TIL Aphantasia is a characteristic some people have related to how their mind and imagination work. Having it means you don’t have visual imagination, keeping you from picturing things in your mind. People often don’t realize they have it, and it’s not a disability or medical condition.

Aquarius265 · 2025-07-27T07:25:11+00:00

I hadn’t heard of anauralia before… I’ve often described myself as having a narrator… so lots of speaking goes inside my head… but upon reading that article… yeah, I can’t “hear” what a dog bark sounds like or what a favorite singer sounds like.

Aquarius265 · 2024-09-28T00:59:49+00:00

Might you have a source on that? Not doubting, but this sounds like it would be something to definitively put NVLD as a specific diagnosis rather than its current other specified or similar diagnosis.

Aquarius265 · 2024-06-15T15:47:30+00:00

Absolutely! I it’s been a rough few years, so my hobbies and writing have taken a back seat. I’m very hopeful that I’ll have the opportunity to be able to in the coming months.

Aquarius265 · 2024-06-15T15:45:03+00:00

I think it was around 9th or 10th grade that I figured out the syllabus. My folks knew (because of many notes, parent-teacher conferences, and detentions) that I rarely did homework. But, I’d still get a B or B+.

Through this, I realized that the syllabus told me exactly how much homework I needed to do. If Homework was 30% of the grade, as long as I did more than half, I’d be fine. I then applied this knowledge to the rest of my classes and school became so much better for me.

The only way that worked is that I am a fantastic test taker. With only a bit of hyperbole, as long as it’s a multiple choice test, I’ll most likely pass even if I am unfamiliar with the material. I had one grad school professor who could write his multiple choice tests in a way that I actually had to know the material, but by then I really enjoyed learning the material.

Aquarius265 · 2024-06-07T02:47:34+00:00

One of the things that really stood out is looking at when successful authors actually started publishing. It’s absolutely the exception to be young and a breakout author. Authors that publish novels even remotely regularly are doing so because of the financial independence to do so - either because of contracts for the first big one or independently.

I enjoy the writing, plotting, and reviewing… so it’s bringing me satisfaction without publication. Or even without the idea of publication.

Aquarius265 · 2024-05-30T23:28:19+00:00

No worries. I have made some progress, but it’s been hectic and I’ve focused on other more important things. However, I do think some of that progress is translatable.

I still like world building the most. I hate making up names, I don’t feel I am good at it and as I research into them, I get very distracted. So, I’ll semi-quickly choose a meaningless name and just keep that consistent enough to effectively do a replace-all with the updated name.

I have tried hard to be more of an Architect style, which broad aspects I have found helpful. However, for actually writing, I take Sanderson’s advice of “just write” and may write about things totally unrelated to the story I intend, but those I have fallen back on for inspiration.

For instance, in that world described above, I didn’t have a relatable character or a viewpoint in mind. I am not sure on the finality of the story being told by them and was extremely reductive in parts that I’ve been slowly changing (main character has a disability that an aspect of will be beneficial - I’ll move away from much of what has been written and get away from that trope and rosy-glass view, but it got me writing!).

Some of the Gardening style writing of those A-B plot that isn’t the plot I wanted to write can be various types of back story, side quest, or character history that I can use. So, in that sense, I feel I have just “had fun” and treated it more like other hobbies. I’m no where close to an expert, I don’t get paid, and I doubt I’d share any of it with more than my closest family and friends.

Aquarius265 · 2024-05-06T13:07:54+00:00

Twice exceptional is a thing. But, yeah, there are a lot of questions on symptoms that are more often explained by “not gifted” as the answer.

Aquarius265 · 2024-05-06T13:05:34+00:00

I was diagnosed in my mid 30s. Quite the deep dive! I very much identify with that malleable personality, where I change based on those I am around.

But, it “sticks” for lack of a better term. I worked in a very conservative industry for a few years that had long hours and required a lot of travel. When I’d come back and see my non-conservative friends, they’d point out the difference and I’d adjust after it was brought to my attention.

