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u/Lower_Arugula5346 1d ago
i honestly cannot visualize anything unless ive already seen it. i can only see stuff in my head that ive seen before and use whatever memories i have in the rolodex as the representation of what someone is telling me to visualize.
for example, someone wants me to visualize a waterfall but ive never seen one in person so then i have to think of movies with a waterfall as my reference point. thats about as close as im going to get.
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u/peculiarinversionist 1d ago
This is me, too. I can visualize things as a 1 but only if I’ve seen it. I love to paint and draw but have to look at something to draw it. I can’t just make up art to draw.
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u/KJack-Amigurumi AuDHD 1d ago
Omg yeah I’ve always loved art, but I am the least original artist on the planet cause I can’t come up with my own stuff very well if at all. Usually I find a bunch of images I like online and do my best to put different pieces of it together to make a drawing/painting
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u/Lower_Arugula5346 22h ago
i have this problem with knitting and crocheting. i cant think of anything on my own AND im really bad at picking colors that go together like in the pattern. i just end up using the same color yarn in the pattern.
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u/peculiarinversionist 22h ago edited 22h ago
That’s such a good work around. I prefer to draw and paint nature, so I’ll take pictures of what I want to try and draw/paint to use as my reference.
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u/Stick_Nout 22h ago
This is me as well. Even with an author as descriptive as Robert Jordan, I had a hard time visualizing many scenes.
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u/OakTreader 1d ago
Saw this on r/sciencememes
Me, usually 2, but, if I focus I can be a 1.
My daughter: 4.9, can barely visualize anything.
What about inner-monologues?
Say 1 being a party of 10 people, all talking over each other, and 5 being dead silent, where are you?
Me, 4. Pretty quiet, I usually only think in abstract ideas, unless I'm writing, or "practicing" a conversation.
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u/VFiddly 1d ago
My internal monologue is constant to the point it's a problem. Sometimes I can't sleep because my internal monologue won't stop.
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u/Ganondorf7 1d ago
Been there! It's like be quiet! I'm too tired for this!
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u/Mountainweaver 1d ago
1 & 1, it's hecking busy in here 😅
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u/vario_ 1d ago
Same, my brain never shuts up. I have to listen to YouTube to fall asleep otherwise I just talk to myself internally all night. There's always at least one song going on too.
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u/extra-King 23h ago
Yes, this. It is so rare that I don't also have at least one song playing on a loop that the few times I don't my brain feels naked. There is a constant monologue with an accompanying sound track.
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u/United-Employ-4710 Autistic w/ social communication disorder 21h ago
Same! It’s like I have to keep a toddler entertained while I try to sleep 🤣
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u/Hashfyre 1d ago
My dreams are cinema I can revisit. I had a whole walk around interview session with Stephen King the other day, for some reason he was visiting my hometown?
So, yeah. I can close my eyes and visualize everything to the darndest detail. I can also sometimes resume the plot of a dream I just woke up from.
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u/pancakeses 22h ago
Going back to a dream has only happened to me once.
I often had dreams of being trapped and/or lost when I was younger. This particular time, I had a nightmare that involved some nondescript monster stalking me and my dog (I didn't have a dog at the time in real life).
It was terrifying, and at some point, while we were trying desperately to escape, I awoke.
And I literally started crying. I was a 20-something US Marine, but crying knowing I left that dog behind. The dog probably could have found it's own way out, but had stayed steadfast by my side throughout the nightmare.
I don't know how - maybe pure determination and heartbreak - but I got back to the dream. As terrifying as it had been to be stalked, I just couldn't leave that good dog to be hurt. In the end, we got out and to safety, and I woke up again with such relief.
Even now, so many years later, the emotions from this experience flood back.
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u/hazelmind 22h ago
Omg, the dream thing... I'm on seroquel and the dreams I get because of it are crazy, and the plots are sometimes so interesting that when I wake up I immediately go back to sleep visualizing the next scenes in my head and 100% of the times, I fall back asleep and the dream continues into whatever I imagined. Sometimes it was so vivid that I found myself talking/arguing during my sleep.
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u/Hashfyre 18h ago
I'm not on medication though. I only got diagnosed with ASD a month back after a lifetime of not fitting in and not belonging. It's kind crazy that so many folks here can understand.
Here in India psychiatrists usually don't prescribe meds for ASD, it's all therapy and mindfulness and stuff.
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u/hazelmind 16h ago
Yeah usually ASD isn't treated with medicine, only conditions that may overlap such as anxiety disorder. My seroquel is for bipolar disorder.
