Gail Batman

Hi Charlie Yes this resonates with me too.  I feel like I am missing tangible memories of lost loved ones.  But if I really sit down and think about the person, I realise I do have memories, it is just that they don't come with images or sounds.  Looking though old photos also helps a lot to trigger memories. So now I am now making a concerted effort to take lots of photos of people and places .  I see this akin to a useful tool or prosthesis like a hearing aid or eye glasses that help overcome a deficit.    

It may just be that aphantasics have less stimuli, so it is harder to get an emotional response.  Apparently others can "see, hear and smell" related images etc. when interacting with people in an emotional way, which naturally amplifies the emotional response compared to those of us who don't.