, but its still blurry/out of focus, but shaper for sure.
Wow, it's great to learn that another art legend had aphantasia and even was able to overcome it! Do you recommend then doing the boxes exercise but trying to visualize them on the paper instead of drawing? Another thing that's curious to me is that you mention that you see static, but I just see the flat black of the back of my eyelids. Is that what you mean?
I just try to visualize everything… diff subjects, motion, color, cartoons. And by static I mean the light spots from the light leaving fuzzy spots in your vision for a bit when you close your eyes
But if you eventually can make yourself see it? Do you still have the condition? You describe how I perceive things when trying to think about them, static... but I don't know, it feels super normal to me that through familiarization with some subjects you become competent at visualizing stuff.
I really thought that's just your Imagination, No wonder It's hard for Me to fall asleep, Every time I close My eyes I see different images that I memories so that I can make a quick sketch. All I want is to have a good night sleep.
My daughter has told me she has mind blindness. I am still trying to figure out what that must be like for her. She also figured originally it was the same for everyone. If I tell her to picture a rose, she can't see anything in her mind. Maybe the physical word 'rose.' But she is an avid reader as well, which I am really curious about how that works also. I will share this video with her.
Wait, what? Is that what it's like to visualize? I can close my eyes and can imagine kinda well, but I never thought about doing that while my eyes are open.
Oh I didn't know that was a condition, I thought it was normal to not see anything. I only see things with my minds eye when I'm between awake and sleep state. From there I can see everything in color, but the images are not in my control.
I can't really "see" anything. But I have a million of ideas and I can draw them, even if I cant really visualize them. It is hard to tell if this is the same thing X) but do we really need to visualize to be creative?
I doubt this is ever happening for me, i have been told by an art teacher when i was 8 to do this. Try focus your attention on something and get the image and colors out of it. I have done it every night and that was more than 20 yrs ago. Its still blank, i can never see or understand what people are seeing. I can see at most an incomplete outline in darkness. I dont think everyone will ever get it and i have to move on. That being said not all hope is lost for those who have it and want to do art. Glenn Keane has it as well, cant see anything till today in his 60s but his doing extremely well.
It doesn’t work. I have done this years and years and nothing ever came. Nothing changed. I spend hours and hours. I take breaks of years so not to stress and distance myself or burnout before I even start and then I retry again and again.
If I close my eyes all I see is the black, grainy image Bobby talks about. But with my eyes open I can look into my mind's eye and imagine objects, etc. Do I have aphantasia?
Same here. Only black if I close eyes but I can "imagine" (only simple shapes and if more complex not very detailed) with eyes open but one thing at a time. I can imagine a cube. I can imagine a pattern. But not the cube with the pattern applied.
So can you literally see it or is it like more of the idea? can you actually see the lines and rending? the face detail?? this would be insane too me...
i just want to end my life because of aphantasia. i just come off drugs and want to dabble into spirituality and meditation and visualisations. only to realise that cannot be possible for me. i feel hearbroken. i just want to use drugs again i want to end it
I’m not sure how to explain this well, but it is not like you close your eyes and see a mental image behind your eyelids. The mental image and fantasy happens in your mind, not in front of your eyes. It’s hard to explain, but it is like another sense than the eyes visualize the image, a part of your brain. So I hope a lot of people do not assume they have aphantasia now, as they see static in front of their eyes, that is quite normal 😅 I can for example visualize what my next illustration will look like, or my father’s face. But I do not “see” it behind my closed eyes. It’s like a little picture/movie in your brain. I can also “see” it with eyes open, daydreaming for instance. I hope that makes sense. It sounds like it can be really tough to have aphasia when being an artist, I’m glad you shared some tips for those that suffer from it ❤
I'm guessing stress, worry and anxiety don't help, so if people reduced (somehow -- good luck) those things in their lives it may help fortify their Prof Xavier skills.
Thanks for the vid and info. I have aphantasia since day one and only really got to know about it in 2021. Until that year I too thought I was in the same path of everyone and it was just one more 'skill issue' with myself. But, differently than Chiu, I got no static on my mind at all. If I could be so bold and assume, I would say Chiu and me were almost at the same 'level' of aphantasia... But Chiu having the 'static' would be a 0.5 on the scale and I still am a total zero. And There's the thing: I do think there's levels between levels of known aphantasia, which makes some people see even blurred things time to time, and some, like me, absolutely nothing no matter what. I don't wanna discourage anyone, but for those that sadly fall under the same level of mine, I would say we would need to try different things aside of just trying to visualize. We can't force a muscle that we have no control over. In my case even after 3 years of drawing and studying I am still very, very sad about not being able of get most basic things right every time because my brain can't help me with the visualization, and that warps what we draw when we try to keep applying the concepts we always see and use in general. That generates a frustration beyond words for me. I hope one day we can discover how to wake up that part of our brain with help, maybe medicine or something else safe so we can keep doing what we like and love, even outside art itself. Experiencing life without aphantasia must be incredible, and I wanna 'see' that one day. Either way, sorry for the rambling and good luck for us all.
