How does having Aphantasia change my reading experience? 

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I only discovered aphantasia about a week ago and it sums up my life! I have no images I my head. I can't do directions, recognise people, remember events in my life etc. It now all makes sense! I terms of reading I read very quickly, skim over descriptive parts. It explains why I hate horror films but can read horror books as I don't picture the horrible things I'm reading!

Thanks for sharing this Eleanor! I also experience aphantasia. But I don't think I'd say my memories are "words." My experience is that I remember things spatially. When I think of my childhood home, I can sort of spatially "feel" my way through the house and it's objects. But it isn't visual. If you asked me to describe the color or texture of anything, there's nothing. But I do still feel as if I can at least in some sense, albeit loosely, place myself in physical spaces. As you've said, this is quite difficult to describe!

I can understand everything you say 100%. In the future, when someone asks "How do you imagine something?" I will simply link to your video :D I've been reading a lot of Fantsay books all my life. I didn't know until recently that other people experience reading and thoughts in general differently. I notice that I read descriptions of characters but don't consciously notice them and quickly forget them. In addition, with many books, even if I have read them with great pleasure, I can no longer reproduce the content after some time. Especially names.

Just recently learned I have Aphantasia. I’m a huge bookworm and your description of what your reading experience is like closely matches mine. Thanks for giving me more insight! 💡📚

Hiya! Late to the party but I just stumbled across this video and I related so much with everything you said! I also love reading even though I can't picture the scenes or characters and definitely avoid authors that go heavy on physical descriptors because I get bored with it. One of my favorite things to do lately has been creating a 'fan cast' after getting a few chapters into a book, and using the descriptions to choose actors that I think fit the roles. It makes the characters feel more three demential even if I can't picture them while I'm reading. Another thing I love doing is pretending I'm blind and have a telepathic connection with the main character of the book. Thanks for making this video! I can't wait to check out your recommendations 🥰

you explained this so well! its really interesting to me because i feel like im such an opposite, i can sit and visualise/create entire music videos or movies in my head and when im thinking of taking instagram pictures i visualise the clothing/pose/background in my head beforehand and then i try to make the irl picture match that. human brains are so varied and different!

HYPER-phantasia...wow, so interesting, and you're right--mind-blowing to see that the workings behind the dashboards can be so different, and yet we all try to communicate...sometimes effectively!

I understand your reading experience. I feel you described this very well ❤️🙏

I have only just started this video but i also have anphantasia. I only figured it out a few years ago and it really affected my reading and still does to this day. It really does make me feel better knowing others are in the same boat as me, even if it isn’t the nicest boat.

Thanks for sharing this. I'm 63, and I discovered that I had aphantasia when I had just turned 61. I do enjoy reading, but not novels so much. I rarely read novels and didn't really know why. Now, I think it's because I can't imagine the story visually so it takes a lot of effort to follow the story and it isn't very enjoyable.

I’m coming to this late, having watched your tips video, and this is so interesting! I have a very limited visual visualisation - like, I’d say I have no visual imagination but I do have a vague visual memory, though I find it hard to hold onto those images. But I do have a very active audio imagination, so like when I read I can’t imagine anything visually, but there’s like a full cast audiobook in my head. I had also never made the link between lack of visual imagination and struggling with directions, but I also have a bad sense of directions! Such an interesting video. I also wonder if this is why I don’t love flowery writing and am a faster reader, too.

I've been unsure if I have aphantasia over the past week. I think that I can see things in my mind sometimes....but it's so minimal that it's basically useless. Like at most I might be able to have a blurry picture of an apple that is barely visible but I can't really even control it. The thing is, everything you described fits me so well. From the bad memory (with events, I'm good at remembering facts and concepts), difficulty with remembering faces, to being able to grive and forgive quickly, and not minding (or even enjoying) film adaptations because I was never really able to visualize the characters or settings. So I guess I'll just say I have it, since it seems close enough to what I actually experience. On the other hand, I can recall sounds quite well. Can't recognize actors by their face but I'm good at recognizing them by their voice. Singers too. Thank you for sharing! :D

Very useful video. Thanks! Very relatable, too 📔

Loved the video! I also recently discovered I have some form of aphantasia and I can totally relate. I am able to form some visuals but I cannot hold them for more than a milisecond and there is little to no detail. I've never been able to imagine what characters look like and also always thought it was strange when that bothered people about film adaptions. Thanks for sharing your experience!

SDAM (severely deficient autobiographical memory) is often related to aphantasia, it effect memory in a way where you can "place" yourself in past experiences. it also effects some other memory aspects. ie. i know i went to a film that made me feel a strong emotion but i cannot re-live that emotion. i haven't done much research but i relate to it.

