Living with Aphantasia: Understanding Life Without a Mind’s Eye

There are a lot of things that people can learn about their minds. Hundreds of years of psychological theorizing and study have led to a world where we can now study psychotherapy through courses like online PMHNP programs, and dedicate ourselves to treating our brains and refining our cognition.

Yet despite the centuries of research into our minds, we are still living ignorant of much of the anatomy of our brain and thought process.

A relatively new phenomenon to emerge in the social understanding of psychology is what’s known as aphantasia. The Greek word ‘phantasia’ means imagination while the prefix a- in English means ‘without’ or ‘not’, therefore the literal definition of the term is ‘without imagination’. Although this is a gross oversimplification; aphantasia doesn’t mean a person has no imagination, it just means their imagination doesn’t produce mental pictures.

What is Aphantasia?

A common misconception about aphantasia is that it is a mental illness. This is, however, inaccurate. Although aphantasia can be a symptom of mental illness, in and of itself it does not signify anything wrong with the brain, it merely means a different form of thought and cognition.

Have you ever done a mental visualization exercise? Try one now. In your mind, conjure up an image of a shiny, red apple. Can you ‘see’ it? Can you see the image of an apple in your mind? How clear is the apple? Is it an image that looks real? Is it blurry or pixelated? Does it strobe?

Or do you see nothing, only shades of black and gray (or even amorphous flowing colors) even though you know and understand that you are thinking of a red, shiny apple?

This is what we call “aphantasia,” the inability to produce images within your mind’s eye.

How Do People with Aphantasia Imagine?

There are many different styles of cognition, yet people with aphantasia (sometimes referred to as ‘aphantasics’ or ‘aphants’) are commonly met with the misconception, even down to their etymology, that they are incapable of imagination.

This is inherently false.

Imagination is more than seeing things in your mind, it is the process and ability to form an understanding (though commonly attributed to image) of something in the mind, regardless of immediate sensory evidence or stimulus of that thing. It is the ability to create ideas, plan, and inform creative processes.

While the ability to conjure an image is helpful in the imaginative mechanism, it is not all that it relies on. Aphantasics can be incredibly imaginative, they just don’t have the ability to form an image of what they imagine in their minds. Several well-known aphantasics include animator Glen Keane, and speculative fiction authors Yoon Ha Lee and Michelle Sagara.

Through these people alone, we can see that aphantasia does not mean the absence of an imagination — these are all creative professionals producing imaginative work.

How Does Aphantasia Affect People?

Most Americans have never heard of aphantasia, and only 15% of Americans report having heard of it. It’s even rarer to actually have aphantasia — only 5% of Americans report seeing nothing at all when asked to visualize an image in their minds. While it is important to know about how your mind functions, aphantasia presents relatively few barriers to cognition and performance in the modern world, yet that doesn’t mean that it has no drawbacks.

Certain learning exercises that rely on visual stimuli to retain may be extremely difficult for aphantasics, as their brain cannot recall graphic input. Aphants also have significant difficulty recalling faces and images, as this type of information tends to be stored only as abstract information. Aphants are aware of and can hold knowledge in their minds, but cannot mentally produce a visual reproduction of said information. This same form of cognitive dysfunction can also impair an aphantasic’s ability to recall autobiographical information, and severely impact their sense of direction.

There is significant debate online as to whether or not aphantasia is officially considered a disability. Consensus thus far is that while aphantasia presents certain difficulties, these difficulties are not disabling, but merely a different cognitive perception, and that minds with aphantasia are just as healthy and capable as non-aphantasic minds.

There are also benefits to aphantasia. People with aphantasia are typically more analytical and excel in fields where they regularly handle large amounts of information or data. Aphantasics also excel with what is called ‘conceptual’ imagination, meaning that they are used to thinking in abstract forms, evidenced by the creative flair and imaginative zeal of aphants in creative careers.

Aphantasia presents certain limitations on the brain, but just like many other differences in our brains, these limitations can be compensated for with alternative learning methods and metacognitive practices. It can feel disabling sometimes, regularly forgetting faces, struggling with visualization exercises for mental health, or being completely incapable of remembering or adhering to directions. However, the tools available to help with these shortcomings are numerous, and understanding how your brain works is the key to unlocking your true cognitive power.

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