We recently came across your video discussing finding a cure for aphantasia. First and foremost, we would like to express our genuine interest in understanding your personal experience better. One aspect we are particularly curious about is whether you recall a time in your childhood when you were able to visualize? There's a growing body of evidence suggesting that some individuals may become more aphantasic with age. The "static" you describe is intriguing. Could it possibly be an indication of hypophantasia or very low levels of imagery ability that you've managed to refine and strengthen over time? It's worth noting that there have been instances where people who've lost the ability to visualize suddenly were able to regain it. Could it be that you experienced an acquired form of aphantasia? While we remain open to the multitude of personal experiences and the potential for neuroplasticity, we do feel it's essential to approach such claims with caution. There's a vast spectrum of experiences within the aphantasic community. While some may find benefits from various methods you describe here, others have tried numerous techniques without success. Suggesting that consistent effort and hard work can train the brain to visualize might inadvertently set unrealistic expectations for many aphants. Especially congenital aphantasics. There's currently no substantial evidence to support the notion that one can "train" their way out of aphantasia (if you are born with it). The journey of understanding aphantasia is ongoing and can be challenging due to its complex nature. Misconceptions or overgeneralized claims can inadvertently further complicate the landscape. We believe in fostering a community grounded in understanding, empathy, and accurate information. We hope you appreciate our perspective, and we're keen to learn more about your experience and insights. Engaging in a constructive dialogue can only help our collective understanding.
I always thought "visualize" was an expression. When I really think about it, when I thought I was visualizing, I was more like creating a list of things that describe the situation. This has been for as long as I can remember... even as a child. Also when I'm talking about 'static' it's more like it's not totally black when I close my eyes but I feel that's not me visualizing but instead it's more like when you stare at high contrast things and it burns a fuzzy image when you close your eyes. Hope that helps.
@@rangerkayla8824 I'm in the same boat as you. I used to have a mind's eye, but after the things I saw as a US Marine, I don't have phantasia anymore. I don't remember when I lost it, I just realized I did, after I saw a video about this. I was shocked when I could not visualize seeing an apple or a sunset.
I left a comment 6 months ago saying this is never happening, i take my word back. If you happen to read this Bobby, as of 2 days ago ive seen the first color image in my brain ever i was able to hold it long enougb to actually draw it. So i take back what i said. This actually worked for me.
I hope people will try what I did to see if their visualizing abilities improve. If it doesn’t improve after a couple months, then stop if you feel like it. Either way, there will be at least some that will see a noticeable difference and that’s why I wanted to make this video.
@chiu-on-this,
It's funny how those of us with such conditions assume it's the norm. I don't have Aphantasia; I'm a genetic anosmiac. I have only around 5% of my senses of smell and taste (I get only sweet/salty/bitter/sour. No distinction between stuff in each category).
Unlike someone who's blind, or deaf, or those poor souls with Congenital Analgesia (inability to feel pain), or worse, CIPA (lack of a sense of touch), smell and taste, much like one's ability to visualize, is both subjective, and non-obvious to those unafflicted.
I was 17 before I knew anything was wrong. I just assumed everyone didn't know the difference between a potato chip and beef jerky. They're both just "salty". Cotton candy DOESN'T taste the same as a strawberry? Bullshit.
I think you had the healthiest discovery and response to your condition. You just worked around and through it. No victim syndrome. No "boo-hoo poor me." Just a challenge to overcome. I'm actually an excellent cook, and a fantastic baker. I'm told. I mean, I can't _taste_ any of it... but that didn't prevent me from learning what flavors people like, and which combinations work well together (Ben Cohen - of Ben and Jerry's fame, the guy that created the ice cream recipes - has the same condition I do, and about as bad).
I note you describe you began to visualize things with your eyes OPEN... a box _on the page,_ Tweedledee _on the TV_ and I have to ask: is it still static when they're closed? Did you train yourself AROUND the issue, same as Ben and I?
Happy to hear an account of someone training this! I have a feeling my natural, developing abilities became stunted and then greatly atrophied at a very young age due to many reasons personal to me. I can get the weakest sense of shapes and I'm encouraged to slowly follow what I can to train and discover what I'm capable of :-) thank you
I've never heard of this before but this video makes me feel like i have aphantasia, but i didn't imagined that people could really model things on top of the static of the closed eyes. When i try to visualise something before drawing it, i can see it but not "see" it, i dont close my eye, it's like the image exist in an other dimension, parallele to the dimension i see with my eyes. I can't make the image appear on top of the static of my closed eyes in the physical dimension, but i can kinda see it anyway, it's just somewhere else. The image is not clear, and sometimes i ask myself if i really see it or just kinda feel it. I've never thought people can see it with the physical eyes.
