Extreme hyperphantasia
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Maybe I’m not the only one around here…? I have discovered there’s now a name for a condition I’ve had all my life, as someone with a very vivid imagination. I think I’ve mentioned being able to “see” stories I read in my mind’s eye almost cinematically, and I’ve talked here about my daydreams of “seeing” a SW chilling on my desk, or imagining one in the palm of my hand and being almost able to feel her “weight”. Well, it turns out I’m not going crazy and hallucinating, and I’m not the only one :
It’s honestly been both a blessing and a curse. I can remember good things that happened to me decades ago (happy memories, G/t dreams I’ve had, etc) but also the sadder or traumatic events, all very detailed in my mind, like if they were happening right now in front of me.
That part of the article is very relevant to my experience:
"Some people with hyperphantasia are able to merge their mental imagery with their view of the world around them. Reeder asked participants to hold out a hand and then imagine an apple sitting in their palm. Most people feel that the scene in front of their eyes is distinct from that inside their heads. “But a lot of people with hyperphantasia – about 75% – can actually see an apple in the hand in front of them. And they can even feel its weight."”
There’s a questionnaire you can use for self-evaluation if you’re curious:
https://aphantasia.com/study/vviq/ -
@foreverlurk glad to find out your not alone and knowing something is half the battle and all that
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@foreverlurk Honestly, that sounds like the best and worst superpower in the universe. Have you ever had any problems caused by this in life, or is it just all upsides?
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@Mrgoblinging7 Well first off when I was young I thought all imaginations were like that?
I don’t know, it’s just one of the things you realize growing up that you have, like having a perfect pitch, or being able to hold a beat, or being colour-blind. You think it’s the same for everyone at first.For sure this has caused me issues… it’s hard to let go when you can revisit moments in your memory, and re-experience them vividly, especially of times when you were happier. Might explain my tendency towards nostalgia, and why I still remember detailed stuff from childhood.
It also means I’m at the mercy of some fiction authors lol. If I really like what I’m reading, I go all in and view those scenes in my head. If it’s something really fucked up, I am NOT okay afterwards. But I still wouldn’t want to be rid of it. I’m just highlighting the cons.
Antidepressants somewhat tinker with hyperphantasia btw (along with a shit load of other things), makes memories and feelings more neutered and colourless. But hey, at least you don’t spend your day crying in a corner so that’s a plus, right?
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@foreverlurk Huh, yeah I have this too. always have. Because of it, I have learned to avoid very violent images. I don’t need that sticking around. Here I thought it was just inattentive ADHD. LOL.
It’s most intense for me with physical touch. I can literally feel the sensations in stuff that I read or watch. The sensory confusion of feeling what you see happen to another character is also, according to some synaesthesia nerds, a type of synaesthesia. (Apparently NOT for violent things, that’s a decently common threat response, this is more for neutral and pleasurable things. ) I don’t know. It’s just what nerds on some synaesthesia site claim.
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@tiny-ivy I figured I couldn’t be the only one, given the impossible nature of our kink, so much happens in our minds - it’s possible we cope and develop our imaginations beyond the average
I hadn’t thought of the synaesthesia angle! That’s actually a very intereting theory, if there was some serious science done on the subject, I’d volunteer my time right away (same for microphilia, which is way overdue to be studied imho)
Can I ask if you ever get phantom feelings? Like, if you just imagined touching something, it lingers on for a while? I can’t explain it better than as if there’s a “delay” in the response to switch from fiction to reality. Ties back to sensory overload and synaesthesia, I guess?!
Also, did you ever have night terrors or sleep paralysis? Just trying to see if there are more common links…
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@foreverlurk I’ve luckily only had sleep paralysis a handful of times, when I was small. I had new age parents who taught me the basics of lucid dreaming as a reaction, and I’ve been pretty good at escaping intense nightmares ever since, including those very intense sleep paralysis ones.
I wish dreams really were magical - because I would completely kick ass in a “Nightmare on Elm Street - Dream Warriors” scenario. -
@tiny-ivy This had me thinking. There’s times I’ll snuggle into my bed and can imagine it being a comfy, airy pocket. With some leather-ish furnitures I always like to pretend it’s a soft hand cupping me. And especially in the shower, it’s easy to imagine mouthplay scenarios. Is this the same thing? Or does it only count without outside stimulation?
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@skysayl Get yourself a weighted blanket.
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@Olo I love my heavy blanket! It’s got glass beads and it’s sooooo comfortable and definitely helps with the imagination.
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@skysayl I can’t say for sure, because I guess we don’t imagine the same things - where you imagine overwhelming full-body sensations, I focus on small, localised sensations on my body, mostly my hands, chest, and, well, privates. My hands are really good at getting those “phantom” sensations by pure imagination…
But having external stimulis never hurts! I found this stress ball squishy thingy, but in a different material than most, it’s NOT the jelly ones, I can’t explain but its texture is leathery/smooth and it doesn’t squish as much, like it offers some kind of resistance. If it was doll-sized and shaped, I would definitely use it to get the imagination going.
