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Aphantasia and Psychedelics

psychedelirium.substack.com

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Re: Aphantasia and Psychedelics

#11

Post by anp »

diggan wrote: post #5
CjHuber wrote: post #4

I have aphantasia and psychedelics definitely give me visuals. However it‘s more like shifting and warping stuff I and not very pronounced. DMT however is one of the only things that gave me strong visuals, LSD in combination with DXM too so I wonder if it has something to do with the sigma receptor

Ever tried 2CB or mushrooms/psilocybin and if so, how prominent were the visuals? Always found those to be more visual (for better or worse), particularly compared to LSD, but I don't have aphantasia.

Not GP but 2CB and psilocybin were never very visual for me compared with LSD in my tripping days. I have aphantasia and the only chemical to give me full eyes open visuals was DMT. Mescaline was a very distant second.

Re: Aphantasia and Psychedelics

#12

Post by wetpaws »

bcraven wrote: post #8

I listened to a recent podcast that discussed why giving people with aphantasia the chance to see images is ethically complicated: https://www.hyperfixedpod.com/listen/hyperfixed/third-eye-bl... (Presented by Alex Goldman from Reply All)

[dead]

Re: Aphantasia and Psychedelics

#13

Post by crooked-v »

bcraven wrote: post #8

I listened to a recent podcast that discussed why giving people with aphantasia the chance to see images is ethically complicated: https://www.hyperfixedpod.com/listen/hyperfixed/third-eye-bl... (Presented by Alex Goldman from Reply All)

I'm not taking the time to listen through that. Is there a transcript?

Re: Aphantasia and Psychedelics

#14

Post by incomingpain »

On the graph for aphantasia where it's words. I certainly dont imagine words. If I were to stretch the truth about seeing an apple, I maybe see an outline. Certainly no detail inside, like the relfection of light off the apple.

Psychedelics, like mushrooms, do nothing for me. Mushrooms, I've never had a high better than say a light buzz from alcohol, generally nothing. I never get the wavvy or beer goggles from alcohol. I could be absolutely smashed, drink a micky in a couple hours and still pass a field sobriety test; and im a cheap drunk. THC doesnt do much of anything. Opiates take alot; any amount of morphine and nothing. Still feel the pain. One time I had Dilaudid. That helped with the surgical pain maybe 50%; from intolerable to tolerable. Nothing though, no hallucinations or anything. Maybe at some peak I was feeling a wierd flush or wave feeling in my body but nothing significant.

Re: Aphantasia and Psychedelics

#15

Post by ITB »

thrance wrote: post #6

I feel like there's more to aphantasia than just "can you see the apple or not?". I can't for the life of me imagine an apple. At best, I get a very faint and dark picture of something resembling the fruit. Plus, there's one on the desk right next to me, so I shouldn't have too much trouble with the assignment, but here we are. On the other hand, I have a pretty good memory (compared to my peers) and I can recall viv…

I can give you a quick and infallible test, but it has to be done live. How do I reach out?

Re: Aphantasia and Psychedelics

#16

Post by gavinray »

CjHuber wrote: post #4

I have aphantasia and psychedelics definitely give me visuals. However it‘s more like shifting and warping stuff I and not very pronounced. DMT however is one of the only things that gave me strong visuals, LSD in combination with DXM too so I wonder if it has something to do with the sigma receptor

I have aphantasia but I have visuals when dreaming, and have OEV's on any psychedelic in high enough doses.

So I think it's useful to talk about dosages here.

For example, I won't have OEV's until around 200-250ug of LSD, or 20-22mg 2C-B, or 3.5g mushrooms.

Marijuana gives me the ability to have closed-eye visuals ("mind movies") even in low doses, though I don't use it because it gives me panic attacks.

Re: Aphantasia and Psychedelics

#17

Post by loves_mangoes »

CjHuber wrote: post #4

I have aphantasia and psychedelics definitely give me visuals. However it‘s more like shifting and warping stuff I and not very pronounced. DMT however is one of the only things that gave me strong visuals, LSD in combination with DXM too so I wonder if it has something to do with the sigma receptor

The visuals you get from psychedelics and the visuals from imagination are different. Psychedelics seem to affect your real visual field. You're not imagining textures melting with colors and walls turning into liquid, it becomes what you see.

I normally have aphantasia, at about 2/5 on one those pop scales that show various versions of an apple. I can sort of rotate geometric shapes without the notion of color or texture.

But rarely, while lying in bed I get these full vivid pictures. It feels like a whole another visual field. I can't really control it, but these are fully detailed like a painting.

It's dizzying how fast I can imagine these when my mind decides to switch into this mode, and how it can switch from one painting to the next fully detailed picture in a fraction of a second. I normally have to strain hard to hold just a few outlines of simple shapes in my mind, evaporating the moment my focus wavers.

Re: Aphantasia and Psychedelics

#18

Post by spoiler »

diggan wrote: post #5
CjHuber wrote: post #4

I have aphantasia and psychedelics definitely give me visuals. However it‘s more like shifting and warping stuff I and not very pronounced. DMT however is one of the only things that gave me strong visuals, LSD in combination with DXM too so I wonder if it has something to do with the sigma receptor

Ever tried 2CB or mushrooms/psilocybin and if so, how prominent were the visuals? Always found those to be more visual (for better or worse), particularly compared to LSD, but I don't have aphantasia.

I tried them and probably have apanthasia. Similar experience to the other comments: it's usually just overlaid on what I see. A few time when I closed my eyes and got taken away by music, it would give me a more "story-like" trip, but I don't specifically recall visuals.

I scored as hypophantastic, but I'm not sure if I'm skewing the results because I draw/paint too. So I'm not sure if I'm triggering some detail processing/recall function. I see nothing, but I know what I should be seeing. For a lot of the examples I could... I don't want to call it "visualise" details, but I could describe in detail what should be there, but its in fact blank. Not sure how relevant this is, but I'm also neuro divergent; some diagnosed: ADHD, severe dyslexia, occasionally migraine + auditory hallucinations, undiagnosed but obviously there is also tinnitus. Dunno if I'm also a bit on the spectrum becau I also need to take at least 2x the dose my friends do, and stuff like amphetamines have _zero_ effect on my headspace

Re: Aphantasia and Psychedelics

#19

Post by calebh »

I have aphantasia and have been practicing meditation with the goal of improving the condition for a couple years. I have seen some minor improvements - when I'm in a pretty relaxed state I can see some visuals, but am not able to control the stream of images.

I haven't been working on this quite as much recently since there seems to be a connection with the meditation causing an ocular migraine with aura.

Re: Aphantasia and Psychedelics

#20

Post by card_zero »

mdswanson wrote: post #10

An aphantasia "beginner's guide" for those who aren't familiar or just want to learn more: https://aphantasia.com/guide/

I feel in my gut that this is fad-driven internet bullshit, and I would like to learn less, if it were possible.

> Dr. Adam Zeman, a neurologist from Exeter, receives a patient who can no longer imagine — known as patient MX. MX goes blind in his mind’s eye after undergoing surgery.

> Media outlets like the New York Times report the findings. This leads to an outpouring of new discoverers.

Hmm

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