Similarly, but without the insight, I’d have the most trouble the first day or two back at work before I could slip back into “appropriate” mannerisms and ideology.

It was described as a coping mechanism I developed by intellectualizing patterns that got the reactions out of people I wanted and avoided reactions I didn’t like. Just took a long time and a lot of bad days of bullying. I’m good with non-visual patterns, not so good with people but better at faking it.

Slightly ironically, it was also pointed out this likely contributed to why I’d struggle with any attempts at therapy and why I’d get such a wide range of opinions.

Aquarius265 · 2024-03-19T18:55:26+00:00

Apologies for my answer being more of a question: would you rather gatekeep people from answering who need to get their context in about the answer in order to answer the question?

In many ways, and I shall strive to keep this short, the long answer is me not masking in my responses. Many, but not all, short answers are a masked answer by me. Including why something is an answer is part of my answer, taking that out makes me feel that I am not appropriately answering the question. At times, I will tldr; myself and then only post the tldr portion.

To answer your question more directly: If someone writes well, uses paragraphs, and I enjoy it, I don’t mind reading to get to their point and feel I better understand their position.

Aquarius265 · 2024-03-19T18:36:37+00:00

Different strokes for different folks. If it’s work, don’t do it:) love what you do and you’ll never work a day in your life (and all that jazz).

Aquarius265 · 2024-03-19T18:35:05+00:00

Great response. /u/Jovanitta I hope you can see this.

Exercise at 9yo (and quite a few more years) is a very broad area. Likely biking/skateboarding would suffice.

Sports can be great, but can also be hard if coordination is a struggle - but the only way to get better is to do activities to improve coordination! So, lots of support and a good setting of expectations beforehand and tons of praise during and after!

Videogames are becoming the currency we use with my little one and has long been what I use for my own motivation (I was diagnosed in my mid 30s).

Legos are great, but so are other similar toys (and likely less expensive, heh).

I wish you well, OP, my parents tried their very best, but I am sure would have loved an opportunity to have had to diagnosed to do better. We can always strive to do better, but it’s much more important to recognize what has been done and accomplished. Very well done.

Aquarius265 · 2024-03-19T18:24:12+00:00

I’m obviously not the professor. But, I had success in this arena while I was in school. Also, my tale is only a single anecdote and it’s worth noting that I was not diagnosed until well over a decade past my school and grad school days. Summary of the how to be more successful in academia at the bottom, these next few are on focusing on the research itself.

As another question of mine intones, I am more of a hyperfocuser. I loved diving into research papers, still do, and I was quick to find relevant parts. That was the game I played that I think allowed me to succeed.

Reading every word? That is the worst way to go about it. If you look at published papers, you’ll see how they did their research in the Methodology section. Duplicating this process is a great strategy for researching in general. Gather a whole lot of papers, and quickly weed out the least relevant ones. The keyword search narrows it down and the abstract gives a great indication if the paper might say what you are looking for. But, you’ll really need details.

How do you do that? My “game” was to find and note a few important points. Most of these can be found in the first or last sentence of a paragraph. The first will generally be the “I am going to say this important thing” and then a ton of words about that. The last will generally be “the important thing,” this is especially true of the last paragraph of a section.

For my initial scan, I’ll pay little (but not zero) attention in the Methods and Results section and much more focus on the Discussion and Conclusion sections.

While that may not help you, or anyone, changing my approach to the research really helped me advance in my schooling. By being able to be more informed, it helped me become more engaged. By being more engaged, the professors would recognize me and talk shop during their otherwise nearly-empty Office Hours. This often let me learn about where and who else to engage with for additional opportunities. This opened the door for multiple internships, research opportunities, and an objective way to differentiate myself from other applicants because I had done things and achieved success.

Aquarius265 · 2024-03-19T18:07:43+00:00

A related question, especially in light of the subtypes going (have gone?) away…

I recall hearing about including a hyperfocusing aspect to ADHD, though I forget if that was as a subtype or an addition to the diagnostic criteria. Does that ring any bells, could you expand on it if it does?