"it's like the image exist in an other dimension, parallele to the dimension i see with my eyes."
That's totally normal and how it works for normal mind's eye visualization. The ability to project images on the back of your eyelids or into irl space is quite rare, and it's called prophantasia.
i have just realised this one hour before
You described what I'm sensing to a Tee. I don't see it per se but it's there somewhere - vague, fleeting images. However, if I let go of seeing it and resort to feeling it, I'm generally successful. It's like visualization echolocation.
@@allagapelove1 I usually do both in an organic way, feeling it and trying to see it to look for details, but i'm not sure if i can call that seeing. It's comparable to a memory, the image is there somewhere but with other stuffs as well, i guess we can call that " information ".
This is the first time I've heard it described as I experience it. Does everyone else here have wildly visual dreams though? Mine are almost like hallucinations
About 15 years ago, when I was in high school, I distinctly remember that I was able to visualize to the point where I could turn an object in my minds eye and morph it into whatever shape as it turned. It was like clay on a potters wheel. I was drawing back then and also was reading A LOT. Recently, I came across a video that said if you couldn't visualize try purchasing a physical book and listen to the audio book as you read along, so all of your senses are being used. I'm going to give this a shot in the next week or so and would like to give it a fair shake for a few months. I'll report back if my mind's eye comes back.
hows the progress?
I’m jealous i wish i could see objects from my minds eye but i can’t and it sucks
wat happen
Still waiting
He got lost in his head
It was because of a CZcams video you made several years ago that I learned I could develop the ability to visualize things!!
Which video was it and did you became able to see images in your mind? If so, how??
@@TheHotaru93 I would like to know too.
As an artist with aphantasia, it makes me really happy to see you make a video on this topic! Having aphantasia has often made me feel a little left out since I’ve always wondered what it’s like to see and have the ability to manipulate images in your mind.
I hope my own experiences will have a positive effect for you
that's very interesting, so when you dream do you not see images?
@@danielmartart i can see images in my dreams! its an odd concept but apparently many others with aphantasia can also see dreams visually
@@chiu-on-this thanks for the video bobby! i'll give your method a go :)
I also have Aphantasia, but i have extremely vivid dreams. I look forward to going to sleep because I know I'm going to have amazing dreams. When i was young i had terrible nightmares and my Mom would encourage me to try and control my dreams and after years of practicing i learned how. I also remember my past dreams while I'm dreaming. I can't imagine what it must be like to close your eyes and actually see images and colors. I only see black or red if light is shining on my closed eyes, and if i close my eyes and press on my eye i can see blue or purple sometimes.
I actually experienced something somewhat similar, I could not consciously imagine anything, it perplexed me because my dreams were always super vivid, after doing the exercise you mentioned myself during the drawabox 250 challenge. I really began to see the box before I drew it down, however it was more like quick flashes like a strobe, illuminating the box. It really was like flexing the brain hard just to get a flash of a box, present day I have done about 1000 boxes, and could visualize them in any lense or rotation. Since then I have found myself needing to do many repetitions of a subject to really grasp it, but on the plus side, it takes maybe 1/25 of the mental energy by the last iteration, and I'm happy to be able to visualize at all to be honest lol.
I'm going down this rabbit hole right now. I'll be 39 this year and just realized this was a thing. I met a couple of people with Hyperphantasia (lucky) but I just thought you could either visualize in 4k or you get eyelids. I can visualize a little open eyed but not well. I can barely remember dreams whenever I do remember even having them (haven't been able to dream vividly since high school even then I couldn't visualize that well).
It's very cool that you were able to make a change in your ability through practice. But I spent 4 years trying daily to visualize basic shapes and never got anything more than 3 glowing dots. I put a TON of effort into this, and it caused me a lot of stress because I knew that you needed to be able to do this to be an artist, and I wanted so badly to be an artist. I was told to give up on art by instructors because I couldn't get better at this.
A decade later, I reconnected with my creativity by finding an art medium that DOESN'T require internal visualization at all, and finally began to flourish. I hope that your encouragement helps some people, but I hope that the people who earnestly try and still can't achieve internal visualization aren't discouraged by it. There's ways to make art for every kind of mind!
I've struggled with this all my life I quit drawing around 14 because all my friends could just come up with things like it was nothing. I couldn't draw anything out of my brain and a few years ago when I was 24 I started learning 3D art and picked up the pencil again. It REALLY is something that you can develop. I'm still in the weeds but when I lay down at night and listen to an audiobook, at times I'll get just a glimpse of what's being described before it fades again.
I can't recommend that enough really focusing on what the narrator is saying and trying to imagine it. It's a great exercise.
Now I'm 28 and I'm focusing on creatures and sculpting and although I often tend to just go with seeing whats working on the canvas sometimes I'll have an image in my head and if I can jot it down fast enough then that's enough for me.