But before that I had a strong imagination (which made me an artist, a big reader and a writer).
Some studies disagree though and it is believed that autistic people have less imagination :(. I should read more on the subject, but my small hypothesis is that we are just more likely to be on both extremes (no imagination or a lot). I could be very wrong though. Maybe a professional here can clear things up.
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u/Realistic_Impress941 Autism 1d ago
1 and 1 I don’t even have to close my eyes, I usually just keep them open and I usually visualize my own versions of tv shows and movies, basically taking the characters and doing what I want making a movie out of what I want kind of like fanfiction and the internal dialogue can get really chaotic but it’s better with my ADHD meds as I do have ADHD too so that may be a factor too I don’t know
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u/TristanTheRobloxian3 audhdysgraphic 22h ago
holy fucking shit im not the only one????? omg
btw i also have synesthesia if that makes any difference... im also audhd
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u/Clockwork-Armadillo High functioning autism 1d ago
1 for visuals.
I think in pictures and feelings for most things but for more complex and abstract thoughts I'll picture a conversation in my head between 2 or more people not sure if that counts as a monologue or not but I didn't start doing it untill I was around 17 and since then I've found it easier to hold conversations with people where I was extremely monosyllabic before.
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u/Stoepboer 1d ago
I'd say 4 and 2.
Sometimes I cannot visualise at all, but usually I can see very vague, fleeting images. Like contours, but no details, and I cannot hold it.
My inner monologue is quite active though. When I'm not actively thinking I start playing songs or I start rapping to myself in my head. It's usually not chaotic though, if I'm not too stressed.
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u/thenamesdrjane 1d ago
1 & 2. I can visualize almost everything in 3d and in decent detail. My internal monologue is my train of thought. There's not usually 10 of me talking over each other though. Usually it's just the 1 internal monologue, sometimes 2 or 3 if I'm stressed. It's a relatively busy place up in here.
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u/MRMiller96 1d ago
I usually describe my head as filled with static or bees buzzing. like trying to listen to a phone call while in a room full of televisions and radios all on different channels and stations, all at random volumes, and no way to turn any of them off. As a kid I got in the habit of 'thinking out loud' so that I could maintain a single coherent train of thought.
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u/drcoconut4777 ASD Level 1-2 ADHD combo type dyslexia and dysgraphia 1d ago
5 and 5
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u/vibranttoucan 1d ago
Easily a 1.
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u/Apprehensive-Log8333 1d ago
Me too. I can visualize things in my head, turn them around to see the back, see tiny details, it's like a highly detailed video with sharp clarity
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u/Fearless-Dragonfly75 23h ago
Omg same! Even if I’ve never seen the back of something (a building or house or even trees) I can visualize going to it and visually turning around and seeing myself standing there. Like flying into the edge of a forest with a drone and turning around in the midst of trees and seeing yourself standing there outside the forest but obviously I’ve never been there to see things from that angle but because of what I can only assume be my past times in nature I can kinda fill in or assume it looks a certain way. May just have explained things so confusing lol
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u/TheDarnook Suspecting ASD 17h ago
Huh, that's interesting to read. I thought I was 1, but after your description, I'm more likely 2. I can visualise 3D objects and moving people - either in my mind, or overlay them on the world. But everything is rather blurry, and I would have to focus hard to grasp any details.
My "crazy power" is that while I have nothing like photographic memory, I have some kind of topographic memory. I see a random photo of some uncharacteristic place - but I immediately know that I was there. Because the tree line goes down in that way and meets another tree line. Or the road goes down with a specific curve. I couldn't really describe it or draw it. I "just know".
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u/Lost_My_Brilliance ASD Level 2 teenager 23h ago
maybe that’s why I normally hate older movies/shows, because my mind is so much better quality, and I can watch my own movies in there.
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u/Yaya0108 17h ago
Same
I discovered only quite recently that this wasn't the case for everyone. I can't understand how anyone could struggle to visualise stuff, it seems to strange to me
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u/Plastic-Reach-720 Diagnosed 2021 1d ago
1 & 1. For all of my life I thought everyone else was also. The idea of 5's actually terrifies me.
Imagine being that kid. How would you even read books?
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u/SinkDisposalFucker 18h ago
wait how does being a 1 on this scale work, aka visualization in general
do u mfs just have the ability to summon a red apple in 3d heads up display type of thing or do you just imagine being able to rotate the apple and you do but you don’t see it or do you see it but also not really
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u/JPozz 1d ago
I'm a 5.
