brenda
Message 1 of 1
I think I experience some form of synesthesia but I'm not sure. Is there anyone who can help me? I don't taste shapes or smell colors which seems to be what is most commonly described. Instead, when a word, most commonly a person's name is said, an immediate and usually unrelated, very detailed image pops into my mind. It is always the same image for the same word/ name......no matter how many years later someone may try to test me or trick me. When I first mentioned what occurs in my mind at work (thinking that everybody does it) all my fellow employees thought I was joking or insane. Many times they have tested me only to be surprised at how my responses are always the same. Some examples of what I see in my mind's eye are.... "Mike" = the white plastic grips on a bicycles handle bars. They are slightyly dirty. "Steve" = blonde hairy legs on a man. "Barbara" = a turd in a toilet "Dave" = a brown leather wallet. "Doug" = a brown plug not yet inserted into the outlet. "Lisa" = a maple leaf with mayonnaise on it. It's still connected to the tree. "and" = a close-up view of a piece of torn corrugated cardboard "abruptly" = a rubber clam shaped white and green and with a small amount of red bathtub toy. "think" = a skinny red rubberband. "to" = a flame above a candlestick "too" = baked beans "two"= dried cocoa puffs. I could go on and on. I don't always get an image from every single word or name said. Sometimes there's nothing for some words and somethimes there's a vague or muted image for other words which of course always remains consistent. Sometimes it's just an indescribable feeling connected with an indefinable image for some names....but this again always will remain consistant and stable. Sometimes some words or names have 2 or 3 images attached...such as my name--"Brenda" = a large hard pretzel with large salt crystals attached -or- long fingernails with bright red shiny nail polish. A few other examples.... "Carol" = grated orange carrot peels "Karen" = one single carrot unwashed, unpeeled and without the green leaf top. Do I just have a vivid imagination or do I experience synesthesia? Oh yeah, I don't believe I see these images when reading, only upon hearing the words. And I think the images can be overridden when I'm distracted, busy or involved,but I never actually challenged this since it seems to be such a natural and flowing process in my mind. Thanks