Keep going, you can do it.
Thanks for your encouraging words. I will work on it
All I see is static when I close my eyes as well. I am a glad that you have brought awareness to this condition! I am a Artist with two associates degrees in Illustration & Digital Media. I always wondered why I couldn’t visualize. This video explains it perfectly!
Funny that I hadn't imagined you also have Aphantasia. If anything, it seems MORE common among the artists I talk to than non artists. There is some talk that it may be a motivating factor among budding child artists - as a way to visualize the world by putting pencil to paper to do so. I wonder.
Either way You've inspired me (once again) to start trying to see what I can do about mine.
Thank you so much for this, I gave up on doing anything art related professionally because of the articles saying that it's incurable and just went with software development (which I too enjoy) and only made random sketches once per year. But recently I'm reading a lot about people that I follow that they actually have this condition but just kept going with it, and I would have never guessed they had this obstacle. Now I feel a little more optimistic and, even if I could never progress on visualizing like you did, I don't want to give it up again because is something I really love, you just have to do what you love even if the odds are against you.
In the past few years I noticed a shift in the style of many artists, from the heavily detailed, textured and painterly images, to the more simpler ones, with large flat masses that are very easy to read from a distance. I wonder if the devices we view art on had something to do with it.
Thank you very much, Bobby!! This made me realize that I have an ability that I have to harvest myself!! I had a great imagination and mind's eye as a kid up until my teenage years, but after some years I noticed I had the same problem. I only saw my eyelids' darkness when I closed my eyes. But then I started pushing myself and experienced the same thing as you mentioned! I believe that not only is it to some extent curable, but if we don't use it, we're gonna lose it and it's so hard to get it back!
I really appreciate your chats.. thanks for the relevant discussions for creative people.. best of luck with your new channel..
I don't have complete aphantasia, but it's pretty close. I've always wondered if I could be a stronger artist if I had much better visualization ability. The fact that you were able to develop a visualization ability from nothing is very encouraging.
Just realizing after this video and reading the comments this is why I've always been a crappy drawer...
Hi Bobby,
What a great video on something I've been struggling with and actively working on for 5 years. When I was young I had the ability to visualize pretty clearly. However, when I became a teenager, and began having anxiety issues that eventually turned into a disorder, I lost my ability to visualize. I spent years with chronic nightmares that shook my entire body. I now recognize them as being so disturbing they caused me to awaken directly into panic attacks. Once I lost my ability to visualize my nightmares, and panic attacks stopped. I still dream and dream vividly. I even experimented with lucid dreaming to middling success.
I'd like to dig into the weeds on some things you stated in this video. I am under the impression, from my years of study and practice, that there are two seemingly unique ways to visualize and they seem to potentially utilize slightly different mechanics. Granted this is all self reported from other Aphantasic people. I could be very wrong but this is my current understanding.
- Standard visual imagination.
Which most have seemed to describe as a window in a window. When you're imagining something you don't see it superimposed on what you're looking at but rather see it in your mind, or rather a completely different view point. So you're not actively seeing it in your waking visual field.
- Projection (hyper-phantasia)
Seeing things, images or shadowy shapes in your waking vision, superimposed over what you're looking at or on the back of your eyelids.
I have found anecdotal evidence of other aphantasic people being able to learn to project, but I haven't found much evidence for aphantasic people learning to utilize the window in your mind imagination.
From your video it sounds like you're experiencing projection imagination. Is this correct? You're experiencing an imagined image on a surface, or projected onto the back of your eyelids.
I've been trying for years with very little success. I have experienced projection imagination several times. It now gets stronger the tireder I am. I'm unable to conjure complex things, only shadowy outlines of basic shapes. Occasionally I'll be able to produce blue or green circles or squares. I've been practicing daily while I meditate for years. I even tried image streaming for months to no success. I'm going to try an blank tv though, that's a very interesting idea as we're accustomed to random images popping up on its surface!
I have absolutely no luck imagining in my head, however, after talking with family members who can all visualize, I seem to be unique in the fact that when I try to visualize I can almost feel the shape I'm thinking of. For example if I try to think of a bowl sitting on a table I can, in a very hard to explain intangible way, feel the shapes in my mind. The little curve of the bowl edge where it curls over, and the rough grain of the unfinished wood. I can't see anything but I can imagine very clearly sensation, depth and space. Instead of seeing a cube and rotating it, it's like it's in my hands and I'm turning it with out looking. (I don't feel it in my hands, but you get the idea)
I've done the cube exercise in the past and did well. I now know I didn't do it like everyone else, but there was a sort of sensation intuitive approach to doing the drawings for me. When I was young I dabbled in 3d modeling and it came incredibly quickly and easily to me. Sculpting in person or digitally as well is incredibly intuitive for me. However in recent years my focus has turned 100% to painting as I like that it's impossibly hard for me. I don't think I would like to draw and paint if I wasn't aphantasic. For me, drawing is the only way things present themselves to me visually. Its the only way I can imagine.