I'm in the same boat at the guy in the tweet. I thought "visualizing" things in your mind was just thinking about all of the pieces of information you know about the object.
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u/T8rthot AuDHD 1d ago
Just curious. Can you remember what someone looks like if you haven’t seen them in a long time?
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u/SalamanderLate4418 AuDHD 1d ago
i’m a 5 and i would say that i can think about what someone looks like but i can’t actually visualise their face or them as a person
after not seeing someone for a couple weeks or so i will usually say out loud or think to myself “i forgot you’re actually real” or “i forgot what you looked like!”
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u/Ham__Kitten 1d ago
"I forgot you're actually real" is such an insane thing to say to someone. I love it.
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u/SalamanderLate4418 AuDHD 1d ago
it’s so true tho 🥲
like genuinely i saw someone the other day who i hadn’t seen in a month and i couldn’t believe they were real and still existed ?!
definitely my AuDHD brain being its lovely self when i actually say it out loud and verbalise it 🫠
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u/Idcanymore233 audhd + ocd 22h ago
Not who you asked but another 5 here..
I can’t visualize even my husbands face, or my dogs face. I mean.. if I see them obviously I see them (not mentally but with my eyes lol) - but if I miss them and want to see them without a picture I can’t. I could tell you “my husband has this kinda hair hair” or “my dog is tan and this breed”, but it’s not because I can see what they look like by memory it’s more just facts I know about them from seeing them so often.
I hope that makes sense?
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u/Lala0dte 1d ago
If you've seen them one or two times, no. If you've seen them every 3 days for your whole life, yes, just like knowing what an apple looks like without ability to visualize it. It's not perfect but their features and likeness overall, enough to identify them out of many.
Also a 5
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u/JPozz 19h ago
No. I cannot.
However, I can remember details about them. My uncle is 6' 9" and has a really big nose, even for his size.
If I see someone, in person, I am actually quite good with faces.
It's like there is a picture system inside of my head with tons of stored files, but they're only for reference during a live event that my eyes are looking at right now.
I'm a camera hooked up to a huge database of images. You can point that camera at a ton of things and ask it what it is and it can tell you, but if you cover up the lens and say, "Load up and image of [object]" but the camera has no display. It just...can't.
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u/Lazytitan09 23h ago
Also a 5 and I remember the details of their face but I cant visuaise them, I remember these details as words. So I guess I can remember what they look like but its alot harder since the details do get scewed over time.
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u/HypnoHolocaust 1d ago
For me, it's like when you're dreaming and in the dream there are things you just know. I can't picture things, but it's like an image is 'on the tip of my tongue'. I'm between 4 and 5. I can dream though! But it's always in 3rd person.
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u/jittery_jerry Dx'd ASD & ACC 1d ago
I am probably beyond a 1.
I have hyperphantasia which includes the ability to vividly visualise objects and entire scenes, this also includes any sounds, smells, sensations, etc. For example, I can imagine myself sitting in a patch of field surrounded by trees of different varieties, how the grass feels to sit on (quite uncomfortable), the temperature of the air, the humidity, the sun shining on me, the clouds in the sky, and the wind blowing against my face and how my hair interacts with it.
I’m able to translate a lot of this into my physical visual plane in the sense I am able to visualise all of this not just in my head but as if I’m actually looking at it in front of me physically. I’m able to visualise multiple things at once, focus on different parts of them, and they can interact with the physical world around me. It’s easier if my background is something uninteresting and plain like a wall or the sky (but usually that’s too bright to look at too long)
Kind of like Shaun Murphy’s stupid autism powers
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u/DotIVIatrix 1d ago
Yes! I can smell the grass and hear the birds while I sit on a field of flowers. It's wild to me that people can't visualize an entire world in their minds.
As far as visualizing an apple, I can see it and rotate it. I can cut it into segments and imagine eating it. I can see the juice dripping out with each slice. If I can see it in reality I can see it in my mind.
I'm kind of bad at faces, though. But, that makes sense, I have a bit of face blindness.
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u/jittery_jerry Dx'd ASD & ACC 1d ago
I’m fairly good at faces because I spend more time analysing people’s facial features rather than specifically looking in their eyes. I can do that with the apple as well that you mention, all the intricacies of the apples texture and how the light reflects off it are as clear to me as the overall shape and colour of it.
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1d ago
that sounds awesome
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u/jittery_jerry Dx'd ASD & ACC 1d ago
It can be a little distracting because my head is almost never quiet or blank unless i’m in a social situation
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u/Lark_vi_Britannia 1d ago
I can only do this if I'm in a specific mood / situation. There's times that I can day-dream and I stop seeing what's actually in front of me and start seeing whatever I'm day-dreaming about like how you describe it.