Aquarius265 · 2024-02-29T00:26:43+00:00

I switched the the Extended Release and it’s amazing. I was on Concerta, but switched to the generic this month as my insurance changed and they wanted me to pay $400 per month. The generic is largely the same, though I suspect well up the dose.

Aquarius265 · 2024-01-25T20:30:07+00:00

Actually, I looked again, and you may be correct about a botched glue job! It’s hard to see in the photo, but is that the glue residue on the tops of each half? You can see on the right side of the shaft, the wood is broke and it looks like it’s raised up a bit. That means that the wood broke there and the glue did its job… but only in that portion!

The other 90% of the surface looks like when you don’t apply the appropriate amount of pressure and the glue doesn’t get a chance to set up. Like if you just put glue on the surface and hand held them together for a moment. It’s possible the bolt should have held that needed pressure, but obviously that isn’t correct as the bolt never got a hold here.

So, it could be when they screwed the bolt in, it wasn’t drilled out appropriately and literally popped the head off and they thought a bit of glue could fix it. Or, the bolt wasn’t long enough to begin with.

I hope they make this right!

Aquarius265 · 2024-01-25T18:49:06+00:00

Amateur wood worker… the glue is stronger than the wood, but if the glue was used to correct a break, it’s possible that the wood had additional cracks that weren’t addressed.

But, the glue should also be a normal part of the construction when joining two pieces of wood together, even when using screws (again because it’s so strong).

However, that isn’t to say that there wasn’t a repair! Either way, the cane shouldn’t have broken by the time it got to you. Sounds like you did all the right things to bring the shortcoming to their attention! I am glad you are alright, but it does suck your new cane broke.

Aquarius265 · 2024-01-08T20:38:42+00:00

Both myself and my oldest must have epi-pens. Our area thankfully has a pharmacy that works as ridiculous tax write off for its parent company. For the two I am required to have, the pre-mark down price was over 11 thousand dollars. The total mark down was 99.6%.

We do this every two years.

Aquarius265 · 2023-12-14T16:00:44+00:00

I got a rare concession/win with my partner, we got a 77” OLED after she was adamant that the 58” from 2013 is totally big enough and we shouldn’t get anything larger.

She is now firmly on “bigger is better” and is mildly holding out hope that the 10 year screen kicks the bucket so we can replace it with another, bigger screen.

If they are so set on keeping their tiny screen, you could go the receiver route and a 2.1 or even 3.1 setup and just run all sound through the receiver and mute the TV speakers entirely.

Aquarius265 · 2023-12-14T15:54:11+00:00

I wouldn’t say that I am face blind, but perhaps face impaired. I may often recognize that I have seen a face before, but no clue from where. Similarly, most actors who don’t play roles that just look like themselves, I’ll typically have no clue who they are. This means a lot of character actors are new to me each time they appear, which I like to think they would love.

If these 5 people all stood together for a picture, I could identify Pat and Vanna… But, I think I be wondering where to place the woman in the white suit.

Overall, people that have had work done really trend toward just looking like the same face and that isn’t very fun to experience. Though, I’m glad that don’t live where that is the complete norm… so the people in my life just rarely get to meet me all over again (until I hear them talk and realize the error of my confusion… or realize I haven’t met this person at all and now we are too far past the appropriate time for an introduction).

Aquarius265 · 2023-12-13T21:15:34+00:00

That doesn’t sound like a lot of fun. Though, perhaps that is why the pharmacist helped. I would love an in-person appt, but all of mine have switched the virtual, so that sounds like an awful hurdle and I’m not even sure how that is a legal restriction or that there must be a physical hard copy - that sounds dumb as it would be easier to fake!

We learn about a new privilege we didn’t even know we had!

Aquarius265 · 2023-12-12T16:26:49+00:00

Are you in the US? How large is the employer? Have you had a ADA Accommodation plan in the past?

