How do I know if I have Total Aphantasia?

(Just to be super clear, we are not doctors.  Or psychologists.  Or psychiatrists.  Or psychics.  Eventually, we hope, some of them will join this site and you can ask them directly.  So, if you looking for science, go to the University of Exeter’s The Eye’s Mind’s page.  If you are not looking for science – which you should not be doing – keep reading.)

Test 1: Imagery

Recall the image of a tree.  Any tree.  Literally, any tree, anywhere.  Close your eyes and picture that tree.  If you see a complete wall of black, advance onward.  This lack of visual recognition is traditionally called “aphantasia.”

Test 2: Smell

Recall the smell of a tree.  Or, probably, a forest or a jungle.  Whatever.  Tree or forest or jungle will work.  Close your eyes and recall that smell.  If you do not smell anything, advance onward.

Test 3: Touch

Recall touching a tree. Same as above.  Any tree. Close your eyes and recall how that touch feels.  If this make absolutely no sense to you and you cannot “visualize” touching something, then advance forward.

Test 4: Sound

Pick your favorite song about trees, close your eyes, and listen to it in your head.  Our favorite songs about trees are Lumberjack Song (Monty Python),  A Forest (The Cure), Welcome to the Jungle (Guns N’ Roses), and Fake Plastic Trees (Radiohead).  (Editor’s note: apparently the majority of the great songs about trees come from Great Britain.)  Can you hear the artist’s voice?  Or is it just your monotone voice reading the lyrics?  If it is your monotone voice, advance onward.

Test 5: Taste

OK, let’s not eat a tree, unless that is what you are in to.  Pick your favorite food and/or drink.  Or, eat a tree.  We’re not here to judge.  Close your eyes and recall the sensation of eating or drinking it.  If you’ve made it this far and you still have a black wall in your head when you do this and none of this makes sense, you are probably like us.  Congrats! Or, sorry!  Join our group and reminisce.