📖💡 Thanks for sharing your experience! I relate to many things you said. I don't have complete aphantasia, but what I can visualize is so vague and fuzzy or only there for a fraction of a second and it's gone. My inner voice is very strong and is how I consciously think. I can sometimes "hear" other things in my mind, but if I conciously try to remember the sound and hear it, it most likely sounds like my own inner voice imitating the sound. I guess it naturally follows that work I read, I focus on the words themselves rather than imagery. I wrote about my experience in response to the comment by Achernar. Anyway, thanks for sharing! It does make me wonder how many people experience the world this way, and what ways it makes our personalities and life experiences and abilities different from others' or not. It's still such a new discovery!

You described my experience so well!!!!!! I do like to read, however, I need a book to catch me in the first chapter. I wonder if I would have more patience if I could visually imagine along the way?

You did a great job, fellow Aphantist (sounds right). Aphantasia is hard to convey to others. I tend to think in concepts and relationships . Im very media orientated but do read a bit too, am creative trained as a graphic designer, lectured, paint and write. Based on your bookshelf i see many Authors i like Gaiman, Pratchet, etc. I love Becky Chambers books, enjoy William Gibson’s stuff, Jim Butcher Dresden file books, Douglas Adams, Martha Walsh Murderbot books, am currently reading Dark Matter . I also enjoy murder mystery/thrillers Michael Robotham is great, or Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum books. My only other thought is that the Aphantasia group i’m in on facebook has mentioned that a high number, but not all, with Aphantasia also have Facial Blindness. Sounds like you may be needing to look into that too. There are probably techniques that can help. As you say it’s a different way of receiving and communicating information. While we don’t interact with this information as others do, there will definitely be information that we receive that others are blind to. 💡 📖

💡📖 Thanks for sharing this. I will need to think about this and, watch what is going on in my head while reading or remembering.

This is such a clear explanation! Amazing job! Thank you for making this video

This is so interesting Eleanor, thanks so much for sharing! I didn't know know about aphantasia before watching your video but it's cool how everyone experiences the world differently. 💗

I can't leave an emoji cos I'm typing this on my laptop XD This was so interesting! I'm definitely on the other end of the scale. When I'm reading I get the movie thing. One of my favourite things to do is go on a long journey, listening to music and imagining scenes. But yes, I replay bad things over and over in my mind's eye. It leads to really realistic nightmares. Kind of like I relive horrible situations again. Are your dreams realistic? I really enjoyed this video! You explained it all so well

I have aphantasia and you described my experience perfectly! I've loved reading since I was a kid and have always been a fast reader too. But I do really like watching tv a shows and films. Thanks for posting this 📖

This is such an interesting topic. When I first heard about this a few years back, my mind was blown that people couldn’t see images (or rather hear things, as that was how I first learned of it) in their minds. It’s very cool to hear you talk about it, because I find it fascinating how different peoples’ brains work. I think I lean more toward the hyperphantasia side. It makes a perfect sense. At least to me. Great video.💡📖 -T

📚 sorry I'm late! I just found out a few weeks ago why I don't enjoy reading some books. I read mostly technical books these days. I remember enjoying Frank Herbert's Dune books a lot, and then also enjoying David Lynch's movie, though many people seem to dislike it.

I didn't even know this is a thing! Thank you for sharing your experience with us.

💡I was pointed here by someone I know who has Aphantasia. The directions aspect never really crossed my mind. Also, it makes me realise how important pictures are to people who have this, not just taking pictures but also being shown pictures in conversation.

I have aphantasia and I love reading. One of the biggest thing I get from reading books is to learn about other people and others experiences. I tend to like well-rounded characters, and it annoys me if characters are too flat. I do enjoy fast-paced books, and I can't stand long windy descriptions. In addition, I have a hard time keeping track of many characters. Ironically, I've switched almost entirely to audiobooks, mostly for the convenience. I also don't have preconceived notions of how a character or scene should look like and enjoy seeing them in a movie. In fact, sometimes when I read a book I wish they'd make a movie out of it because I would love to see that scene. The way I describe how I think is conceptual thinking. I think SDAM (severely deficient autobiographical memory) is strongly connected to aphants. I have that and when I look back on memories, whether good or bad, I don't experience the feelings I was having. I just remember being there, almost as looking at it from the outside (if you know what I mean).

Making sense? It's so hard to explain isn't it, when you were trying and laughing at yourself it made me smile in empathy too. It's hard to explain the similarities between seeing and knowing to someone who does both intuitively without effort or awareness. For me, reading has always been something which required effort, often having to skip back a page because I'm not able to interpret the geography of a scene or what other people might be visualising. Due to tinnitus, I started listening to audiobooks to fall asleep to, breaking the tinny silence, and I think it works well to make me sleepy because I'm not able to imagine the scenes, only try and understand them, which is presumably quite boring compared to other people's experiences of reading or listening to books. I'm only 2 months into my discovery of aphantasia, I'm still very mind blown and I have a wife who has hyperphantasia so we are both staggered by each other (not for the first time I'm happy to say).