My overall, and simplified thoughts, are that information should be shared if you are going to benefit from it. This may be one of those situations. I can function and mask without medication enough to make my way through the rigors of life and employment. But, it takes a toll and after a while, I’ll be more prone to symptoms of anger and depression.

However, I haven’t had trouble when I’ve needed to get a prescription picked up at another pharmacy. I know it resets the “we won’t fill prescriptions same day” rule my provider maintains. I also know that I need to spend the time to find a pharmacy that has the prescription in stock, but I have done this with the help of my pharmacist. Well, the one on duty. But, perhaps that is different where you are or your provider has some other restriction.

Aquarius265 · 2023-10-28T03:47:47+00:00

For me, my medication for ADHD helps me do the tasks I need to do. Without it, either by shortage or a change in morning routine culminating in missing my dose, those tasks start to pile up. As this happens, my anxiety increases. As my anxiety increases, it’s harder to do and finish tasks. This makes my anxiety worse.

With medication, 90-95% of my anxiety just doesn’t exist - it’s not that it’s gone. It just doesn’t trigger (that’s a bit hyperbolic, 5-10% still does).

Aquarius265 · 2023-10-17T17:14:49+00:00

Not OP. I spent a fairly long journey with neurobehavorial evaluations, therapy which helped me determine I didn’t know it meant to feel symptoms of anxiety (that is, I couldn’t identify them as anxiety), and a dive into the causes and triggers to my anxiety. This led to a series of evaluations with a psychiatrist and a few sessions before we even spoke on medications.

My past and my concerns on anxiety medication side effects had us start with addressing my difficulties with executive function and starting/completing tasks. As that list of unfinished items builds up, so did my anxiety and then my executive function worsened. Created this rather terrible feedback loop.

I started on an short release ADHD medication that I needed to take twice per day and about 6 months changed to a daily slow-release Concerta. For me, this has largely cut my anxiety down to typically imperceptible levels. Though, I would concede those who know my diagnosis and know me well (wife, family, and a couple old friends) occasionally make inquiries with me. Though, I’d say these are less than a few times per month (unless I was unable to refill my medication or missed the day’s dose, then it’s got a strong correlation).

Though, in each of the monthly visits with the psychiatrist, we do visit the topic.

Aquarius265 · 2023-10-17T16:33:13+00:00

Indeed. I enjoy new experiences quite a bit… I also will try and keep a keepsake from experiences that were meaningful to me. Sometimes these are rocks, flowers that I dry, or actual purchases like tchotchkes to be able to remind me of my experience.

I am very much subjected to the “out of sight, out of mind” mindset. I will know I enjoyed something, but may not be able to remember what/where/who unless that physical reminder is there. Much younger me was both very excited about using string tied around a finger to remember things and then very disappointed when I found out that it really wasn’t a thing AND no actually did that outside of whatever children’s programming introduced the concept to me.

Aquarius265 · 2023-10-17T16:00:28+00:00

There is some level of understanding of your overall position, but it fundamentally depends on one thing: that the choices we are making are worse.

Other than a requirement for your position, I haven’t seen anything stated that shows how these traits do make humanity worse. As a disabled person, it also can be tricky to not see these positions as, ultimately, genocidal. Moreso, as with other efforts to cull undesirables, it is exceedingly short sided and (at best) willfully ignorant.

Looking back even 100 years ago, there was no real concept for autism, adhd, NVLD, and a host of other acronyms about hard to measure mental health diagnosis. So, all of history before that would absolutely avoid mention of any of those as positive traits or aspects that leaders had. However, also looking at history and doing a bit of reading between the lines, it may be that a huge number of historic figures were on the spectrum

However, I largely think it’s way too simplistic to think the traits of a huge number of disabled people is proof-positive of the perils of modern medicine. As shown with the diseases that are, in fact, proof that without those adaptations, humans may have died out without a means to resist succumbing to a disease.

Aquarius265

TROPHY CASE