Getting your Aspergers imagination back

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How do you reclaim your Aspergers imagination after its been dormant for years?
Most people with Aspergers have a vivid imagination as children, and are able to make complex imaginative worlds among other things using this imaginative power.
I'd made some imaginative worlds of myself as well, but now, no matter how hard I try, I am not able to make my imagination wake up. And I desperately want to. Anyone had similar issues with losing access to their imaginative skills after reaching teenage?

i'm in the process of undoing years of coping mechanisms, which is freeing up focus and mental energy,and removing anxiety. im able to imagine things without trying when i dont use these coping mechanisms. it's taking a while but identifying them has been sooooo helpful.

And how are you going about doing that? I want to do that as well, but I have no clue whatsoever as to how I might accomplish that. Just got diagnosed, so there's still a whole lot to explore about Aspergers. I want my imagination back to begin with, and then I can do the other things. But I'm glad I have Aspergers

Imagine a very very detailed painting or picture.

Now imagine a large piece of black card placed over that picture, with small hole cut into it.

Unless you are some kind of savant, this is how your imagination willl operate. Due to the limited processing power of your brain, you will only be able to imagine very small areas of detail at an one time.

Furthermore, if you move the card so that the hole moves to a different part of the picture, you will soon forget what the hole revealed previously due to memory limitations.

What can we learn from this?
We can learn from this that the way to imagine a detailed and vivid fantasy world
1. Is NOT to try and imagine the world as a whole, or to plot out a "big picture" as this will inevitably fail
2. Is NOT to switch rapidly between different aspects of the world, as your memory will not be able to cope with this.
3. Instead, the way to develop a fantasy world is to concentrate on one very small aspect of the world. Concentrate on this aspect enough so that it works its way into your long term memory. Only when that small aspect of the world has been fully intergrated into your imagination can you move on and consider different aspects of the world.

No offense, but I'm no savant and my imagination is nothing like that - I can imagine whole sweeping landscapes with many complex things happening at once. I think this is because I never stopped using my imagination when I got older - I cherished it instead. The OP is right I think that it was lack of use that inhibited that imagination.

Try immersing yourself totally in a fantasy world, say for example Lord of the Rings or even Avatar, then when you are completely immersed start to spread out and imagine what you can add to that world to make it even richer!

I can totally relate to that. My memory is proven to be exellent, but in this respect, - Yes.
One of my music teachers once explained: The difference between "us" and Mozart is, that we, as well as he, can get into a musical flow, where ideas pop up by themselves, but by the upcoming of the next idea, we immediately forget the first.
Mozart could hang on to his and combine them.
That is the nature of musical genius.

Now I am thinking of projects at large: No. 1 is classic for most of us.
I always start different places and when the areas of interest/ideas have spread enough to reach one another, the structure begins to emerge.
By shifting for example between different art forms that lend energy to one another, No.2 can be done, and very fast.
Now to No.3: It is a very slow and limiting way, that works against imagination. That is the way, in which I limited mine.
Imagination must have a flow, so perhaps the best way is to let the flashwise manifestations live their own life and see, what comes up later? (for some of us, - much later!)

Last edited by Jensen on 02 Nov 2013, 8:35 am, edited 2 times in total.

So can you hold a 20 digit number in your head? That is an abstract mathematical landscape with 20 simple things happening at once.

Trying to relate imagination to the ability to memorise a number is simply not relevant! Abstract mathematical landscapes are not something you would even want to picture in your head

Like I said I'm not a savant ! And I don't think in mathematical terms anyway, I'm a visual thinker. When it comes to visual ideas I can hold lots of information in my head, that's part of the reason I'm also a good artist. When I imagine a fantasy town I see dozens of buildings in a certain visual arrangement and that arrangement remains the same until I decide to revise it. When I decide to draw a fantasy landscape I already have the entire picture worked out in my head and know exactly where every element will fit. But I can't hold a number in my head because I an rubbish with number retention.

Different people have different thinking styles some are mathematical, some are visual, some think in words, so applying maths to a visual thinker is pointless!

You could also play a game like World of Warcraft which has amazing landscapes and artwork to explore. It helps me by giving me stuff to dream about (I have reduced REM sleep due to my medication). I used to draw daily and now struggle to color a picture. So it takes some baby steps. Maybe just grab a pack of crayons, go with whatever strikes you no matter what your reaction. I do this with my acrylics and have made some neat paintings from those fledgling starts.