I just learned about this. I must be part of the 3% I never knew others could see what they imagine, and I cannot.

💡📘My mind’s eye is certainly very dim and dark fog, so certainly on the scale towards Aphantasia. When reading I’m definitely swept along by the dialogue and events, the only thing I might be missing out on sometimes is a sense of scale of particular locations. It’s quite a challenge to explain your experience to others who have more visual mind’s eye

I only just found out that I have aphantasia and you described it really well.

I never understood people with books and why people get upset at film adaptations. I didn't know people see and can make a movie in their head. That's crazy to me, it's just words. I usually skip descriptions because I can't imagine them and I forget what they were described as a few minutes later. I can't imagine past events or memories, but i'm good at recalling facts and numbers. To me books just feel like something with a really cool cover and lots of words and paper,

This video inspired me thank you so much Eleanor 😊👍.

Enjoyed this very much! I do not have aphantasia, but as a linguistics and psych major this was fascinating and gives me some new things to read up on over break 📚 i think it must be quite interesting have language as the main accessible layer of memory, and probably you would be able to understand how language systems work in a more intricate way and be more sensitive to word choice - which could make you a better writer! I also wonder if its the case that short term non-linguistic memory is still being encoded, but its the conversion to long term encoding, or perhaps retrieval that is blocked. So for example, if you see a scene, and then immediately turn around and try to draw it, would you be able to? And im also curious, what is the dreaming experience like?

I found out today that aphantasia is a thing. Until now I thought when people talked about imaginations they were talking about metaphors. I feel very similar to the perception you describe, except that, for whatever reason, i can imitate accents of different regions without being able to reproduce them in my head with my inner voice beforehand. It would be interesting to know if aphantasia is better at retaining certain data, such as more abstract concepts or theories. Anyway, thanks for sharing your experience! We aphantasia have to stick together! :P 💡📖

Oh I totally get the not matching a name to face thing! Once when I was in a new school, there was a teacher who said to meet later on in the day on her break. I got so stressed when it came to the time because I didn't remember what she looked like so I had to rely on her calling out to me. This actually happened twice :( As for reading, I get fully immersed in the words themselves rather than attempting to create a scene, so I didn't really have any problems in that aspect. Have you ever heard of SDAM? It's extremely similar to aphantasia, but focuses on not being able to visualise memories (like remembering them as facts rather than something you've been through yourself) Sorry for such a long comment!

Do you dream in images? I have a hard time remembering faces and am completely inept when somebody gives me directions and visual images in my mind are quite vague so your video intrigues me but my dreams are definitely visual. Interesting topic - thanks.

This is very interesting!

Can you share a book list for people with aphantasia? I have found fiction books that I really enjoy and don't want to put down (unfortunately I forget the dozen or so of those I had found in my life) more often though I try to get into a book and it just isn't doing it for me. It was always mostly the writers style, the pacing and voice. I have some adhd. The story even for movies can't be too thick/dense with intellectual complexity. Anyone suggest some titles? I am thinking to do with suspense even though I would rather enjoy happier sides of life. Suspense writing like stephan king has drawn me in but my physche could do without the ick. Emotional moving stories have been some of my faves, but has been hard to find the style of writing that gets me in the focus zone.

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That castle example...it makes me think you might really like books that spend a lot of time outlining the scene in detail, and actions one after the other so you can follow? If so--Out Front the Following Sea would fit the bill! I just finished the ARC and it was quite the swashbuckle! :D

I have aphantasia and I don't read story books. But, I read a lot of stuff online.

Random japanese passing through I have aphantasia too And i just wanna say you are too cute♥️

Do you dream at all, and if so...do you see anything then? Or have you tried 24-48hr sleep deprivation to see if this results in spontaneous imagery?

Occasionally I have full imagination, and sometimes I have a weird all black memory. Where I only remember things in relation to my other senses, mainly my sense of touch. And I also have a really bad memory of my childhood. My younger memories devolve a lot faster through the full memory, to the black, to the lists

I wonder if you just encode experiences as abstracted concepts in words, and if reading a ton without watching TV/ films encourages this.

can anyone with aphantasia recommend any fictional books?? cuz i get so bored reading most of these as they’re made to be visualised and reading non fiction works but sometimes just need break from it.. 😭

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You have a bit more severe form of aphantasia. When you have aphantasia... following guided meditation is like sitting in the dark and listening to someone’s pointless talk. Playing blind chess is quite impossible.

People who visualize while reading are cheating: they are just watching a movie. That's why it's so easy for them . However, I spell similarly to them-when considering a word, I can "mentally" see it in my consciousness and spell/read it right off. Wonder if visualizers also can?

Ill answer the question. It makes it very boring and hard to remember

What about an internal monologue ?

Many problems you have people who visualise also have that