Then there's times where I can't rotate a goddamn cow in my head.
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u/soukenfae AuDHD 23h ago
This is me too. I used to stim with this A LOT as a child, cause it was harder for anyone to notice I was doing it. I'd basically add 'filters' onto real life. It could be all kinds of things, from abstract shapes to real objects.
My internal world is also very rich. I can walk through hallways and rooms (most of which have been there for decades now, unchanged). I basically gave the inside of my brain an interior design (subconsciously) and that's how it's looked, with some changes as necessary.
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u/PyrrhicVictory7 1d ago
I can visualise the apple on the ground, I can take imaginary bites out of it and throw it around gmod style
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u/Mountainweaver 1d ago
1 + smell and taste + triggers video clip memories.
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u/BoobeusHagrid 22h ago
Same, I call this the “memory chain” because it usually triggers several memories at once.
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u/Runela9 AuDHD 1d ago
5, I also thought this was a figure of speech until I was in my 20s
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u/ImprovSalesman9314 22h ago
That's insane to me. Can you hear things in your head, like songs and tones? I can't imagine not being able to genuinely live inside your own head.
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u/Runela9 AuDHD 18h ago
A bit, sounds are like a 3-4 on the scale. But absolutely no mental images. I don't really know how to explain it... I can't make images appear, I just know what I'm thinking about.
I'm terrible at guessing distances or approximating size, presumably because of this (the technical term is aphantasia). But my inner world is still fully immersive to me. I can sit and get lost in my own head for hours at a time.
I guess the best metaphor is art? Like, some people paint, others sculpt, and some make music. They're all still conceptualizing something. In the same way, most people think in pictures or sound, while I think in thoughts.
Idk, I hope that makes sense? I imagine its like explaining music to someone born deaf. Its just not an experience that can be conveyed easily.
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u/CooroSnowFox 1d ago
I do think about this randomly. My mind feels like there's a massive blackout curtain in front of it. So it's 4-5
Might as well just be the word [APPLE]
But then when trying to recall certain things it's up to a 3.
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u/Tigerphilosopher 23h ago
3, as I can visualize objects roughly but they're near-impossible to maintain as an image.
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u/snozberry_shortcake 1d ago
1. I assumed everyone visualized things when they visualized things. How is there nothing?? 😶
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u/cosme0 AuDHD 1d ago
I would say between 4 and 5 , but when I was younger it would have been a 1
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u/SaranMal 1d ago
What do you think changed it as you got older?
For me I've always been a 1 or sometimes a 2
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u/VFiddly 1d ago
Somewhere between 1 and 2.
It's always hard to explain it to people who are a 5. No, visualising doesn't mean I see it the way my eyes see it. I'm never going to visualise something so hard that I think it's actually there. It's like seeing it but with your brain instead of your eyes. This doesn't make any sense and I sympathise with people who are a 5 and don't get it, because yeah, I just can't explain it properly, sorry.
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u/Individual-Gur-7292 1d ago
I’m a 1. I can visualise places I have visited vividly and walk around them in my mind as if I had a VR headset on. Pretty fun!
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u/R0B0T0-san Suspecting ASD 1d ago
- Nothing, only realized it was a thing at 34yo. Really weird stuff to discover. What's interesting is if my eyes are open I can sort of see memories however. Brief flashes.
But for things... Let's say I think of a cog. With my eyes open, I can sort of see it but don't. I know what it's all supposed to look like. But I don't see it really.
Even when people say stuff like raining cats and dogs, my brain literally thinks raining cats and dogs. I can almost picture it. But if I close my eyes nothing. Black.
Think of meditation, picture yourself at a beach. I have an idea of what a beach is like, it's like this almost image of a beach almost if I am seeing it but I don't. If I want to add more details I have to actively think about them like, a beach has sand, water, seagulls and seashells, sometimes crabs. But they're never this one thing. But if I close my eyes, there's nothing, it's black. Well, blackish grey with like wildish random colors/shades from time to time.
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u/Chazza354 1d ago
Having your eyes open or closed is irrelevant, visualising stuff is internal, your brain doesn’t project an image through your eyes, it’s like an internal scene you are creating. In fact, it’s easier to create a more vivid scene with your eyes closed.
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u/Shelly_Whipplash 1d ago
Mate I’m beyond 1. I can see smell hear and taste that apple. And there WILL be emotional associations
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u/bentron4000 1d ago
i was also shocked to learn this but I'm the opposite. definitely a 1. i can imagine things in perfect detail. i thought everyone could. i thought that's how brains worked.
