Aphantasia is when your brain doesn’t form or use mental images as part of your thinking or imagination. Experts don’t define aphantasia as a medical condition, disorder or disability. Instead, it’s a characteristic, much like which hand you naturally use to write with. Imagination is how your brain “simulates” something based on knowledge or past experience. For most people, imagination can take many forms — things you can see, hear, taste, etc. Think of visual imagination like a television. Some people have black-and-white television sets, while others have a color set. An extremely vivid imagination is like having an ultra-high-definition digital television. Having aphantasia is like your mind not having a television at all because it wouldn’t use it. Because your “mind’s eye” doesn’t work like that, your imagination works in other ways. There are two forms of aphantasia: congenital and acquired. Congenital aphantasia you have your whole life, while acquired aphantasia almost always happens because of an injury, illness, or mental health condition. Experts estimate that between 2% and 4% of people have it. It’s difficult to determine who has it because many people with aphantasia don’t realize they think in a way that’s different from most people. They may not even realize that most people can “see” images that are generated in their minds. Aphantasia isn’t a medical or mental health condition, so it doesn’t need treatment. You wouldn’t seek treatment because you’re left-handed, so there’s no need to seek treatment for aphantasia.
