Mark Songi

I am sorry you had those experiences. Yes it must be weird to have visual (and auditory hallucinations all the time) I had wondered if aphantisia could be triggered as a defence to traumatic events but cant find anything to support that hypothesis.

I would say my aphanatasia lets me live in the moment with things being out of site being out of mind. I am not sure if your concern is "feeling like a horrible person" which i assume you are not - or you probably wouldn't be asking the question. Or if you wanted to keep the connection going, for their sake as much as yours? Does it make it easier to look at photos to make the connection in your mind? I find I even have to put calls  or I would go weeks or months without calling!

I wonder if "sighted" people draw what they see although that is impossible for me to imagine? I have to construct the bicycle bit by bit - wheel, spokes, tyres, derailleur if its geared (of course now I'll need to do a cage and the jockey wheels), cassette, chain oh forgot the brakes etc. I expect I would be able to get the details right because I construct it from a list of parts?