Close your eyes and imagine an apple.

Is the image you’re seeing perfectly realistic, reasonably vivid, moderately lifelike, dim and vague, or is there no image at all?

If you don’t see anything in your mind’s eye and only “know” that you are thinking of said apple, welcome to the aphantasia club.

You and I are unique, my friend.

Experts from the Cleveland Clinic have estimated that 2% to 4% of people have aphantasia, and I learned very recently that I fit into that statistic.

Aphantasia is when your brain doesn’t form or use mental images as part of your thinking or imagination, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

It’s not considered a disability, disorder, or medical condition. It’s more of a trait, like which hand you naturally use to write.

The research on aphantasia is limited, as most people who have it aren’t aware that they think differently. Because of that, it is difficult to correctly predict its commonness.

There are also different degrees of aphantasia. Most scales are measured from one to five, one being unable to see anything in your mind’s eye — therefore having total aphantasia — and five being able to see things vividly and lifelike.

Learning about aphantasia — and discovering I have that trait — really shocked me.

One, because I didn’t realize that people can see such lifelike images in their minds. It’s one of those things that you’d never know about until it’s pointed out to you. I always assumed that we all saw nothing when we closed our eyes.

Two, because I’ve always thought of myself as a visual learner. I’m not sure that the two go hand in hand, but I would assume they somehow correlate.

Being unable to picture certain things doesn’t prohibit me from learning, though, and I continue to learn best from pictures, slides, graphs, maps, etc.

Studies have shown that people with aphantasia don’t necessarily lack mental imagery. They just lack the ability to do it voluntarily or vividly.

So visual learners such as myself can still process the ability to learn visually. It’s just not the same as everyone else’s process.

I’ve noticed that I can seem to remember exactly where I wrote something on a sheet of paper — like it’s in the bottom right corner in blue ink — but I’m unable to close my eyes and picture it.

As an artist, that helps explain why I’ve always found it difficult to simply draw something from memory. Over time and the more that I see something, the trial-and-error process of creating something can become easier, though, as I slowly build what I’ve seen onto paper.

People with aphantasia dream differently, as well. From personal experience, I’ve noticed that I don’t seem to have vivid dreams the way others do, as they can explain in great detail their sleeping journey.

I’ve also noticed I don’t envision faces in my dreams. Rather, I just “know” who a person is when they appear in my dreams. And I always thought that “counting sheep” was simply a metaphor, not realizing people can truly see those sheep in their minds.

Though there are some possible explanations for aphantasia, experts don’t exactly know why it happens.

Congenital aphantasia suggests that it may be a genetic trait. It also suggests that it could be a form of neurodiversity, meaning your brain develops or works differently than others.

Acquired cases of aphantasia are rare but have occurred, as well, following injuries or illnesses that affect your brain. Damage to certain areas of the brain, especially the occipital lobe, can cause aphantasia.

Even rarer, mental health conditions have been linked to aphantasia, including mood disorders or depersonalization/derealization disorder, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

Diagnosing aphantasia can be difficult, but the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire can show where you stand on the aphantasia scale, based on the score you receive.

Since aphantasia isn’t a medical or mental health condition, it doesn’t need treatment, nor have there been any advances to “treat” it.

Most who have it are completely unaware. It doesn’t put you at a disadvantage in any field, seeing as you can adjust however necessary to accomplish any task.

People with aphantasia don’t experience issues from it.

They simply think and imagine differently.

Torianna Marasco can be reached at 989-358-5686 or tmarasco@thealpenanews.com.