Aphantasia & Visualisation
Imagine a close friend. Can you see their face in your mind?
If not, you may have aphantasia but that doesn’t stop your ability to practice visualisation.
What is aphantasia?
Aphantasia is the inability to voluntarily create mental imagery also know as image-free thinking. If I ask you to imagine the image of a lemon, can you see a lifelike lemon in your head? Can you see something resembling a lemon but it’s not quite realistic? Can you see nothing at all? Or are you somewhere in between?
The approximately 3.9% of people with aphantasia see no image at all, whereas highly phantastic people can see a lemon as if it were real. Many of us are somewhere between those two. The concept of aphantasia was first referenced in a paper in 1880, but it wasn’t until 1973 when psychologist David Marks created the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ) that researchers started to explore the topic in more detail.
Aphantasia doesn’t just affect visual imagery. People with multisensory aphantasia can have difficulty imagining sound, taste, smell, movement or touch. Aphantasia isn’t a deficit, as some people may believe when they first learn about it, it is a cognitive difference. There are always many exceptions but people with aphantasia tend to thrive in analytical thinking for example.
Also, your level of visual imagery may not be fixed. Anecdotal evidence suggest that some people with aphantasia can visibly dream in their sleep & learn to voluntarily form some mental imagery under certain conditions. Others with low imagery may find that their imagery becomes more vivid with practice. On the flip side, some people develop aphantasia during their life.
how do i visualise with aphantasia?
So, if you are currently on the more aphantastic end of the spectrum, how can you practice visualisation? When we say visualisation, we mean the process of pre-experiencing thoughts, environment & feelings in your mind. This doesn’t actually require imagery, though most people use imagery to visualise.
Our top tips for anyone visualising are be specific; engage your senses; add emotion & enjoy being curious. Of course, how you actually visualise will be different but these all still apply if you have aphantasia.
Be specific. However you form mental models, add in the details to make it as real as possible for yourself. Take inspiration from past experiences and places, then let your imagination do it’s thing.
Engage your senses. Maybe you can’t imagine the sights, sounds or smells but that doesn’t stop you adding them to your mental model.
Add emotion. This is the part that can be more difficult for some with aphantasia, others find this the most powerful. Add in the emotions you want to feel in your visualising: achieving your goal; putting in the work or whatever the focus is. Our minds love emotion, so practice allowing yourself to express emotions if you’re finding it challenging.
Enjoy being curious. Everyone experiences visualisation differently. Embrace that and enjoy it. Use visualisation as a tool for self-discovery as much as it is also a performance tool. It won’t always come easily, but stick at it, ask for help and find what works for you.
Aphantasia is a cognitive difference. Some people find methods & mental models to play to their strengths & thrive (like Ed Catmull, former president of Pixar) whilst others want to try to learn how to voluntarily form mental images. This article is about helping you to start your journey into doing the latter.
If you’d like to know more about aphantasia, check out the aphantasia network. Or message us if you have any visualisation related aphantasia questions.
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