Is your MIND'S EYE BLIND?

Some people describe their imagination as vivid, colourful and hyper-realistic - but if you find that trying to 'picture' something in your mind is an exercise in futility, you may have aphantasia.

- SANDRA PARMEE

Take a moment to imagine an apple. What colour is it? Can you see little droplets of dew on the skin, or perhaps bruises and marks? Is it perfectly round - a glossy Granny Smith or misshapen? Can you see anything at all?

If you can't see anything, you may have aphantasia, which is simply defined as an inability to visualise. Visual imagery allows us to revisit or recall the appearance of things in their absence. The ability to visualise has extreme variations, ranging from completely absent (aphantasia) through to photolike (hyperphantasia). Although the phenomenon of aphantasia is still poorly understood, it holds fascinating insights as to how differently our brains function. Because it's impossible to know exactly what's happening in the minds of other people - and impossible to miss something that you've never had or experienced it's usually only in adulthood that people realise they have aphantasia.Incredibly, it's thought that as many as 1% of people have it.

I first stumbled upon this phenomenon because my mother has often spoken about not being able to recall faces, or to 'see' images in her mind when she's reading a book. The phrase 'out of sight, out of mind' is also something that rings very true for her. She doesn't feel as though she misses people as others seem to do. This has always baffled me, especially as my experience is so vastly different.