I have aphantasia, a mental disorder where I lack all internal visualization. I cannot “picture” things in my mind, I think in words and numbers and such. With this, I am very curious how the mental imagery works for the rest of you. Do you see it separate from your main vision? Does it get interposed? Is it like picture in picture? I’m baffled!
TIA.
In: 55
For me, it varies. If I’m active, or just focusing on something in real life, the closest comparison would be having something visible out of the corner of your eye. I’m vaguely aware of it, I can see the shape of it, but it’s indistinct.
When I’m not engaged in something or if I close my eyes, it’s like moving the image from the side to in front of me. I can get a lot more details. Eyes open, it’s like having the picture on a glass pane in front of me, so the image is still mostly see-through, in front of what’s really there. I can move my focus from one to the other, but sometimes it takes a second to switch.
But I’ve been told I space out a lot, so I don’t know if my experience is common or unique.
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