They say opposites attract, and in many ways, my husband of 40 years and I are opposites. He’s extroverted. I’m introverted. He’s easygoing. I’m more tightly wound. But when I learned that I had aphantasia and that he’s not only a visualizer but someone with hyperphantasia, it gave the word “opposites” a whole new meaning.

I came to understand that I couldn’t visualize back in the early 2000s. It wasn’t until 2021 that I learned—from a hypnotherapist, of all people—that this mind-blindness had a name: aphantasia. In my excitement, I sat down with my husband of 38 years (at the time) and asked him to describe his experience when visualizing a red apple. He said that not only could he visualize a red apple, complete with colour, contour, lighting, and shape, but he could “taste” the sweet juice and “feel” the apple’s pulp on his tongue. He could “smell” its sweetness and “hear” the distinct snap-crunch when bitten into.

At that moment, I thought, talk about your opposites attracting… I’m an aphant married to someone with hyperphantasia! Aphantasia and hyperphantasia in marriage became my newfound reality. Continue reading on the Aphantasia Network.

Feature image by John Diez on Pexels.com.

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