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1d ago
Somewhere between 1-2, was genuinely shocked to learn there are people who can't visualize. I daydream a lot and visualize 24/7
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u/LordHiler ASD Level 2, OCD, ADHD 1d ago
I’m probably like a 2 or 3. But my recall of people and faces is almost non-existent. Apparently this is something to do with alexithymia.
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u/WikiSquirrel 1d ago
I was looking for this range. Not flawless and infinitely detailed, but still far from useless. Seems like everyone else are going with 1 , 1-2 or 4-5. Not sure I believe everyone claiming they're at 1 though, even if this might be the best case community for that kind of score.
But I might be misunderstanding it. Are these dreams and memories or 3D-modeling in your mind. Because dreams and memories always feel like 1, but it takes a fair bit of work to mentally 3D-model to level 1. Which is why I went with 2-3 for day-to-day tasks.
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u/LordHiler ASD Level 2, OCD, ADHD 1d ago
I was assuming consciously mentally picturing something or “3D-model” as you put it. My dreams are extremely vivid and detailed, and I often remember them, and frequently lucid dream.
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u/Zokstone AuDHD 1d ago
Easily 1. I can also manipulate it, take it apart, see it in 2D or 3D spaces etc.
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u/Vvvv1rgo 1d ago
I don't understand, can we genuinely see things in our mind? Or is it like a metaphor or something?
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u/roseitr 1d ago edited 2h ago
ancient steer point sip spotted cause adjoining racial flag squash
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/itsRitzPlays 21h ago
See I can't visualize (5 on the scale) but can walk you through every layout of places I lived by remembering where from the front door my body moves through the spaces.
Brains are wild.
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u/Nightsky54_14 1d ago
I'm pretty sure as a smol kid I were 1/2. Mow i'm 4/5. I see nothing. I just see words. Back then I could day dream when eber I wanted, now when I day dream it's not a movie but an audio book.
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u/HearingNo3684 ASD Level 2 1d ago
I think I'm a 4, I usually think of words or a concept instead of an image
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u/Number1Bg3Fan Autistic Adult 1d ago
Somewhere between 4 and 5. Idk why I’m not good at seeing things visually in my mind. I have a good memory and can remember information and facts but if I have to visualise it’s really hard. There’s a very faint image but it feels like when you’re trying to remember the dream you just had and it keeps getting further and further away.
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u/ericalm_ Autistic 1d ago
- Hyperphantasic. Honestly, I was opposite of John Green and thought most people were a 1 or 2-ish.
I am a designer and have done a lot of signage and environmental displays. I also designed my kitchen remodel. I learned that others can’t imagine what something will look like without mockups. I do those anyways, but in discussions, I can visualize various options when others can’t.
This was a real pain when doing the kitchen because I could see a tile or fixture and know what it would look like with the other choices we’d made. My wife would need mockups of all options. Now, I do them for everything for her. She wanted a rug, mockups. New art for this wall, mockups. And so on.
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u/lambchopers 1d ago
Between 1 or 2, probably cause the artist in me lol
Sometimes I can even picture it in my hand and think of the texture of what it could feel
Now for the innermonolog thing I say 2 cause I like to watch movies in my head sometimes [even though they arnt in order all the time] or make stories in my head when I'm driving or bored
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u/Dclnsfrd 1d ago
Yeah, 2 or so on inner monologue for me, too. One of the things I found out was a lot of my misspellings make phonetic sense
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u/Cydonian___FT14X 1d ago
Full level 1. Perfect HD. Full 3D Motion. I can do whatever the hell I want in the mindscape
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u/ConfusionNo8852 Suspecting ASD 1d ago
Most of the time a 2, but if I’ve seen something before it’s closer to a 1 when I recall it. I’m an artist and designer and Ive always had a good visual memory for artwork and pictures. Sometimes when I need to remember stuff I rifle thru a memory file system and pull out the one I need. Despite this I wouldn’t call myself particularly observant - I just take in information I usually don’t do a lot with that info.
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u/CIVilian467 AuDHDyspraxia 1d ago
Somewhere between 2 and 4
I can sort of ‘see’ things, but I also can’t.
I don’t like visualising images in my head. Makes me confused on if I’m actually seeing the thing or not
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u/DudeThatsErin 1d ago
I’ve been asking my family for days. I’m so fascinated by this. I am a 2 but my husband is a 5. My mom is a 5 and my dad is a 1.
