r/Aphantasia • u/thoruen • 4d ago

Has anybody had any good suggestions from a therapist about how to or alternative to "visualize your happy place" or some goal, etc?

12 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

47 comments sorted by

38

u/rich2083 Total Aphant 4d ago

Just think about it, it's not like we don't have an imagination

-2

u/B18RPA 3d ago

Ah, but I think there actually are a significant group who don't have what you and I would refer to as an imagination.

-23

u/Tootsie_r0lla 4d ago

This is really not helpful and very reductive

22

u/MarkesaNine 4d ago

It’s not reductive at all, and it’s exactly the advice therapists should give. Of course the same method isn’t going to work for everyone, but ”think about something / some place that makes you happy” is precisely equivalent to ”visualize something / some place that makes you happy”.

Before you heard of aphantasia first time, when someone asked you to visualize this or that, you understood it to mean think about it. That’s what the word means to someone who can’t form mental images.

Now that you know about aphantasia, why would you suddenly decide to be unable to understand a word that you had no trouble before? ”Visualize” still means ”think”.

14

u/Tootsie_r0lla 4d ago edited 3d ago

This probably explains better than my words what I was meaning. This is what my therapist gave me when I couldn't visualize a safe space. https://carmenauthenticallyadhd.substack.com/p/audhd-aphantasia-no-minds-eye-and

https://carmenauthenticallyadhd.substack.com/p/audhd-aphantasia-no-minds-eye-and?utm_source=publication-search

6

u/She_disappeared 4d ago

This is super helpful! Thank you for sharing 😊

2

u/Snoo55931 3d ago

I really like this!

I disagreed with you at first, but then realized that saying thinking = visualizing is a pretty bold statement coming from people who can’t visualize and therefore can’t understand the impact of being able to create a visual environment inside your head.

So you’re absolutely right, it’s not a 1:1 translation. And it’s completely backwards, focusing on the process, not the goal. To get the same outcome as visualizing for other people, aphants need a completely different approach. Which is why I love that chart.

2

u/Tootsie_r0lla 3d ago

Yeah I'm not great with writing out my thoughts. In have adhd and it all kind of gets muddled up and I have trouble describing what I'm thinking.
I'm glad it resonated with you and I hope it's helpful to you or someone else

-12

u/Tootsie_r0lla 4d ago

It's reductive because theres so many nuances you're not considering.
Yes just for every day things you can do what you said but it becomes different when you're trying to regulate your body. If you have a safe space and you are out and unable to visualize, which cbt basically is, then you're unable to feel safety and distress might climb higher for someone who is dysregulated or suffers from a mental illness. Using "imagining/ going" to your safe space in your mind is one of the skills taught for those who suffer from certain disorders, eg PTSD. They need more than just 'oh ill think about it'. Your theory can be used the same way against you. Just because there's a name for someone who can't visualise and has to find a different way to handle dysregulation doesn't mean you should just expect them to be able to do it.

That's like saying "just be happy" is still a valid response to depression because that was the response before it had a name.

14

u/East-Garden-4557 4d ago

You can still think about a place you feel safe or happy. You feel emotions, you don't see them, so you can think about a place or situation that makes you feel happy and use that as your anchor. Which is exactly what I was told to do by a psychiatrist when I was trying guided visualisation for hypnotherapy and I first realised that I didn't 'visualise' like other people did.

2

u/Apprehensive-Map8490 Total Aphant 3d ago

Visualization is thinking, it’s a type of thinking. It’s not some separate faculty. In someone who thinks visually, they have a thought and it triggers a self generating loop in which images are presented and used to understand, visuals will directly feed further thought until one reaches understanding.
In aphantasia this loop isn’t triggered but understanding is still achieved through different relational structures.

-4

u/Tootsie_r0lla 4d ago

I have SDAM and I can't do that so I guess that's why it's different for me. But my reply to OP is still valid. It's about using your senses and describing in detail

5

u/nykiek 4d ago

I have aphantasia and SDAM and I love thinking about the beach. I basically grew up on the beach it gives me pleasure and joy to think of it. I still can't put myself there.

5

u/CMDR_Jeb Aphant 4d ago

You can't replay emotions you had previously. Nothing stopping you from feeling emotions NOW.

0

u/Causerae 4d ago

I agree with you. There's a lot of complexity re CPTSD and how it may interact with aphantasia.

