Minds eye...able to visualise

Yes- always see things clearly in my mind’s eye- so much so that I sometimes can’t remember if I saw a film or read the book. The images from books (good ones anyway) are so clear that it’s like I saw a film. Same with radio.

Can be a problem when looking for something as I can visualize it where it used to be.

It's not a condition I knew existed, I'm fascinated that it does. Presumably with your DH it's a case of you don't miss what you never had.
As you say I see things in my minds eye when reading, whether it's the character or a place.

When you close your eyes, do you see a real picture, like a photograph? I don't, all I see us blackness, if that's a word?. Ask me to imagine a red and blue ball in my minds eye and I see nothing. I know perfectly well what the ball should look like, but as for being able to see it, then no. I have never thought I was different, as I've never really thought about it. There was a thread on this subject some time in the recent past, but I can't remember when I'm afraid.
I remember pompa couldn't do pictures in his minds eye either. I don't think we have one!

How interesting. I realise that I have images in my mind but they're not like the images I see with my eyes though I can picture them perfectly well in a way I can't explain. On the other hand I can close my eyes and random images can appear. I often see people I don't think I have ever seen before and totally unrelated objects. I can't do it if I deliberately try. Does anyone else experience this, or am I just weird?

Surely this is down to interpretation I don’t actually see things but I can imagine them but not an actual picture so Im like you hildajenni I thought this was quite normal Is this what your husband meant Jordana ? I ve just done the hammer test and can imagine exactly how it looks but I don’t actually see anything ??

I don't see photographic style images. I see 'the hammer' surrounded by fuzzy blackness.
If I think of a meadow I can picture an individual blade of grass. It's like zooming in with a camera lens.

Something new yet again so thank you for the enlightenment jordana.

It is certainly needed in many cases of our lives.
Especially when either selling your home or buying another.
We have found in the past for instance,if we dress the third bedroom with a desk and bookcase etc.............the viewers will call your home a two bedder.........I now realize they cannot visualise that third room as a bedroom... unless it contains the usual bed and wardrobe!

Whilst on viewing oneself, it is of great importance to be able to visualize the place as your own,minus the trapperies of each home..............but if you have this condition, I should imagine you will say no to many otherways suitable homes.

A right pain in the neck for those suffering for sure.You have my sympathy.

When I close my eyes at night I sometimes see quite clear pictures of something I've been doing a lot of that day ( without thinking about it) . For example the other day I spent some times weeding the garden and at night I had visions of weeds being pulled out. I first noticed this as a child when Id been playing with bubble mixture - I closed my eyes and could see bubbles! Does this happen to everyone?

I have a friend who is a great reader but says he doesn't visualise the people or places in the book - I don't understand how you can keep the thread of the story this way, but obviously people can. Maybe it is a case of what you have never had you don't mind not having. I remember years ago someone asking a child if he preferred the stories on television or radio (remember Chidren's Hour?) and he replied "I prefer stories on the radio because the pictures are better!"

Interesting isn’t it? I can picture anything at all, down to blades of grass just like a photograph.I can picture street lay outs this way too, so rarely get lost.

I always thought everyone could visualize everything. I could not imagine not being able to. I can hold a colour in my mind so finding things to match when out is easy. I am lucky it seems

I can picture things in my mind but its nothing to do with my eyes. It goes black when I shut my eyes but can imagine objects with my mind. Hard to describe! And when reading a book I imgine layout of houses etc from the descriptions.

I hadn't come across this condition. Or thought I hadn't. It now occurs to me that OH may have it. If I read a book, the words paint pictures in my mind. It's like watching a film. As Lemongrove says, I can picture street layouts and have a good sense of direction.

The OH on the other hand learns directions by repetition. He has no picture of maps in his head. I must ask him if he can visualise things other than maps.

It could explain a lot. thanks, OP.

