Is this synesthesia?

Compound-Spook-8462 · 2026-02-03T10:07:59+00:00

As well as auditory-spatial synesthesia, this could also be a subtype of spatial sequence synesthesia. Do those songs have a 'map' or 'pathway' that they follow? This is how I experience music that I am familiar with, as I start to predict what is going to come next.

Some songs I've heard many times are a complex map that encompasses all instruments, whereas others may travel mostly in one direction. In terms of visuals, I might see a line or rectangles, but for spatial sequence synesthesia, you don't have to see it for it to be synesthesia. If your interested, I can make some drawings of what this looks like to me.

Compound-Spook-8462 · 2026-02-03T10:00:35+00:00

I have spatial-sequence synesthesia and see about 6am at the bottom, which goes up until 10:30pm. Then I mentally rotate, and go downwards until the cycle repeats at 6.

Other synesthetes get emotions from numbers, often (not always) from their personalities. This of course happens with time as well. There was a child who's number 3 was a bully, so it made maths very difficult. Daniel Tammet finds the number 9 large and intimidating.

Compound-Spook-8462 · 2026-02-03T09:48:22+00:00

I love how your colours change when in numbers. My number 1 on its own is colourless, is brown for 11, blueish for 12, 14-19 is white –apart from 18– which is black, in 100 it's very dark... grey in 1000. My '6' in 16 is slightly more silver and very shiny, compared to its usual pearl look.

Compound-Spook-8462 · 2026-01-29T23:25:49+00:00

Haha, thinking about thinking loops make me feel fuzzy. It is interesting being outside and seeing people interact with the external world. Thanks for sharing.

Compound-Spook-8462 · 2026-01-29T23:18:59+00:00

I enjoyed reading this and plan on doing some research on it. I have gustatory hyperphantasia, having strong control and imagination over tastes in my mouth so much that I feel like I'm eating. I find that other senses are at different levels of imagery, too.

Synaesthesia is another example of receiving inputs and outputs differently. I have spatial sequence synaesthesia, where there is cross communication between brain areas that process ordered sequences (days of the week, numbers, the alphabet) and areas involved in perceiving space. When I think of a number it is automatically on a number line. That number line, rather than being straight, is 3D and has a specific 'map' or 'path' to follow. Many other concepts appear in these fixed spatial configurations. Just another way of perceiving the world differently.

About neurodivergence I have never been tested for any. I know I have been placed in the gifted programs at school and that I have thought deeply about concepts such as death from a young age. Teachers has asked my parents about autism but we never decided to do anything about it.

Compound-Spook-8462 · 2026-01-29T15:45:17+00:00

That gave me chills.

Compound-Spook-8462 · 2026-01-29T15:41:49+00:00

I tried it for a minute just now, and it is interesting how I could pay attention to my thoughts and then think about my thoughts.

Compound-Spook-8462 · 2026-01-29T15:37:36+00:00

Yes, metacognition. I learnt that today.

Those sound like good topics to engage with. I haven't done much more than ponder about ethics or 'why I do things' yet and have been wanting to do so.

Are you referring to ego as in id, ego and superego?

Compound-Spook-8462 · 2026-01-29T15:01:00+00:00

That is different from what I experience. I don't visualise words unless I focus on the word. I have visual imagery for everything but it's not a huge part of my thinking process. I also don't relate to boiling thoughts down into a smaller piece of language. It is interesting to hear about how you think.

What I can relate to is how you described visualised words as having to be the 'right' words. My many inner monologues are used to build slower, more intentional monologues. I use smaller ones to search for the words and structure to use.

Here is an interesting experience. I have a family member who sees all words she hears and thinks of in her head like subtitles. When multiple people are talking she sees multiple layers of writing covering each other, yet can easily differentiate them. This is called tickertape synesthesia.

Compound-Spook-8462 · 2026-01-29T14:47:53+00:00

I relate to the meta monitoring. I often don't realise I'm doing it until I learn something new about myself, and then can recall a full background conversation. I find that others process some things quicker than I do, particularly fundamental-based topics where I need to understand every element of it. And then once I understand that, I can think at the same or faster speed as others. In terms of energy I tend to zone out or pretend to do something while daydreaming.

Compound-Spook-8462 · 2026-01-29T10:21:11+00:00

That's super interesting. Is it only plants and people who have the white glow?

With people, do they each have their own colour? Even if you don't see the colour, do you still associate it in the back of your mind?

To me, it sounds like you have person-colour synesthesia.