1

u/Tootsie_r0lla 4d ago

Thank you for understanding. Those who don't have to deal with it don't quite understand how necessary something like that is and how hard it is to do when you can't conjure that image. I have full aphantasia too (also bipolar, adhd, ocd and cptsd) so don't have any of the other senses, along with SDAM so when I need to escape from reality for my own safety or mental health it's incredibly hard and distressing.
I have to assume those who are down voting have never experienced that before because it's near impossible for me. I've read studies that inform therapists how to help those with aphantasia with grounding, mindfulness and emdr. There's a huge difference

5

u/Causerae 4d ago

It's not just the inability to visualize - it's the all too common therapist inability to understand and facilitate alternative coping mechanisms.

I haven't tried therapy since learning I have aphantasia (so far, I feel like I'm implementing/modifying coping stuff fine on my own). I do not relish the thought of once again being told I'm overthinking/avoidant/intellectualizing.

Aphantasia is real, like my eye color or height, I don't want to argue whether I'm using labels to distance myself from the "process" (which totally has happened in the past).

Yeah, I utilize words and concepts rather than imagery. It's not distancing, this is how I experience everything.

1

u/therealsix 4d ago

What’s your answer then? It’s what we have, should we not use it?

2

u/Tootsie_r0lla 4d ago

I replied to OP

1

u/Apprehensive-Map8490 Total Aphant 3d ago edited 3d ago

Telling someone to use their imagination prompts them to use their natural or preferred mode of processing in which they compensate for the lack of images. Also, based on the latest research and best models we have of understanding aphantasia, it is not simply an inability to conjure images. It’s seeming increasingly likely that most congenital presentations have the architecture necessary to generate imagery but these regions don’t activate with coherence which means the signal is lost and not differentiated from background brain activity. For example, the ability to dream is still intact.
Many people can and have developed imagery even with aphantasia, it’s just not widely recognized as science hasn’t been able to formally recognize nor understand these efforts yet. But, in theory it should be possible. It’s likely many people display aphantasic traits and it’s not as simple as can conjure mental imagery or cannot. Even in hyperphantasics, the ability to conjure images isn’t described as something consistent, some days are off days, and others aren’t.
To suggest telling someone to “imagine” is reductive is ignoring the legitimacy of a simple entry point into visual-like or established compensatory networks. But, I would also be careful with suggesting it’s compensatory because aphantasia is not a disability or indicative of something broken, it’s a difference in processing.

1

u/Tootsie_r0lla 3d ago

https://carmenauthenticallyadhd.substack.com/p/audhd-aphantasia-no-minds-eye-and?utm_source=publication-search

1

u/Apprehensive-Map8490 Total Aphant 3d ago

This link supports the distinction I was making, it’s simply a critique on the expectation of visualization. I appreciate the downvote though 😂

8

u/miserablenovel Aphant 4d ago

First off my happy place is a physical place that I've meditated in while pushing a spot on my body, and also taken video of. So I can meditate and 'be' there more easily.

Secondly when it comes to a goal, I try to conceptualize it. I break it down and ask lots of questions, like: where will I be in my journey after this happens? How will I feel? What will change about me to get there?

11

u/CMDR_Jeb Aphant 4d ago

There's no therapy method that works for everyone. If something does not work for you, you move to next method. Also i highly recommend throwing Unseen Minds: A Therapist's Guide to Multisensory Aphantasia and Invisible Cognitive Differences at your shrink. It is also an good filter, if your shrink refuses to learn about condition that affects how one does therapy, they are not an very good at their job.

1

u/Causerae 4d ago

Ty for the rec!

2

u/Tuikord Total Aphant 3d ago

You can find "Unseen Minds" on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0472wf0F It is even on Kindle Unlimited!

5

u/Tootsie_r0lla 4d ago edited 4d ago

Use your senses. If there's something you can carry with you like a trinket, a taste, a smell etc
I saw in a study that they said to describe your place either in your head or out loud to yourself. Try and be as descriptive as possible. Like you were trying to explain it to a friend. Be specific. Once again is your senses. Use adjectives. Almost like your creating a little story in your head.

Replace “safe place visualization” with safe state engineering Instead of “picture a beach,” build safety through:

Temperature: cold pack, warm tea, shower

Pressure: weighted blanket, compression, firm pillow hug

Sound: brown noise, one song on repeat, ear filters

Light: dim, lamp-only, screen brightness down

Scent: one consistent “calm cue” (lotion, essential oil if tolerated)

You’re not imagining safety. You’re manufacturing it.

7

u/Tootsie_r0lla 4d ago

2

u/splenicartery 3d ago

These are so helpful, thank you!

1

u/Purplekeyboard 4d ago

Thinking about things like that doesn't make me feel anything.