Just some food for thought. Thank you for sharing your wealth of information as always. You've been instrumental in my artistic growth over the years.
Super insightful and vital for artist! Thanks Bobby!
Thank you for sharing this. I'm finding more and more people who are fixing their visualization muscle.
Fantastic video Bobby 🔥, for me personally I find that an approach similar to yours works reading a fiction book is like a workout for the visual part of the brain. Keep up the good work looking forward to the next video!
I don't have aphantasia but I've always thought it was like a muscle as well, I was always able to visualize but when I was a beginner artist I didn't know how to visualize what a good artwork looks like, how the lighting works etc. But after years of learning & improvement I can much easily visualize those things now! And there are also plenty of artists out there who have aphantasia and can still draw very well, so I hope it doesn't discourage others from trying to accomplish their goals^^
Also love your room lights
This is inspiring! I realised maybe five or so years ago that I have aphantasia and have struggled with this whole 'is it or isn't it curable?' question ever since. Being married to a hypervisualiser, I do recognise that there are some benefits to aphantasia, but I would really love to have the option! I have just started looking, and found yours and a few other videos suggesting it may be possible to train our brains, so I am going to try, although I'm not sure how good i'll be at daily half hour staring practice! Here goes...
It's really really funny. I've learnt of aphantasia thanks to your video title, a couple of days ago. Never heard of it before. So I looked for the definition, read some articles. I tried to do some tests mentioned in the articles.
Fact is: I can not visualize things or even faces of my brothers or parents. It's impossible. A couple of years ago when I started some meditation I tried a method based on visualization. Meditation is meant to be relaxing. But I was not able to visualize. At this time I wondered why some meditation forms were based on visualization since vizualization seemed to be so difficult. The opposite of relaxing. But I didn't go further to understand, thinking that it was totally normal. I didn't speak about it.
So, a couple of day ago I learnt about aphantasia. I read an article describing exactly my experience with the meditation based on visualization. Some people discover their inability to visualize during meditation initiation. That's funny to read about one's own experience.
This time, I asked around in my family if they were able to visualize my face. They say "of course we are". I explained to them that I was not able to visualize anyone's face. They wondered. They didn't know it was possible. The didn't know either about aphantasia.
It's really funny, and it all started with your video title.
I literally stopped drawing 6 years ago because of this. I realized I can visualize the best when I just woke up from a 6-8 hour sleep. I still can't imagine on command though, but I'll actively meditate and try now.
Omg! I ...I..I am without words to describe that just less then 10 minutes ago I was deep in my head trying to come up with comical lyrics for a cosmic song about God's creation of the universe... infinity,time?no time? Etc,etc. I was getting so into it then bling. A notification on my phone . So i checked it thinking it was someone sending me a message. It was a message alright! It was one of your videos about the crows in the tree and well you know the rest. I was and am blown a away!!! What!? Total God thing!! I to am an artist that has had this visualisation minds eye problem that was difficult'to explain to others blah blah blah . Anyway THANK YOU!! TODAY JUST MINUTES AGO MY LIFE IS CHANGED!! GOD BLESS YOU !! WOW!
The strange part is that when I dream, I sometimes see things so vividly and since I can remember my dreams sometimes I know I am seeing things in my mind. If I can utilize the part of my brain that creates this during sleep I should be able to utilize it during wakefulness. Or maybe what we think we should be seeing and what we think other people see is incorrect. It also could be that the word "trying" is the downfall. You don't "try" to meditate because it would make it impossible. We may just need to hear the the right words to make it happen, like not getting a certain subject in school for the whole year then a substitute teacher explains it a different way and eureka!
I have aphantasia and i imagined myself in a movie theatre and i could swear i saw outlines of a big screen and rows of seats, and i was also trying to imagine Scarface and saw some distorted pictures on the screen but it wasn’t in color or anything just blackness
very motivating, so far your videos are really interesting :)
i've always wondered how it works for artists. I guess i'm finally going to get some answers. can't wait
yes you will... or at least my experience with Aphantasia
Maybe this is something I should aim to practice again.
I used to practice visualizing as a teen, not for art but for fun, because some people said they could imagine having a pet dragon by doing some kind of daily exercises (who knows maybe it was just an internet troll but I had time and curiosity). Well, I practiced that for a year (daily) and I could learn to feel a presence, the smell, occasionally even sounds (though that required static background noise as an ingredient). However, I never learned to -see- anything. And I guess with imagination you're supposed to quite literally see what you imagine, all I can do is feel somekind of abstract dimensional vectors, like a touchable wire frame. That rarely helps me with drawing, rather I'll just start sketching and it comes from that, when I can literally see what I'm doing.
As a little glimmer of hope, there was one instance back then where I was able to distort the image of reality in a very dimly lit room (where you barely see anything), so perhaps ability is there, it's just hard to obtain for me.