People who develop memory problems with dementia also have this difficulty in visualising things. It is sometimes called "remembering forwards", as when we plan a course of action, we tend to visualise what we are going to do. How difficult for your husband Jordana! He must have had to rely on auditory-verbal memory all along. Has it presented problems for you both day to day?

I really don't know what I would do without my "minds eye" or rather my brains ability to visualise what is around me. I went clinically blind 8 years ago very suddenly, in fact overnight. I am registered Blind, but I do have a tiny bit of vision left in the centre of my left eye, roughly 2% of what would be normal vision.

The way I see my surroundings is by scanning back and forth very rapidly across my surroundings and allowing my brain to build a full "picture" for me, rather like the lines of the old TV screen.

The problem with that is though I cannot build a picture in a moving environment such as walking down a street, or even more strangely if I scan a room and picture where people are, and they move when I am not aware of them moving I still "see" them in their original position until I have rescanned. Sometimes when I switch the light off on going to bed I have to "rescan" the bedroom until I have a picture of the room in my brain without the light being on.

It does mean though that I can look at still pictures or objects and create an accurate image of the whole thing, so on the whole it is a very useful skill to have developed.

Interesting. I can't see a picture when I close my eyes but I could remember what something looked like.

I do have a problem with visualising things I buy in place or vety often when I buy clothes online they are not as I thought. But I thought this was normal. 2% is a very high number of people.

jordana As a retired neuropsychologist I am fascinated (and sorry!) to hear of your husband's condition. It is extremely rare and I have never met anybody with it. How does he manage if asked to give directions, say from the station/bus stop to your house?
Do you think his quality of life has suffered as a result? Does he read especially novels?
I'm glad we have TV and videos, for his sake.
Wishing your husband well and much happiness to you both.

I am finding as I get older that when I'm driving I struggle sometimes to remember the way to places I really know well. Or I can remember the way to two places, but struggle to work out the way from one of them to the other. I've read that this is not uncommon in older people. Otherwise I visualise things easily in 'my mind's eye'. This is different from 'seeing black' when I close my eyes - my 'mind's eye' is not behind my eye lids, but just where it says it is - in my mind.

When you close your eyes, do you see a real picture, like a photograph?

I don't have to close my eyes to see something in my mind's eye.
Perhaps that is why I was always called a 'daydreamer' when I was a child.
I don't think that DH can see things in his mind's eye the same as I do.

My youngest has dyslexia, which we discovered whilst trying to teach her to spell - you know, the "bed" way of deciding which way round a letter goes. I wonder if it's related?

Another example which I've come across (before the days of SatNav!) - when given directions to drive to a place, I form a visual image in my head, for example 'there's a pub on the left', 'turn right where the oak tree is', etc whereas other people I know have to have a set of written instructions.

Fascinated by aphantasia, which I had never heard of, or imagined could exist. There is a nice little quiz on the Beeb web site with just eight questions to see how strong your powers of visualisation are: www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-34039054
It makes me wonder what else is going on in the minds of even our nearest and dearest that we are unaware of. My OH certainly thinks in a very different way to me, but its hard to get a handle on exactly how, because he is a numbers person and cant always articulate to me how he sees things.

You see, I can remember what things look like, I can describe places I've been to, and tell you all about them, but I cannot conjure up a picture of any of these things in my head. When I read a novel, I cannot visualise the people or places and am thankful that I have the memories of houses I've visited or TV series I've seen, which helps in this respect. I can give directions in my local area, and can remember routes to places when driving, but this is different from making a mental image. I don't know how else to describe it, but I've never missed picture in my head.

no picture in my mind either but I have no problems I'm aware of, same as hildajenni
eg:
with directions - if it's right at the oak tree/pub/traffic lights etc I know what they look like so will turn right.
Looking at houses to buy it didn't need to be dressed - any room can be what I want it to be whether it looks like that with the vendors furniture in or not.
And I definitely don't have pictures in my mind for books but read them everyday and can follow the story easily