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u/Liwingyu 20h ago
5, and it’s horrible. Not being able to visualize anything robs me of joyous memories, cripples my creativity and well being from the existential crisis of consciousness in general
It’s the epitome of ‘live in the moment’ because I can’t visualize the past at all
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u/hallelujahchasing 1d ago
- Anyone else have crazy fucking dreams or is it just me?! 👽🦄🤡👻☠️
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u/TristanTheRobloxian3 audhdysgraphic 22h ago
not just you, sometimes i literally think my dreams are REAL lmao. and theyre literally hyperrealistic too
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u/RandomCashier75 ASD Low Support Needs 1d ago
Level 1 or 2 but I normally see the apple as a Granny Smith since that's my favorite type!🍏
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u/boringlesbian 1d ago
- Always. Memories and thoughts come with sounds, smells, tactile sensations, tastes, and emotions, along with the visuals. I have to struggle to keep things tamped down. I believe this is why I dissociate so much. I can feel the physical sensation of sliding into a fully immersed state sometimes and I have to consciously pull myself out.
I’ve tried describing it to people before, but I don’t know if my words can really convey what it’s like.
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u/sindervaal 1d ago
1, but I have a neurotypical friend who sees 5. Aphantasia is a neurodivergence, right?
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u/Professional-Nail364 1d ago
5.I just see black? I can’t fathom closing my eyes and seeing an image sitting in front of me, that’s never been a thing for me.
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u/sew_bit 1d ago
Day to day I'm a 5 but I dream with images so my dreams are a 1 but the moment I wake up I'm back to blank slate can't see it no matter how hard I try
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u/Cethlenn13 1d ago
1 for both. However, I do find I can use my brain's ability to clearly visualise in order to create art or write a scene. It is exhausting, though. My brain is never silent.
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u/PeaceSelsButWhosBuyn On the sus-pectrum 23h ago
Probably between a 1 and a 2. The idea that there are folks that DON'T see stuff in their head is a relatively (last couple years) new concept to me.
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u/jiheishouu 23h ago
4 mostly, 2-3 if I’m reading a really fantastic book, 5 if someone is telling me a story
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u/DevilsPlaything42 22h ago
- I have a universe inside my mind. Sometimes it's fun. Sometimes it's hell.
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u/Ok-Let4626 22h ago
1, but in totally disjointed sets of detail. Like 1, but conceived through a Tarantino style timeline.
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u/Idcanymore233 audhd + ocd 22h ago
5 and it really really sucks and makes a lot of things hard in life honestly.
I have been trying to develop this skill for a while and if I am willing to bring myself to tears plus a headache plus a lot of time with my eyes closed… I can get to a 4 barely.
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u/FelineFlora 21h ago
Why does it make things hard in life? Why does it suck?
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u/Idcanymore233 audhd + ocd 20h ago
In a few ways, I don’t know if I can explain in the best way but I can give examples.
I am in school to be an engineer and there’s many times I wish I could imagine how the end product would look or function. It’s hard for me to listen to what project managers and stockholders are wanting a product to look like in the end, I can’t invision what they are describing regardless of how detailed they are.
I’ve wanted to paint rooms in my house for a long time but I cannot imagine any of the colors on my walls, I have no idea what it will look like til it’s done. Same with decorating my space, I can’t envision what I want it to look like so I can’t figure out how to decorate.
I want to do a lot of modifications to my car and because I can’t envision it i have the same issue as above.
This goes for anything that requires creativity, imagination, or planning things.
Spelling or doing math in my head is also nearly impossible. I have worked hard to be able to do 3 figure math equations in my head but can’t get past 4 and the 3 figures take me forever and a lot of frustration.
But it’s also hard because of other situations like my dad died and I really miss him, my mom is crazy and I went no contact so I have one photo of my dad. I can’t replay memories in my mind of my dad no matter how badly I want to. All of my childhood with my dad is just poof gone because it feels like I metaphorically lost the tapes that held these memories. I’m terrified of this happening when my soul dog passes, once he is gone if I don’t keep pictures I won’t be able to see him again. - I hope this makes sense.
Also if anything happened that required me to have to give identifying information.. like if I got attacked by a stranger or even if my friend went missing.. I can’t imagine them enough to give any kind of information.
Oddly enough I sleep and have very vivid dreams.. so I know my brain can make images it just doesn’t when I’m awake and want to?
