Madalyn Blackshear

Hi, I'm also an INFJ with aphantasia! I struggle with this as well. Sometimes I feel like I'm going crazy and have described it to a counselor as feeling like my brain is on fire. It's like I want to be in my inner world, but there's nothing there, so I either repeat the same phrases over and over again in my mind (makes me feel crazy), totally blank out/stare at a wall, or pace around trying to release my nervous energy that gets built up from a lack of stimulation. People often ask me what I'm thinking about, I guess because they assume I have a lot on my mind with how quiet I am, but I never seem to have a reply to that question. I'm not thinking about anything. Sometimes it makes me feel stupid that I don't have a lot going on in my mind, but I know I'm an intelligent person when I have something to work on. Hopefully that wasn't too off topic. When it comes to being present, that has taken a lot of practice, and I still fail often. I've been to lots of counseling and therapy for clinical anxiety, so I've learned to focus on the now through things like "grounding techniques" where you list 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 you can hear, 2 you can smell, and 1 you can taste. I guess you can always adjust the numbers and factors depending on your surroundings, but the general idea is to bring your attention to your surroundings. Hope this helps!