[edited to clarify a cross post]

That just means you haven't learned envision math yet. I often imagine math visually as a way of passing time and stimulating other thoughts. For some some reason I find geometrical visualization suppresses some kind of block that can prevent me from thinking freely--it frees other areas of my imagination.

I find good books and art hugely stimulating to the imagination.

Geometric abstracts, Landscape paintings or fantasy illustration all spark my imagination.

The English painter John Piper is very good, and I love Durer, Rembrandt and Bosch. I also like cheesy fantasy illustration of the Frank Frazetta variety (an interest shared with Saddam Hussein! How unsettling is that?)

Stories are very very good for setting my imagination running. Stanislaw Lem, Susanna Clarke, Patrick O'Brien, C.J. Cherryh-- there are certain writers whose work is like a match touched to the fuel stores of my imagination.

Not only does immersing myself in these things make me happier and activate my own creative imagination, it also gives me more energy for life in general.

I associate lack of imagination with depression. If that's going on, best to treat it.

Last edited by Adamantium on 02 Nov 2013, 10:06 am, edited 1 time in total.

No it just means I don't care enough about maths to visualise it I do respect people who can visualise maths though, it's a wonderful talent, just not one that I have an interest in cultivating.

That said, I do love to find geometry in things though, I love things like fibonacci spirals and golden sections, but only from a visual point of view - I don't bother with the maths behind them For example I can construct golden sections all day, but don't have a clue what the actual number for a golden section is Just as when I walk around, my mind is always finding geometrical relationships in things. But I don't really need maths to do that, just an ability to see

And yes, anything that stimulates the imagination helps it to grow, whether its a painting, a book, a film or even WOW it all helps to stimulate the imagination which in turn sparks your own imagination.

I'd hate to live in a world where I'd lost my imagination - it means too much to me

Just seen your edit - I misunderstood what you meant. But yes I think it is possible to visualise a mathematical landscape with 20 or more numbers if you are good at that sort of thing. A talent I actually do admire even if I don't aspire to it

Many insightful responses on this thread--much appreciated.

I would agree with several points in particular. First, the concept of coping mechanisms inhibiting imagination. High school is an age when many people--not just Aspies--are trying to seem "normal" so if it seems that you lost the ability to be highly imaginative about that time, it might be worth listing some of the coping mechanisms and camouflaging techniques you adopted since then, as well as the childhood habits you shed. Second, I thought the comment about depression is quite relevant and worth investigating, as adult responsibilities often overwhelm Aspies and when you add low self-esteem or feelings of inadequacy and loneliness, chronic depression is often the result. Third, you might look into creativity coaching. Eric Maisel has written a number of books on the subject which are excellent and very relevant to Aspie quirks. I think he also offers online groups for developing creativity. As others have mentioned, there are many approaches to visualization which can aid in developing imagination.

Best of luck--this is of ongoing concern to myself as well because of struggles with recurrent depression.

Just been speaking to my NT wife about this and she says she lost her imagination when she was in her late teens too. She put it down to simply growing up, but I think its a bit more than that - plenty of adults have never lost their imagination - both ASD & NT!

I suspect it is down to under use because you are under pressure to behave like an 'adult' causing your imagination is suppressed by those other thought processes that have taken priority.

I don't believe it is unfixable though, and I also believe that finding your imagination could help with alleviating your depression As someone who teaches art to adults, many of whom have mental health problems I do find that creativity is a good way of helping to cope with those problems as it 'clears' the mind to think more positively.

I suspect that part of it is also down to the conflict between the left / right brain. The left side of the brain, which is responsible for logical thought and language tends to dominate the right side which deals with visual creativity and imagination. It was proven a long time ago that the left brain can actually overpower the right side to the point of creativity being apparently lost. With the right training the right side of the brain can be made stronger, and that I suspect would also help with the imagination problem.

I'm going to have to look up Eric Maisel, he sounds interesting It's also worth reading 'drawing with the right side of the brain' by Betty Edwards, it is a very good book for unlocking your creative potential.

There is the other thread with the idea that there's an age when you should no longer role play.

That's the kind of thinking that leads to this! There are things you should not suppress in yourself. It's hard when you are constantly playing "normal."

This is a great thread. I do think that depression can kill imagination, and the pressure to be normal can kill it, too.