It’s defiantly not the worst thing to have to deal with in life, it doesn’t affect my lifespan or anything. But it’s sad and frustrating and very boring. I feel it would be easier to be able to see images in my head, but it could be a case of “I want what I don’t have”
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u/ElevatorPanicTheDuck 22h ago
What is it called when you have a multiple person monologue? or like a conversation/argument where the other one seems to have a mind of its own?
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u/FlyingSquidMonster Asperger's 21h ago
If there isn't a zero, then 1 always: i can smell it, , rotate it, deform it, touch it, taste it, hear the crack when pulling it open. It took me decades to understand that others not only can't do that but can't imagine that other people are their own autonomous entities who have the same.
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u/KhaosGenesis 21h ago
When I'm in the middle of having a daydream caused by my MDD I'd say 1, but when just thinking about something casually 2.
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u/ButtoftheYoke 20h ago
5, but it if really focus and maintain it, I can get 4. But I do I have a very active internal monologue. So much so that I don't really speak, because I answered it in my head and expect you to read my mind using my body language, which I keep rigid control over, so no one can read my mind.
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u/europanative 20h ago
- It blows my mind people can "see" things in their heads at all
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u/GoodConversation42 20h ago
I'm in the 4 to 2 range depending on focus and need. On the plus side I can do full spatial manipulation of everything, in my head or projected onto reality outside. It's very practical for constructing stuff without all that pesky drawing and such.
My headspace is just myself in a pretty constant monologue, thinking about interesting stuff or reviewing actual or made up discussions. It's rather well behaved silent verbalisation of my thoughts that aren't visuals, logic or just oure thought.
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u/Enzoid23 Diagnosed and in denial ✌🏻 19h ago
Used to be 1, had my first and last episode of derealization leading to a panic attack, and years later ever since usually a 3
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u/jesse7838 ASD Level 2 + Bipolar II 18h ago
If there was a 0.5 option I'd be that. When I'm "visualizing" something I'm not just visualizing it I'm also getting the smell, sound, a lot of other visual details and the way it feels. Hyperphantasia is pretty neat, when I'm trying to visualize a forest I can feel the cool, humid air, see the low lying fog, see patches of dead leaves, hear gentle wind rustling the leaves, the life breeze hitting my face, hear distant bird calls and crickets. It even goes as far as the color of the leaves, a deep dark emerald green on the pine trees and a brighter, saturated green on the deciduous trees and a sunset visible through the trees casting a deep orange light on my face.
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u/vinsect4 ASD Level 1 1d ago
I struggle to believe people can actually manifest the appearance of something in their mind. I guess I'm a 5.
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u/SemataryPolka 1d ago
I have no inner monologue. Only visuals. I don't know any other way but it sounds faster to me tbh
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u/Classy_Mouse Undiagnosed 1d ago
I have both, but not at the same time. Visual is way faster and more effective for me, but masking and filtering my words requires the inner monologue. I feel like I have to be in slow mode to talk to people.
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u/Suitable_Oil213 1d ago
I am definitely at 5, I remember things by description. So for example: when i think of my chair, I think rotating gray bar chair and that is the only way i can remember or imaginr things
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u/dollar_store_templar 1d ago
Trying to think of an apple, a red square followed by a generic font spelling apple appears for just a brief second.
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u/Left_Leadership_2618 Self-Diagnosed 1d ago
1, I have a very detailed imagination and its a blessing and a curse, because while it helps me with my art a lot I alos i have the weirdest mind and can imagine whatever I want and can sometimes get lost inside my own head :3
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u/SemataryPolka 1d ago
My special interest is music. I have like a hyper encyclopedic memory for it. The other day someone tested me by asking me who the original drummer for the Beatles was (not really a hard question but they weren't autistic lol). My brain pictured Ringo Starr and then a physical black line appeared in my head going backwards to an image of Pete Best. I knew his name was Pete Best without hearing the words in my head. No inner monologue. Just saw an image of him. All within like a millisecond. I suppose my brain might see the name when I say it but it's a visual representation of the name Pete Best. Not a voice. That's how my brain works. So 1 I guess lol
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u/Poztman 1d ago
Visually, i'm a ; 2 when tired. I often have to take in stimulus, convert it into a visual image, and back into action. Even when im doing non-visual things (making music, calling someone on the phone, listening to a podcast), I have vivid images in my head.
My inner dualogue is pretty busy, too. It's almost always on, sometimes with different 'conversation partners'.
Notice: I'm diagnosed with both ASD and ADD
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u/AdorableDino 1d ago
1, but I can't sustain the image for more than like a second, I can bring it back pretty consistently but it's always fleeting if that makes sense
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u/Fazem0nke-1273 1d ago edited 1d ago
Normally, I'm a 1.
