# Synesthesia: Don't most people have some form of it? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 13, 2017, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/synesthesia-dont-most-people-have-some-form-of-it/788891 "2017-06-13T19:36:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2017, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/synesthesia-dont-most-people-have-some-form-of-it/788891/41 "2017-06-14T14:40:54Z")
“Synesthesia: Don’t most people have some form of it?” Ah, no. Not really. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2017, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/synesthesia-dont-most-people-have-some-form-of-it/788891/42 "2017-06-14T14:59:38Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > Think about it: you’re just seeing markings right now, yet they’re (probably) accompanied by hearing a voice in your mind. > And that symbols -\> voices thing is absolutely a hard-wired thing in your brain now; it’s not purely conscious, that would be far too slow. That’s a whole nother issue we’ve had [threads](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=563069) about. 🙂 Some people hear the words in their mind when they read; some don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2017, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/synesthesia-dont-most-people-have-some-form-of-it/788891/43 "2017-06-14T15:01:02Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > Sounds like perfectly normal sound-\>color synesthesia to me. Welcome to the club. No, because it’s not sound. Just chord shapes. It’s just when I play something. If I listen to a song, or other music, that I have no idea how to play, nothing happens. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2017, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/synesthesia-dont-most-people-have-some-form-of-it/788891/44 "2017-06-14T16:50:40Z")
I guess I have a slight case; I do cross associate things but it’s so automatic as to be almost unnoticeable. Misophonia on the other hand kicks my ass. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2017, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/synesthesia-dont-most-people-have-some-form-of-it/788891/45 "2017-06-14T17:15:31Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > That’s a whole nother issue we’ve had [threads](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=563069) about. 🙂 Some people hear the words in their mind when they read; some don’t. I know. That’s why I said probably; an internal narrator seems to be more common. Anyway, let’s just say _some_ people then. ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2017, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/synesthesia-dont-most-people-have-some-form-of-it/788891/46 "2017-06-14T17:37:09Z")
> [@Cyros](#): > > It is not so hard to understand. We tend to think of ourselves as normal and that most everyone’s experience is comparable to our own. Hell, until I saw an article on aphantasia I thought that “picture it in your head” was just an expression and that people did not actually picture things in their heads because I don’t. I never have and I thought that was normal. Turns out that I’m the abnormal one. Who knew? > > Edit to add, I have no trace of synesthesia although my 11 year old claims to have strong associations of colour to her numbers (6 is purple). Exactly, Cyros. I’ve never\* not\* seen the world this way, and until relatively recently I didn’t know synesthesia was considered a medical-ish condition and not how most people see the world. I think ideasynthesia more closely matches my visualizing/connectivity patterns. I don’t actually see letters, numbers, colors, etc floating around like hallucinations, it’s just a deep inner sense of “how things are.” I think I’m a voracious reader because I translate text into very vivid and entertaining inner scenarios. Because a few have mentioned seizures: I had three grand mal seizures in one night a few years ago and experienced hallucinations for about 48 hours post-ictal; the manifestations were euphoric, sometimes scary, and the only time in my life I felt the presence of God. (PSA: Tramadol is Satan’s own drug. It really can cause seizures, thanks be that I haven’t had any since stopping the drug). ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2017, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/synesthesia-dont-most-people-have-some-form-of-it/788891/47 "2017-06-14T17:42:29Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > I guess I have a slight case; I do cross associate things but it’s so automatic as to be almost unnoticeable. Misophonia on the other hand kicks my ass. From what I’ve read, misophonia is awful ☹ does anything help with it? ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2017, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/synesthesia-dont-most-people-have-some-form-of-it/788891/48 "2017-06-14T18:20:25Z")
No, The closest I come is things like thinking of certain states as being certain colors. But I know that’s from a “50 states puzzle” that I had when I was little where each state was a different color. I have a couple of other strong associations between senses, but they’re based in experiences and memories. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2017, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/synesthesia-dont-most-people-have-some-form-of-it/788891/49 "2017-06-14T19:11:01Z")
> [@Jennshark](#): > > From what I’ve read, misophonia is awful ☹ does anything help with it? Not really ☹ The best I can do is have music on at my desk and try to concentrate on it. It really is tiring feeling like you constantly want to punch people who you otherwise have no problem with. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2017, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/synesthesia-dont-most-people-have-some-form-of-it/788891/50 "2017-06-14T19:20:05Z")
I have some form of synesthesia, but it has nothing to do with colors. It is how I view numbers on a zig zag line going different 3 dimensional directions. Mine started in 1st grade. ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2017, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/synesthesia-dont-most-people-have-some-form-of-it/788891/51 "2017-06-14T19:53:38Z")
I taste some words and see certain sounds. I’ve done that since I can remember. I also have a seizure disorder, but that only developed in my 20s and I haven’t had a seizure since 2008, but still have the synesthesia. I see it as more or less a wiring anomaly, one that I don’t mind at all. One thing that’s always perplexed me is whether my synesthesia meant that I was more predisposed to having a seizure disorder develop in the first place or whether it has nothing to do with anything at all. What’s interesting is that when I do have a seizure, I completely lose my sense of taste, smell and color for about 3 days, maybe because it takes that long for the neurons to repair themselves? For some other reason? I also lose my ability to feel emotions, which scares me way more than tasting words and seeing sounds ever could. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/synesthesia-dont-most-people-have-some-form-of-it/788891.md?page=2)