I recently read a post on Substack where the writer talked of how a particular metaphor had helped her to overcome difficulties.  She had seen a photo which epitomised all the strengths she was seeking in life and this got me to thinking about the metaphors in my life.

I could never appreciate what a metaphor is until I discovered that I have multisensory aphantasia.  Our language is filled with such things: 

• “I see what you mean,”
• “Yes, I understand, it’s as clear as day,”
• “Picture yourself at the beach,”
• “If you can’t sleep, count sheep jumping over a fence.” 

Until you discover that up to 98% of people can – literally – see these things in their mind, and you can’t, you have no idea what you have been missing out on.  Because until that happens, we are all just talking metaphors – aren’t we?

When you do start to understand that people can, literally, create images in their head, it’s a huge shock and you realise that these things are not just metaphors and speech patterns but actual experiences that you are missing out on.

For some people, it hits them really hard.  They feel different and incomplete as if something is wrong with them because their brain doesn’t work in the same way as everyone else.  Many people go through a full-on grief process as they work out that they are not living in a world of metaphors but a world of technicolour mind pictures – and they don’t have access.  They sometimes start to look deeply at themselves and explore what else could be affected.  Maybe they are hopeless at playing the piano because the have aphantasia?  Maybe aphantasia is the reason they get lost when they are driving somewhere new?  The funniest one I’ve come across (and I’d love to know more about the thought process behind this one) is that maybe aphantasia is why they can’t do cartwheels!!!

Aphantasia isn’t just limited to an inability to voluntarily make images in the mind.  All the other senses can be involved too. 

• Do you like to remember the smell of the flowers in your mother’s garden? 
• How about what it feels like to cuddle your grandchild?
• What about recalling how a certain type of ice cream feels in your mouth,
• And that favourite song on the radio?

I have total multisensory aphantasia which is a total ‘mind blindness’ of all the senses.  I cannot voluntarily see/imagine images in my mind.  Neither can I imagine the smell of a rose, hear a song playing in my mind, recall the taste of ice-cream or remember how it felt to hold my daughter when she was born.  I do not even hear my own voice in my head. 

But it’s not all bad, Aphantasics are super good at conceptual thinking. We know, for example what information is needed to ‘know’ an elephant:

Aphantasia was first named in 2015 and it was 2017 when a lecturer told me to be careful when scripting meditations because not everyone could see in their mind’s eye.  I still recall the shock I felt when I realised that not everyone’s inner world worked through metaphor.  Now, I am comfortable with what I know about aphantasia and the many neuro-diverse traits I have since discovered I hold. 

To be honest, I’m pretty sure that I would hate to have my dark and peaceful mind over-run with voices, songs, and pictures.