I have a strange variation of this possibly, I can imagine something very briefly for about a second with fairly decent vividly and then it disappears, and then it starts to just show random things like very vibrant grass followed by stuff like ruins, shapes and mazes, its really strange
Really interesting subject. I'd say I have some trouble visualizing but then again, I don't intentionally practice that skill. Something to try working on for sure!
I was born with the complete opposite called hyperphantasia. I’ve always been really good at visualizing. I can basically make a movie in my head with my minds eye acting as the camera man. But I suck at drawing, what’s on the paper never looks like what’s in my head.
I love your new content⭐️
I've heard the term before, but didn't think it applied to me. But I've never been able to "see something before it's drawn", and at this point in the video I felt a sudden "aha". Thank you, thank you, thank you for this insight.
Thanks for your experience sharing !
Thank you for the 'fantastic' content.
Now I know I'm not alone :-)
Thanks for this video, Like you I always thought it was normal to just see nothing when I close my eyes. I get vivid dreams but when it comes to visualizing things while I close my eyes I've always struggled. Ill definitely try what you did to see if it will help improve my ability to visualize in my mind. Funny enough while watching the video I closed my eyes and tried to picture a cube, and managed to see a bit of a blurry one. So will try to do more exercises each day to see if it helps
Wow! That's incredible.
I know I’m capable of vivid imagery cause when I (allegedly) took a funny substance, in game, I was seeing unbelievably clear images in my head, as well as dreaming in general I had vivid imagery in my mind; my problem is that my mind plays images super super fast so it can never lock onto something without it turning into something else or being extremely unclear and hazy. But this video is a great reaffirmation that, at least for me, there’s still hope left it seems🦍
Thanks... I gave up art because I realized I didn't have ability to visualize. I thought it must be a gift for some, but to find out people who aren't even artist can kind of made me feel handicapped. I've had times when maybe I took something and it made my visualization work. And I thought wow... I wish I could always have this.
Very interesting. Glen Keane also has aphantasia.
I may have some aphantasia, and I hope to explore more creatively solutions for this.
great video, would've been good if you made a video explaining how you "cured" it
Edit : Ok so I guess my Idea of what Aphantasia is was wrong but I think your idea of what its like to visualize is maybe a bit idealistic if that makes sense ? Like say I've seen the mental image of an extraterrestrial in my dream recently , I would have an impression of what it might look like and be able to sculpt or draw it which I did but it wouldn't be some clear guideline that appears on the page , I would have to start constructing it just like everyone else using lines , circles etc to arrive at that image.
Great advice; great puns.
I think words like "cure" and "diagnosis" imply a disease - I'm not sure aphantasia is a disease per se, but one of many variants of human neurodevelopment (like those who have no inner monologue, for instance, or hyperphantasia). I wonder if people with aphantasia might be stronger in verbal and written communication? I don't think it's surprising that you could build neural pathways to learn to visualize but it must have taken a lot of work! Interesting video Bobby, thanks!
wtf you can see stuff when you close your eyes ?
its that the mind gives you a "Snap Shot" of that image you want to visualize. its so fast that people think they can't see with the minds eye. you have to teach the mind/muscles to show you what you want to see at a slower pace. it does take tike to train those mind/muscles. but, if you can tell the difference between an apple or an orange , you don't have the "A" thing. oh, think of a moment when you hit a baseball, at that moment in time, the minds eye showed you when to swing. and i bet you knew where the ball was heading, before you hit it.
Woah
How do you do that? Any videos
i have a very vivid imagination, but it didn't help me be a better artist, maybe it even was a crutch, because i didn't focus on what was on the page, so the pictures were always unfinished and sloppy. lately i've moved from heavy imagination into focusing on what's on the page
I have aphantasia too. I didn’t realize it until after I was out of art school
Thanks for making this video and sharing your experience. What sort of exercises did you do? Or was it mainly staring and trying to visualize?
In my experience with aphantasia I noticed when I'm properly exhausted, tired, perhaps even delirious I'd be able visualise some. Kinda felt like having a dream while awake since the image still wasn't really there, very dark, perhaps some blurs, I moreso felt the feeling of being in there to perceive it. However I could draw it, I could still remember the composition or pose later without having the image in my mind. Have you had any similar experiences with your aphantasia Bobby? Or recall anything that either helped or hindered visualising?
Bang on description I have this to I'm extremely creative and have always wondered if I can unlock my minds eye would help me so much I find hard to create from ground up but can carve out any object I desire because I can see it and trim down to what looks good but if I build from ground up I struggle until the bulk of mass has built up and then chip back to Finnish mine is like static when i was younger now it's mostly pure darkness some times faint blobs of dull colour or light but very very faint and they move around like floaty clouds no control at all!!