2~3, when I'm sleep deprived or highly stressed, but a white monster usually helps
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u/Rivetlicker Aspie 1d ago
1... I'm an artist, I create weird stuff from scratch. Most of my works come from phrases I wrote down, not even from sketches.
I'm sure if someone says apple, I have 2 processes simultaneosly; the fruit, and the brand/logo (and my head starts rattling of Apple products and trivia)
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u/UncomfyUnicorn 1d ago
2-1 if it’s a real world object. Usually 4 if it’s something completely fantastical that I’ve made up. A good looking color palette is difficult to figure out. Though sometimes I can see what colors to use when I draw the thing in my head.
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u/Blue-Jay27 ASD Level 2 1d ago
1 :3 I used to be a 4 but I consciously trained/practiced for most of my teens and now I can visualise most stuff pretty easily
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u/GreenDreamForever 1d ago
I don't really know...which one I am.
Why can't I see pictures in my mind?
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u/babers76 1d ago
I have to really try to hold the 1, but it fades and changes. Then next thing I know I am thinking about boobs. Star Wars or sushi. School was hard, but charmed my way out of it. I have learned mastery of “masking”
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u/Pretend_Athletic 1d ago edited 1d ago
I’m 1 or 2, it depends. If the look of something is mot particularly familiar to me, I’m going to have trouble visually imagining it as well.
For example if I think of a house I have been to once recently, I might remember and able to visually “see” only approximations of how large the rooms were, what color were the walls and furniture etc. So that’s maybe level 2?
But if I imagine a house I’ve been to a number of times, I have a lot more detail in my mind to make a 3D map of the place in my mind and walk through it. I can imagine the objects they have hanging in the hallway, what kinds of cups in the kitchen cupboard, what color rug and curtains, what kind of faucet in the bathroom. So maybe that’s level 1?
Edit: Thinking further I think I’m more 2 than 1 because I do have trouble imagining things I’ve never seen before. That’s why I’m not great at drawing for the most part.
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u/IjustwantodieAFAP 1d ago
1/2. I thought that was normal? I use it almost everyday, and most of the time my mind does it automatically without me needing to focus. I just imagine a story and that story is represented in my head.
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u/newmommy1994 1d ago
I can visualize but I wouldn’t describe it as the same as seeing with my eyes. I see it but not actually.
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u/eatratshitt 1d ago
I don’t see anything but I can still visualize how something looks if that makes sense. Like I daydream all the time and I know what my characters and places look like (although it took a lot of practicing and I do have to sort of “paste” stuff I saw irl)
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u/steve_ll 1d ago
mine at 1 and i can vizualize shit around me too like a apple in my hand, i know there aint nothing in my hand but somehow my brain makes it be perceivable althought not entirely visible when i try
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u/CastevalOroborus 1d ago
I mean, my eyes see black. My brain can pretty much SEE it, just not with my eyes. 🤔 I can tell u every detail about this "apple" but I can't see it like I see things when my eyes are open
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u/CerealMonarchy 1d ago
In between 3 and 4 and I can't hold it in my head it just flashes and leaves when I can even do that.
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u/bex223 1d ago
I'm a 1 visually. I had no idea people couldn't see things in their heads until several years ago. As for the inner monologue, I guess I'm a 1.5. It's usually only one voice, but it's near constant. I always have something running through my head, and it's only more than one voice if I have more than one idea calling my attention at the same time.
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u/thematrixiam AuDHD 1d ago
It's really hard to describe what I see.
I can see colour, but it phases in an out.
It's almost like I switch from 5 to 1 and 1 to 5 constantly. I also can have more than just 1.
I can rotate it and have it sprout into a tree in the middle of a field with a giant plumb bird flying by. The bird is obviously there for comedic relief. Where it then pulls an over dramatic "uhhhhh"... it's neck weakens, and goes limp, as it plummets to the ground. where there is grass... and rolls.
I can create whole movies. And have lots of senses. As well as knowing attached to the senses. For example, the 'comedic relief' was a knowing.
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u/OakTreader 1d ago
My youngest daughter is beyond 1. With her eyes open she can look at a blank sheet of paper, imagine a scene or image on top of it, then just trace it. Obviously she's really good at drawing. It blows my mind.
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u/Dependent-Green-7900 1d ago
I’m not sure because I can kind of imagine what I’m thinking of and I can hold onto it for a brief second but it disappears. I see quite vividly when dozing but when I’m awake it doesn’t stay
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