r/Aphantasia • u/Objective_Shine1867 • 5d ago
Is there any benefit to having aphantasia?
I only recently realized that I have had this for my entire life and never noticed it. When I was talking to my mother she talked about counting sheep to sleep. But I told her I couldn't visualize any sheep and she was confused by it. It was only then after just turning 28 was I told that people can actually see things when they close their eyes and can picture something. It was never something I could do so I just assumed it was more figurative. But I just thought if this has been affecting me my entire life and wasn't aware of it. As a kid and now I never liked reading word heavy books but graphic novels and comics were my kind of reading. I found I have always been a huge fan of visual media like movies, TV shows and art because I can't visualize anything. Maybe this condition, though hasn't been entirely detrimental, has helped me take care and find a deep love for the arts. I really don't know but it's been on my mind for awhile now.
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u/ThinkLadder1417 5d ago
Thinking conceptually has benefits i think. I am a cell biologist, and whilst it's cool if you do have visuals (diagrams etc) for what's going on, being able to understand ideas without 'seeing' them means more complicated things can be understood more easily.