Wes Anderson's short film for Netflix adapting Roald Dahl story reminds me of how you trained your mind
I have been questioning if I have Aphantasia and I'm very sure I do
I identify as an aphant. Or whatever. And my memories of dreams are not clear at all. Closing my eyes is pure black static.
But, I've started something similar on trying to visualise something out of the static, most nights. And I now remember of placing markers of memory in my dreams that "hey, I can undoubtedly see something right now".
And I can see flashes of imagery when transitioning from awake to asleep.
I'll try to force visualization of cube, or colored circle on blank paper and see how it goes. Thanks for the tip!
Ps: I almost think I can see something faint when I tried it over a blank wall. Feels similar to when I look at a chessboard and focus on movement for a single piece, brain kind of highlights directions where that piece can move to.
i have aphantasia, but i’ve always seen myself as an artist, which is funny because there are a lot of other artists with aphantasia in the comments. Maybe it’s because it’s our only way to see things that aren’t physically in front of us. I also feel like i didn’t used to have it, i remember being able to visualize images in my head for short periods of time, but now, no matter how hard i try i just can’t.
It is worse for me because i didnt use to have it and could have entire daydreams with insane universes in my brain in 4k and slowly i developed it and now i cant even imagine a friggin circle. Whats annoying is that my dreams are still visual.
I agree, it seems to be a muscle, of sorts. Have you heard of "Prophantasia"? It sounds like what you're describing.
just realize i have this, as an artist this is like really weird to think of
I have never heard of this before bit I belive I have it..Got no imagination me..I was brilliant at art at school.
For me I see vague images that flash and I can only guide what I see. My 'mind's eye' has gotten better though, I used see blurry silhouettes in darkness, now I can see vague faces if I imagine a face, but its still blurry/out of focus, but shaper for sure.
Wow, it's great to learn that another art legend had aphantasia and even was able to overcome it!
Do you recommend then doing the boxes exercise but trying to visualize them on the paper instead of drawing?
Another thing that's curious to me is that you mention that you see static, but I just see the flat black of the back of my eyelids. Is that what you mean?
I just try to visualize everything… diff subjects, motion, color, cartoons. And by static I mean the light spots from the light leaving fuzzy spots in your vision for a bit when you close your eyes
But if you eventually can make yourself see it? Do you still have the condition? You describe how I perceive things when trying to think about them, static... but I don't know, it feels super normal to me that through familiarization with some subjects you become competent at visualizing stuff.
I really thought that's just your Imagination, No wonder It's hard for Me to fall asleep, Every time I close My eyes I see different images that I memories so that I can make a quick sketch.
All I want is to have a good night sleep.
A true Yogi of our time ;
My daughter has told me she has mind blindness. I am still trying to figure out what that must be like for her. She also figured originally it was the same for everyone. If I tell her to picture a rose, she can't see anything in her mind. Maybe the physical word 'rose.' But she is an avid reader as well, which I am really curious about how that works also. I will share this video with her.
Wait, what? Is that what it's like to visualize? I can close my eyes and can imagine kinda well, but I never thought about doing that while my eyes are open.
I don’t feel like I’m broken. Other than hating guided meditation, it really hasn’t harmed me. I don’t think of it as something to be cured.
Would this have an effect on dreams or is it just because of conscious visualization whereas dreams are mostly unconscious/subconscious visualization?
thank you so much
Oh I didn't know that was a condition, I thought it was normal to not see anything. I only see things with my minds eye when I'm between awake and sleep state. From there I can see everything in color, but the images are not in my control.
I can't really "see" anything. But I have a million of ideas and I can draw them, even if I cant really visualize them. It is hard to tell if this is the same thing X) but do we really need to visualize to be creative?
I doubt this is ever happening for me, i have been told by an art teacher when i was 8 to do this. Try focus your attention on something and get the image and colors out of it. I have done it every night and that was more than 20 yrs ago. Its still blank, i can never see or understand what people are seeing. I can see at most an incomplete outline in darkness. I dont think everyone will ever get it and i have to move on. That being said not all hope is lost for those who have it and want to do art. Glenn Keane has it as well, cant see anything till today in his 60s but his doing extremely well.
It doesn’t work. I have done this years and years and nothing ever came. Nothing changed. I spend hours and hours. I take breaks of years so not to stress and distance myself or burnout before I even start and then I retry again and again.
If I close my eyes all I see is the black, grainy image Bobby talks about. But with my eyes open I can look into my mind's eye and imagine objects, etc. Do I have aphantasia?
Same here. Only black if I close eyes but I can "imagine" (only simple shapes and if more complex not very detailed) with eyes open but one thing at a time. I can imagine a cube. I can imagine a pattern. But not the cube with the pattern applied.
So can you literally see it or is it like more of the idea? can you actually see the lines and rending? the face detail?? this would be insane too me...
i just want to end my life because of aphantasia. i just come off drugs and want to dabble into spirituality and meditation and visualisations. only to realise that cannot be possible for me. i feel hearbroken. i just want to use drugs again i want to end it
There are binaural beats videos on CZcams that can cure Aphantasia. You just need headphones because the binaural beats work best with headphones.
