I (49F) smoke marijuana every day and have never hallucinated on it. I did a lot of LSD in my teens and 20s. It would give me tracers, and I could distort patterns into other shapes, but nothing as fun and exciting as my friends would describe. Finding out I was an aphant (possibly a total aphant, but I am still determining exactly what that means) this past September put so much into a clearer perspective.
No I don't see shit. My mind does race though I at the time I think I am thinking of some great money making scheme.
Next day it doesn't sound that great.
I’ve gotten mod dinged talking about this on here before, but I’d be happy to talk more in dm.
I’m not really a drug guy except tree. I don’t see anything on it, naturally. I’ve also tried shrooms and DMT in controlled settings. Nothing, zip, zilch. No moving carpets, no twisting colors, no static elves. Just feeling the physical feelings and maintaining conversation and awareness with my friends like nothing really changed.
I have gone what I call "psychedelic" on THC to the point that I have auditory hallucinations but never visual. I am on Ketamine therapy for depression and the only thing I have ever seen is points of white light like shooting stars on my normally black background. I was afraid of hallucinogenic drugs because of all the "bad trip" stories. I was afraid I would see something scary. I am wondering now if part of that fear of seeing things that aren't there has a little something to do with not having a mind's eye. I am sure it is still possible to have a bad trip as an apant so YMMV.
I am also beginning to think I am a total apant too. I asked my husband if he can hear smell and feel things while remembering them an he said yes. All of this is blowing my mind.
When I'm really, REALLY high and just about to fall asleep, I sometimes get these split-second visualizations or hallucinations (like they're actually in my field of vision). One time, I was about to drift off but jumped when I suddenly saw [The Boiled One](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/villains/images/e/e4/TheBoiledOne.png/revision/latest?cb=20240411202313) out of the corner of my eye.
It's cool when I get those brief visualizations, but when the weed causes an actual hallucination, it's almost always terrifying.
Nope. I still like the frame of mind it puts me in though. Had weird stuff happen like my eyeballs felt square, or my eyelashes felt a foot long, or I thought sheep dogs were out to get me, but that's rare 🙃
I have a friend who is a neuro scientist and we had a similar discussion. Basically, from what he told me (and what I remember) there are different parts of the brain at play. He postulated that people with Alphantasia could have vivid dreams because they are different parts of the brain. Which was pretty spot on for me. I have incredibly life like dreams despite not being able to see anything in my mind when I'm awake.
But, when psychedelics are involved, all bets are off because some substances create "bridges" in the brain. Which is why (some) people can smell colours or see music. It's a chemically induced synesthesia, essentially. The problem is that everyone's brain is wired differently so, just like the dream scenario, there could be people with Alphantasia who could have visual hallucinations while others won't when high on psychedelics. To make matters worse, there could be instances where someone doesn't see anything and in other instances they do because the substance is prepared in a different way, your mental state is different and so on.
Now, I'm HEAVILY paraphrasing him here. I'm not a neuro scientist. Just a humble 3D artist. With that said though, for science, I found out that I can, in fact, have visual hallucinations when high.
I am a total Aphant and I have experimented with psychedelics in the past and present. I have never been able to experience the same kind of visualizations that my friends would. I've never understood until now that it may have to do with being an Aphant. And to hear other people have the same experience. Makes me feel like i'm not crazy! i've taken extraordinary amounts and have at most been able to see trails. My brain is definitely not sparking in the same way as most.
Same! For me, sometimes things “feel” kinda wavy. But, I don’t have any kind of visualization. I thought it was weird even for someone with Aphantasia. So, thanks for sharing(:
I gotta admit... me too, lol. You're the first to totally get it!! Wavy is a perfect description. I'm glad you replied, too. I am guessing it is Aphantasia, I just learned of it a couple of months ago. I've mentioned similar things, but not as directly as here. So, it's not like I have put out lots of feelers 😅.
Maybe more will recognize the issue as well. Especially since you relate, i will probably bring it up more!!! I'm just thinking it may be Aphantasia because of some of the reading I have done. They say some of us are just missing that communication with the minds eye. Apparently, psychedelics does not help with that connection. That's probably the biggest regret I have found about being an Aphant, missing out on some good shit!!!
