><i>the (sometimes subliminal) states of confusion, frustration, shame, and inadequacy aphantasics feel when asked to visualize</i><p>Wow, take it easy.. This whole pathologization of "aphantasia" really leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
He described his feelings, albeit as a generalization of all people with aphantasia. How can somebody describing their feelings be pathologization?
Right. I have aphantasia and I've never felt bad about it. Maybe confused a few times, but that happens a lot anyway for any number of reasons.<p>I posit, without evidence, that the people who feel "confusion, frustration, shame, and inadequacy" about something like aphantasia are simply attention-seekers. If it wasn't for lack of mental imagery, it would be for something else.
Hmm, agreeing that the pathologization of aphantasia is distasteful but then immediately positing that people who might feel shame and inadequacy about having it must be "simply attention-seekers" seems counterproductive. Not treating aphantasia as a disease and also acknowledging that people may suffer mental illness triggered by it are not mutually exclusive.
For me, learning that normal people go about their days constantly hallucinating had the opposite effect. I think it could partly explain some problems in society, e.g. people's susceptibility to advertising.
I think your implicitly getting at something here. Both are dealing with an inferiority/superiority dynamic. The suggestion of a group you identify as being less, causes a predictable reaction to characterize the other (non-aphantasia) as problematic/hallucinating (i.e. broken/lacking). This ties back to the post where the author speaks of feelings of inadequacy (shame, etc...) about being unable to visualize, again signs of an inferiority complex. While such complexes may be traced back to particular memories or events, they're also habits of thought which are common place and culturally reinforced, so much so that they seem quite normal. For example, the culture of idol worship, like raising up of tech heroes while implicitly lowering your own self worth, which happens often on this site.<p>The fact that the author doesn't mention the details of the memory or events of the day also suggests shame and concerns of being judged for them.<p>The good news is they are writing about their struggles which suggests their willingness to work with these fears.<p>I think the answer probably isn't about pretending you're not better or worse, but accepting that being better or worse at something doesn't change your inherent self worth. Accepting that your not in control of many of your conditions and conditioning can free the mind from a sense of guilt and the fear around judgement of yourself and others. Hopefully this helps the author and those who struggle with notions of identity and self worth.
Regardless of current mechanism, susceptibility to advertising would still be present even if all currently exploited cognitive pathways were removed or deactivated across all human minds, as the advertisers would keep experimenting until they found another one.
I agree with you as an adult with aphantasia, but I think it's a relatively common experience as an undiagnosed kid in grade school etc.
Well, even the idea of "diagnosis" in this case implies that there is something wrong. I saw the whole idea of aphantasia/variations in mental imagery enter the mainstream over the past ~decade, it's really disheartening how people just <i>can not</i> ever accept that there are differences between people without immediately branding one type as good and the other as bad.
Tangentially, I've always been fascinated by this reddit post "Craniosacral therapy temporarily activated my mind's eye"<p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Aphantasia/comments/payx1i/craniosacral_therapy_temporarily_activated_my/" rel="nofollow">https://www.reddit.com/r/Aphantasia/comments/payx1i/craniosa...</a>
Isn't this 'pretend-and-perceive approach' what all aphantasics do by default when asked to imagine something? That is, until they know they're aphantasics AND choose to feel 'confusion, frustration, shame, and inadequacy' instead.
Author's short personal account, basically solving the mindblind imagery/hypnosis fail with another level of indirection. Her subtitle:<p>> Can aphantasics be hypnotized? My experience learning to be hypnotized with imagery-free inductions.
Without being able to experience the world as another the existence of aphantasia can’t even be confirmed.<p>The myth that everyone, or even anyone, can imagine anything, and is doing so regularly, has no basis, yet is the only cited basis of the diagnosis.