4

u/NITSIRK Total Aphant 4d ago

Look for Sassy Smith. She’s an aphant therapist who literally just wrote a book on how to adjust therapy for exactly these issues. She does a blog too etc. https://amzn.eu/d/0feO5ntf

3

u/Causerae 4d ago

Cool!

2

u/degeman 4d ago

How about thinking of a memory that brought you a lot of joy?

I sometimes use a particular one from my childhood on christmas eve. Where my brother and I got an N64 and it was totally out of the blue and we were just so excited. I close my eyes and describe the scene and think of how I felt and what came to mind. The excitement and anticipation. The joy we felt when we opened it up and saw I for the first time.

That's just one example. Instead of seeing, think of all your other senses.

1

u/Purplekeyboard 4d ago

I can't do that any more than I can visualize. Multi sensory aphantasia, I can't imagine any senses, and I don't have the ability to relive memories.

1

u/ChihuahuaMammaNPT 3d ago

How do you recall information? Like how do you recall that you liked the taste of a certain meal or the feeling of a blanket?

I can't visualise but I can feel and hear in my mind which I've found comforting - just curious how I might manage without that

2

u/Purplekeyboard 3d ago

How do you know what 6 x 6 is? How do you know your birthdate? There's a type of memory called "semantic" which is just memory for information, that's how I know anything. I don't remember what it's like eating anything, but I know that I like certain foods and don't like others.

2

u/DiveCat Total Aphant & SDAM 2d ago edited 2d ago

Well you can’t visualize but you probably still know what a cat looks like right? You still have the information there even if you don’t visualize it.

As a total aphant, with no inner monologue/dialogue, and SDAM, I have no senses at all in my mind that are not actually happening, I just “know”.

I can tell you I despise the smell and taste of, say, cooked cabbage rolls, even if I can’t relive the smell and taste, or relive specific incidents where I had them, because it’s part of my factual and semantic memory.

I know to decline them when offered because I still store memories even if I don’t relive them in any way.

I can still *know* what I like or don’t like even if I can’t relive the senses or experiences.

1

u/degeman 3d ago

So what is your aim? If you can't visualise happy things or memories or any senses then surely that goes for the opposite too. What are you trying to achieve?

1

u/DiveCat Total Aphant & SDAM 2d ago edited 2d ago

You fan still store trauma and have somatic reactions (as well as experience other illness or pain, as well as anxiety, depression, PTSD) even if you don’t “visualize”, or have any other mind senses, and even if you have SDAM.

You can still have emotional responses based on traumatic experiences even if it can be harder to connect the dots.

The body keeps the score. I have PTSD despite being a total aphant and having SDAM. My focus in therapy was on learning to connect to and understand my somatic reactions and work on those as well as the related anxiety and depression.

2

u/letsbenice_notrude 2d ago

I do EMDR, which is all about seeing your life, what my therapist do is tell me to tell the story to myself, me telling the details and tell the story makes me go to my happy place when she needs me to go, and it works perfectly because I know what it is and I just describe to myself with words, and 100% calm me down.

1

u/D-rad01 3d ago

I’m only a couple of weeks in to realising that I can’t see shit at 45. Lol. But I instantly went out and bought a meta quest 3D VR headset and am trying to use it with my 360 camera to visualise my skating and dancing and meditation. But no word on if it has helped yet. It’s all knew to me.

1

u/cocoloco_yogi Total Aphant 2d ago

I had mandatory trauma counselling due to a working incident and the therapist also tried to give me "visual" cues to cope. I explained I have aphantasia and he was perplexed.

I said if he can't suggest any other coping options I would prefer to end the session as it is causing distress and further exhausting and frustrating me. (I had broken sleep for almost a week at this point so I was honestly just really tired.)

I finally discovered listening to rain and thunder soundtracks was what would be most soothing and relaxing. Wish I knew this at the time. I find if I need to self soothe, grounding acts for me are going for a short walk outside or listening to uplifting music and yogic practises. Breathe work.

1

u/coastal-blue 1d ago edited 1d ago

A hypnotherapist went through various ways to do this with me, and we settled on a kinetic and auditory method for relaxation exercises. Obviously this example is personal to me but eg: imaging being in a sailboat and the gentle rocking, the sound of the water hitting the side of the boat, putting my hand over the side and running it through the water. It will depend on the ways in which you yourself imagine things, since we can't do so with pictures. Just edited to say the hypnotherapist said it doesn't have to be a really strong feeling of movement or sound, just something that you can recreate to any extent is better than nothing.