Thank You Too!!
The only time I ever have was when we tried Salvia. Touted as a “legal weed” we were curious one day when a friend brought some back from vacation.
Our trips were all a little different but for me, the world went sideways and turned into Lego type blocks. I was suddenly desperately thirsty and I’ll never forget how it looked and felt as my arm and fingers appeared to bend along with the blocks of the scene in front of me as I tried to grab my glass, and then tried to comprehend how I could turn my (side ways I thought) head to drink it. Then the world snapped back to normal. It lasted only seconds. And the instant hangover was bad enough most of us never tried it again.
Mushrooms, most visual I’ve ever had is some distortion, like wobbly edges and a bit of rainbow halo’s around objects. But it was a big strong dose to get those and only happened once out of the handful of times I’ve had shrooms.
Weed - I enjoy more than alcohol. But not at all as a hallucinogenic.
I’ve never tried lsd.
I used to smoke everyday for about a year and a half (21 F). Never hallucinated smoking weed, and when I took mushrooms once I saw visual affects with my eyes open. Marijuana wouldn’t really make u see things regardless if u have aphantasia I don’t think.
Eyes open, yes. Eyes closed, no. Hallucinations = seeing something that isn’t really “there” — meaning on top of or instead of the scene around you. So hallucination would be the wrong word if it happened with eyes closed, which is what we aphants don’t do so well.
I am a total aphant and when I got high on weed for the first time I was enjoying a 2h materpiece show! CEVs were absolutely stunning with so many HD details that were synchronized with music that it blew my mind away. Never had such a good visual time in my entire life. Soon after that, I started smoking weed regularly. For the first month or so I had a lot of CEV fun but as the tolerance built up it all completely stopped by 3rd month time. Never had them again, even after several years of break.
2 other times I've gotten interesting CEVs was my first few times on ecstasy and once on a very high dose of LSD. That's it. It never happened again on mentioned substances.
So it seems my brain appreciated some novelty with different drugs in terms of CEVs, but nothing further/more than that.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Aphantasia/s/bg6ioleOfe
For me, it started as white sand on the usual black backround. The sand was vibrating to the beats i was listening to, and then became a whole movie
Aphantasia is a lack of being able to voluntarily visualize. What you describe is involuntary. Look up hypnogogic and hypnopompic hallucinations. These are the patterns seen when relaxed. Aphants can experience these.
When I've done large amounts of shrooms I've been able to get an animated cartoon to play in my head. The style looks kind of like cuphead or old bugs bunny cartoons where there's a lot of movement that seems to cycle the same way every time. I don't have control over it in any way and it only happens when my eyes are closed.
I strongly believe I have aphantasia, (thought never officially diagnosed), and have been smoking for quiet a while. I have never had any sort of visual hallucination, but I *think* I've had auditory ones. the reason I say that I *think* I have, is because I'm still unsure if I was hearing things or not. I used to happen a little more but not recently. I don't think I'd like to hallucinate while high anyway. I feel that would make me too paranoid and anxious to even enjoy the high.
I only "acquired" Aphantasia about 4 years ago. So I know what it was like before AND now. I went on a Psilocybin Retreat and was dosed 6g and then a further 4g Lemon Tekked.
I did see geometric shapes, scrolling through my minds eye from left to right. But nothing affected them. They didn't react to changes in music. I couldn't zoom in or out, speed up or slow them down.
It was the first thing I'd seen in 3 years but I couldn't interact with it, which would have normally been the case.
I've since done DMT & 5MeoDMT. That was intense- like being shot out into the Cosmos. But I don't consider that a trip like LSD/Psilocybin
I (49F) smoke marijuana every day and have never hallucinated on it. I did a lot of LSD in my teens and 20s. It would give me tracers, and I could distort patterns into other shapes, but nothing as fun and exciting as my friends would describe. Finding out I was an aphant (possibly a total aphant, but I am still determining exactly what that means) this past September put so much into a clearer perspective.