I've been trying to visualize everyday for 12 years. How long until I'm cured?
I’m not sure how to explain this well, but it is not like you close your eyes and see a mental image behind your eyelids. The mental image and fantasy happens in your mind, not in front of your eyes. It’s hard to explain, but it is like another sense than the eyes visualize the image, a part of your brain. So I hope a lot of people do not assume they have aphantasia now, as they see static in front of their eyes, that is quite normal 😅 I can for example visualize what my next illustration will look like, or my father’s face. But I do not “see” it behind my closed eyes. It’s like a little picture/movie in your brain. I can also “see” it with eyes open, daydreaming for instance. I hope that makes sense. It sounds like it can be really tough to have aphasia when being an artist, I’m glad you shared some tips for those that suffer from it ❤
tempted to try some mushroom i heard it really get all the neuron firing.
I'm guessing stress, worry and anxiety don't help, so if people reduced (somehow -- good luck) those things in their lives it may help fortify their Prof Xavier skills.
i would love for RubberRoss to watch on this video.
Might it be related also to your young age at the time, with a still forming brain?
Thanks for the vid and info.
I have aphantasia since day one and only really got to know about it in 2021. Until that year I too thought I was in the same path of everyone and it was just one more 'skill issue' with myself. But, differently than Chiu, I got no static on my mind at all. If I could be so bold and assume, I would say Chiu and me were almost at the same 'level' of aphantasia... But Chiu having the 'static' would be a 0.5 on the scale and I still am a total zero. And There's the thing: I do think there's levels between levels of known aphantasia, which makes some people see even blurred things time to time, and some, like me, absolutely nothing no matter what.
I don't wanna discourage anyone, but for those that sadly fall under the same level of mine, I would say we would need to try different things aside of just trying to visualize. We can't force a muscle that we have no control over. In my case even after 3 years of drawing and studying I am still very, very sad about not being able of get most basic things right every time because my brain can't help me with the visualization, and that warps what we draw when we try to keep applying the concepts we always see and use in general. That generates a frustration beyond words for me.
I hope one day we can discover how to wake up that part of our brain with help, maybe medicine or something else safe so we can keep doing what we like and love, even outside art itself. Experiencing life without aphantasia must be incredible, and I wanna 'see' that one day. Either way, sorry for the rambling and good luck for us all.
What I recommend for people who have problems with stable fantasies. Read literature!
We recently came across your video discussing finding a cure for aphantasia. First and foremost, we would like to express our genuine interest in understanding your personal experience better. One aspect we are particularly curious about is whether you recall a time in your childhood when you were able to visualize? There's a growing body of evidence suggesting that some individuals may become more aphantasic with age.
The "static" you describe is intriguing. Could it possibly be an indication of hypophantasia or very low levels of imagery ability that you've managed to refine and strengthen over time? It's worth noting that there have been instances where people who've lost the ability to visualize suddenly were able to regain it. Could it be that you experienced an acquired form of aphantasia?
While we remain open to the multitude of personal experiences and the potential for neuroplasticity, we do feel it's essential to approach such claims with caution. There's a vast spectrum of experiences within the aphantasic community. While some may find benefits from various methods you describe here, others have tried numerous techniques without success. Suggesting that consistent effort and hard work can train the brain to visualize might inadvertently set unrealistic expectations for many aphants. Especially congenital aphantasics. There's currently no substantial evidence to support the notion that one can "train" their way out of aphantasia (if you are born with it).
The journey of understanding aphantasia is ongoing and can be challenging due to its complex nature. Misconceptions or overgeneralized claims can inadvertently further complicate the landscape. We believe in fostering a community grounded in understanding, empathy, and accurate information.
We hope you appreciate our perspective, and we're keen to learn more about your experience and insights. Engaging in a constructive dialogue can only help our collective understanding.
I always thought "visualize" was an expression. When I really think about it, when I thought I was visualizing, I was more like creating a list of things that describe the situation. This has been for as long as I can remember... even as a child.
Also when I'm talking about 'static' it's more like it's not totally black when I close my eyes but I feel that's not me visualizing but instead it's more like when you stare at high contrast things and it burns a fuzzy image when you close your eyes. Hope that helps.
77 years black
Are you affiliated with Psych2go?
r/CureAphantasia
People with aphantasia will not suffer with seeing traumatic images, in the flashbacks that can lead to PTSD. So maybe it's a good thing.
@@rangerkayla8824 I'm in the same boat as you. I used to have a mind's eye, but after the things I saw as a US Marine, I don't have phantasia anymore. I don't remember when I lost it, I just realized I did, after I saw a video about this. I was shocked when I could not visualize seeing an apple or a sunset.