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Aphantasia and Hypnotism?
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this post was submitted on 14 Mar 2026
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I’m a therapist and also trained in hypnotherapy. It is possible or but harder IMO. I just tell people to “pretend” instead of “visualize.”
“Pretend you are standing at the top of a staircase” is something most people can do even if they don’t get a visual. It’s “a felt sense.”
You can do this test: if you pretend or imagine to bite into a lemon, do you start to salivate a bit even if you can’t see it in your mind’s eye? If yes, you can be hypnotized. If no, doesn’t mean you can’t, but it means there will be extra work.
As an aphant I cannot begin to imagine salivating by thinking of biting a lemon.
I believe some aphants can have smell and taste memories since it only has to do with a lack of visual imagine. Just like some cannot hear inner speech.
I cannot say it's impossible but I've never believed in hypnotizism.
I think a lot of people misunderstand hypnosis. It’s just putting your brain in a relaxed state (theta waves) that you normally experience when you sleep and dream. If you experience that state when you are asleep, you can also experience it awake. It’s just a matter of finding the right relaxation technique.
One thing I didn’t mention in my comment is that for people who struggle to visualize, we just do a progressive muscle relaxation induction rather than a visualization. No need to imagine anything.
I'll be the first to admit that I don't fully understand hypnosis.
I don't really dream that much. I normally fall asleep and then just wake up. I've had dreams before and I can't say that I saw images or not. I want to say that I did see images because I would describe them as being very vivid and real like almost like I was experiencing it rather than just thinking. But when I wake up I cannot recall any of the images but know how the things in the dream looked and would recall them like I saw something in the real world.
But if my muscles are relaxed how is that supposed to put my brain in a relaxed state?