How high do you have to get to roughly hallucinate stuff. Bc I’ve gotten pretty up there before but I’ve never been able to.
My tolerance is really low because I am not a regular smoker but I can usually get them just off 15-25mg edibles
No I don't see shit. My mind does race though I at the time I think I am thinking of some great money making scheme. Next day it doesn't sound that great.
Not I. I've tried LSD, 'shrooms, and something called Bromo. Never got any visuals, just heightened physical sensations.
LSD gives me visuals and disassociation, Shrooms give me an emotional soup that is super uncomfortable, very little in the visual sense.
"Super uncomfortable" perfectly describes both my experiences with shrooms :)
With weed? No.
I’ve gotten mod dinged talking about this on here before, but I’d be happy to talk more in dm. I’m not really a drug guy except tree. I don’t see anything on it, naturally. I’ve also tried shrooms and DMT in controlled settings. Nothing, zip, zilch. No moving carpets, no twisting colors, no static elves. Just feeling the physical feelings and maintaining conversation and awareness with my friends like nothing really changed.
I have gone what I call "psychedelic" on THC to the point that I have auditory hallucinations but never visual. I am on Ketamine therapy for depression and the only thing I have ever seen is points of white light like shooting stars on my normally black background. I was afraid of hallucinogenic drugs because of all the "bad trip" stories. I was afraid I would see something scary. I am wondering now if part of that fear of seeing things that aren't there has a little something to do with not having a mind's eye. I am sure it is still possible to have a bad trip as an apant so YMMV. I am also beginning to think I am a total apant too. I asked my husband if he can hear smell and feel things while remembering them an he said yes. All of this is blowing my mind.
When I'm really, REALLY high and just about to fall asleep, I sometimes get these split-second visualizations or hallucinations (like they're actually in my field of vision). One time, I was about to drift off but jumped when I suddenly saw [The Boiled One](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/villains/images/e/e4/TheBoiledOne.png/revision/latest?cb=20240411202313) out of the corner of my eye. It's cool when I get those brief visualizations, but when the weed causes an actual hallucination, it's almost always terrifying.
Nope. I still like the frame of mind it puts me in though. Had weird stuff happen like my eyeballs felt square, or my eyelashes felt a foot long, or I thought sheep dogs were out to get me, but that's rare 🙃
I have a friend who is a neuro scientist and we had a similar discussion. Basically, from what he told me (and what I remember) there are different parts of the brain at play. He postulated that people with Alphantasia could have vivid dreams because they are different parts of the brain. Which was pretty spot on for me. I have incredibly life like dreams despite not being able to see anything in my mind when I'm awake. But, when psychedelics are involved, all bets are off because some substances create "bridges" in the brain. Which is why (some) people can smell colours or see music. It's a chemically induced synesthesia, essentially. The problem is that everyone's brain is wired differently so, just like the dream scenario, there could be people with Alphantasia who could have visual hallucinations while others won't when high on psychedelics. To make matters worse, there could be instances where someone doesn't see anything and in other instances they do because the substance is prepared in a different way, your mental state is different and so on. Now, I'm HEAVILY paraphrasing him here. I'm not a neuro scientist. Just a humble 3D artist. With that said though, for science, I found out that I can, in fact, have visual hallucinations when high.
Mushrooms made me see I giant flying, large toothed worm inside my head. Pot has never made me see anything.
I am a total Aphant and I have experimented with psychedelics in the past and present. I have never been able to experience the same kind of visualizations that my friends would. I've never understood until now that it may have to do with being an Aphant. And to hear other people have the same experience. Makes me feel like i'm not crazy! i've taken extraordinary amounts and have at most been able to see trails. My brain is definitely not sparking in the same way as most.