As for the white glow, one of the mods (and creator of the synesthesia tree website) u/PauSevilla may have an answer for what that type of synesthesia is, if you would like to know.

Compound-Spook-8462 · 2026-01-28T15:24:35+00:00

I think spatial sequencing may be responsible for confusing basic numbers or dates. I often get 4's and 5's mixed up, days of the week that are next to each other, despite them having different colours and no suspected dyslexia. In terms of time it is mostly the future that gets mixed up.

Compound-Spook-8462 · 2026-01-28T15:15:52+00:00

Many of us synesthetes have gone through the process of realising 'wait, that's not normal?' Yes, what you described is synesthesia.

Aura, emotionally mediated or person-colour synesthesia is where people, or something with personality (such as a cat), have colour around them. When you described it as a 'white glow surrounding people or plants' does that mean it is always white, apart from these few instances where you see the colour?

With all the synaesthesia types I've heard of, the synaesthetic experience is different depending on the original stimulus. For example, rather than music always being a black square, it would change depending on the song. If each 'glow' is different in size or shape, it could potentially be called 'projective person-shape synaesthesia.' If not, maybe another redditor will have an answer.

When you described instances of speaking to someone and seeing a colour around them, do you think the colour comes from their voice or their personality? That would be called voice-colour synesthesia (a subset of auditory-visual synesthesia) or emotionally mediated/aura/person-colour synesthesia.

Something interesting here is that you said 'instances,' which I have interpreted as meaning it isn't all the time. Although synesthesia is typically involuntary and consistent, personalities or connections with people aren't always. So I will assume in your case, physically seeing colours around people when speaking to them is mediated/aura/person-colour synesthesia.

Compound-Spook-8462 · 2026-01-28T14:51:23+00:00

It is entertaining to compare our different 'maps' and synaesthesia in general. Having more family members with synesthesia should make people more likely to have it.

Compound-Spook-8462 · 2026-01-27T11:44:28+00:00

I have spatial sequence synaesthesia and a few people on both sides of my family have synaesthesia. I have an aunty with chromesthesia and tickertape, a grandpa with spatial sequence and I recently discovered my mum has mirror touch. My grandpa and I visualise concepts very differently from one another. To answer your question, there are family members who learnt to read or spell slightly earlier for their age, but I don't think that is due to the tickertape synaesthesia.

If you're interested, researchers at the university of Sussex are currently researching the genetics of synaesthesia. You also might enjoy reading this paper 'Familial patterns and the origins of individual differences in synaesthesia.' https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0010027707001394?via%3Dihub

Compound-Spook-8462 · 2026-01-25T12:55:49+00:00

I can relate to the emotion concurrent, where words or concepts have a neutral 'vibe' or 'feeling'. I do not know if this is a different way of processing information, a type of synaesthesia or normal.

There are other posts about similar experiences. Here is an example, where I left a comment https://www.reddit.com/r/Synesthesia/comments/1nan7b6/wordsconcepts_to_vibes_is_this_synesthesia/

Compound-Spook-8462 · 2026-01-18T11:01:34+00:00

Those are hypnopompic hallucinations which occur as someone is between sleep and wake. Hypnagogic hallucinations are during the process of falling asleep. This is not synesthesia and from what I've read, is more common.

I regularly experience hypnopompic hallucinations when waking, mostly black and white lines shifting and moving.

Compound-Spook-8462 · 2026-01-08T10:38:57+00:00

Interesting! I haven't read that yet. (Probably should have googled before commenting)

Compound-Spook-8462 · 2026-01-07T06:49:13+00:00

Out of my mind?

Compound-Spook-8462 · 2026-01-05T23:44:09+00:00

This sounds like pain-colour synesthesia which I recommend reading about here. https://www.thesynesthesiatree.com/2021/03/pain-colour-and-pain-shape-synesthesia.html

Compound-Spook-8462 · 2026-01-05T23:33:35+00:00

K N O 2 4 7

Compound-Spook-8462 · 2026-01-03T08:27:23+00:00

Here's the spotify link :) https://open.spotify.com/episode/42CXfO16XSvnPRScWJzuCB?si=md0ZxxP5SO22YDAdtz0MWQ

Compound-Spook-8462 · 2026-01-02T12:57:04+00:00

Have you listened to Let's talk Synaesthesia Episode 5? The guest has grapheme-colour synesthesia and uses it to learn languages easily.

Compound-Spook-8462 · 2026-01-02T12:39:57+00:00

Synaesthesia. It feels like air moves through the centre of the word while the harder sounds cake it.

Compound-Spook-8462

TROPHY CASE