I also have “squishy” memories when I have memories at all. Turns out those of us with aphantasia often have very bad memories for their own histories … something to do with the visual being tightly bound to memory creation. Thanks for sharing your own experience of the flexibility of memory and how difficult memoir writing can be on account of that.
Hi Pamela, I had to look up aphantasia — never heard of it. It’s fascinating but I assume also annoying. I used to lean more toward the opposite end of that spectrum, where I couldn’t turn off the visuals. As I would drift off at night, I would watch random images drift across my mind’s screen for hours. Sounds way more fun than it was. I couldn’t sleep because I couldn’t make them stop. I guess I outgrew that at some point. Brains. Go figure. 🧠
It’s not annoying since I don’t know any other way to think! I never even realized until a few years ago that “I can see it vividly my mind” was anything more than a metaphor!
I also have “squishy” memories when I have memories at all. Turns out those of us with aphantasia often have very bad memories for their own histories … something to do with the visual being tightly bound to memory creation. Thanks for sharing your own experience of the flexibility of memory and how difficult memoir writing can be on account of that.
Hi Pamela, I had to look up aphantasia — never heard of it. It’s fascinating but I assume also annoying. I used to lean more toward the opposite end of that spectrum, where I couldn’t turn off the visuals. As I would drift off at night, I would watch random images drift across my mind’s screen for hours. Sounds way more fun than it was. I couldn’t sleep because I couldn’t make them stop. I guess I outgrew that at some point. Brains. Go figure. 🧠
And the reason many of my memories are squishy is that sadly, there was usually a large volume of alcohol involved 🫤🫣
It’s not annoying since I don’t know any other way to think! I never even realized until a few years ago that “I can see it vividly my mind” was anything more than a metaphor!