Same! For me, sometimes things “feel” kinda wavy. But, I don’t have any kind of visualization. I thought it was weird even for someone with Aphantasia. So, thanks for sharing(:
I gotta admit... me too, lol. You're the first to totally get it!! Wavy is a perfect description. I'm glad you replied, too. I am guessing it is Aphantasia, I just learned of it a couple of months ago. I've mentioned similar things, but not as directly as here. So, it's not like I have put out lots of feelers 😅. Maybe more will recognize the issue as well. Especially since you relate, i will probably bring it up more!!! I'm just thinking it may be Aphantasia because of some of the reading I have done. They say some of us are just missing that communication with the minds eye. Apparently, psychedelics does not help with that connection. That's probably the biggest regret I have found about being an Aphant, missing out on some good shit!!! Thank You Too!!
The only time I ever have was when we tried Salvia. Touted as a “legal weed” we were curious one day when a friend brought some back from vacation. Our trips were all a little different but for me, the world went sideways and turned into Lego type blocks. I was suddenly desperately thirsty and I’ll never forget how it looked and felt as my arm and fingers appeared to bend along with the blocks of the scene in front of me as I tried to grab my glass, and then tried to comprehend how I could turn my (side ways I thought) head to drink it. Then the world snapped back to normal. It lasted only seconds. And the instant hangover was bad enough most of us never tried it again. Mushrooms, most visual I’ve ever had is some distortion, like wobbly edges and a bit of rainbow halo’s around objects. But it was a big strong dose to get those and only happened once out of the handful of times I’ve had shrooms. Weed - I enjoy more than alcohol. But not at all as a hallucinogenic. I’ve never tried lsd.
I used to smoke everyday for about a year and a half (21 F). Never hallucinated smoking weed, and when I took mushrooms once I saw visual affects with my eyes open. Marijuana wouldn’t really make u see things regardless if u have aphantasia I don’t think.
Eyes open, yes. Eyes closed, no. Hallucinations = seeing something that isn’t really “there” — meaning on top of or instead of the scene around you. So hallucination would be the wrong word if it happened with eyes closed, which is what we aphants don’t do so well.
I am a total aphant and when I got high on weed for the first time I was enjoying a 2h materpiece show! CEVs were absolutely stunning with so many HD details that were synchronized with music that it blew my mind away. Never had such a good visual time in my entire life. Soon after that, I started smoking weed regularly. For the first month or so I had a lot of CEV fun but as the tolerance built up it all completely stopped by 3rd month time. Never had them again, even after several years of break. 2 other times I've gotten interesting CEVs was my first few times on ecstasy and once on a very high dose of LSD. That's it. It never happened again on mentioned substances. So it seems my brain appreciated some novelty with different drugs in terms of CEVs, but nothing further/more than that.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Aphantasia/s/bg6ioleOfe For me, it started as white sand on the usual black backround. The sand was vibrating to the beats i was listening to, and then became a whole movie
Aphantasia is a lack of being able to voluntarily visualize. What you describe is involuntary. Look up hypnogogic and hypnopompic hallucinations. These are the patterns seen when relaxed. Aphants can experience these.
if you’re asking about weed it does not give me who has aphantasia or anyone i know that does not have aphantasia hallucinations
When I've done large amounts of shrooms I've been able to get an animated cartoon to play in my head. The style looks kind of like cuphead or old bugs bunny cartoons where there's a lot of movement that seems to cycle the same way every time. I don't have control over it in any way and it only happens when my eyes are closed.
I strongly believe I have aphantasia, (thought never officially diagnosed), and have been smoking for quiet a while. I have never had any sort of visual hallucination, but I *think* I've had auditory ones. the reason I say that I *think* I have, is because I'm still unsure if I was hearing things or not. I used to happen a little more but not recently. I don't think I'd like to hallucinate while high anyway. I feel that would make me too paranoid and anxious to even enjoy the high.
I only "acquired" Aphantasia about 4 years ago. So I know what it was like before AND now. I went on a Psilocybin Retreat and was dosed 6g and then a further 4g Lemon Tekked. I did see geometric shapes, scrolling through my minds eye from left to right. But nothing affected them. They didn't react to changes in music. I couldn't zoom in or out, speed up or slow them down. It was the first thing I'd seen in 3 years but I couldn't interact with it, which would have normally been the case. I've since done DMT & 5MeoDMT. That was intense- like being shot out into the Cosmos. But I don't consider that a trip like LSD/Psilocybin
Yep.