Synesthesia

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I picked "I don't know," not because I don't know what synesthesia is, but I honestly don't know if I have a mild form of it or not. I don't have the obvious forms of synesthesia, such as grapheme-color or sound/color synesthesia. But I do view the letters of the alphabet, days of the week, months of the year, and timeline of the years in the 19th and 20th Centuries in a very specific visual-spatial display. And I've read that this could be synesthesia. Also, I have very strong color associations for the days of the week. It's just that I don't "see" baby blue when I read the word "Tuesday."

I don't know, if I have it, it's mild if anything, but some letters and numbers are associated with colors, typically the first several, primarily notable in the case of musical keys and notes (i.e., the key of C). C - Blue, C# - Blue, D - Green, Eb - Light Orange, E - Darker Orange, F - Purple or Yellow, F# - Brown-ish, G - Dark Green, A - Red, Bb - Gold-ish, B - Yellow., etc... this might be because of a color wheel of the "Circle of Fifths" (all the keys) on my wall though.

Whenever I hear a song and associate a certain color with it for a variety of reasons, if I ever get around to learning the actual song, I end up kind of uncomfortable when I realize the key was different. For example, I hear a song and envision "Brown-ish", but the key isn't F#, instead, it's A. Wait, what? It's "red"? No, now the reality and my perception are having a conflict of colors. :[

The other note not listed above is G# or Ab. this is an example of irritation - they're the same note, and unlike the ones listed above (C# = Db), it's called one as much as it is called the other. However, I like it to be Ab, a more... "light red-ish", "ruby-ish" color. But the key's actually in G#, which is a lot less... "beautiful". argh.

You know, when I started this, I really expected to have almost everyone either ignore it or say they didn't have it. I have not known any other synesthete other than myself. Looking at the poll though, it makes me wonder how common it might really be...

Last edited by Synesthetic351 on 28 Feb 2011, 8:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Yes, viewing days of the week/ABC's/months/timelines is synesthesia. Also, for your color associations... you do not need to physically see these colors. It is, in fact, less likely to be a projector (actually seeing the colors) than an associator (which is what it seems like you are.)

I'd say the guidelines for synesthesia are it being involuntary and consistent.
• Involuntary: you shouldn't think or decide when you see the colors and timelines. You can't just say "On Monday, I want colors, and on Friday, I want timelines. For the rest of the week, I won't be a synesthete."
• Consistent: You won't just "have" or "get" synesthesia, unless you have some traumatic brain injury, e.g. tumor. Again, this goes with involuntary, you can't decide when you have it, either.

When you think about Tuesday as stated in your example, the word Tuesday just is baby blue for you. It is not synesthesia if you spent time deciding on what color you wanted Tuesday to be. In fact, some synesthetes actually experience unpleasant colors!

Sadly, that's how it is with me. Yellow is one of my least favorite colors, yet a good chunk of my alphabet is made of shades of yellow.

I have a form of it where music (particularly electronic music) often evokes colors in my mind's eye.

Oh, I see. Very helpful advice. Thank you. I'm a big color associator. I always have been. As for my visual-spatial timelines, I do see them involuntarily and consistently. Whenever I'm talking about what I'm doing in the week or am discussing a period in history, for example, I always see my timeline while explaining. I always thought it was just that I "think in pictures," but I guess it could be a form of synesthesia.

Hi, new here, looking for answers. That said, forgive me, this could be somewhat winded.

I have been trying to grasp the concept of synesthesia but I'm having trouble. As I cannot hear with someone else's ears or perceive with someone else's mind I find it hard to compare what I experience with ...well....anything I suppose. I;m really having a hard time so any help would be greatly appreciated. I've learned a bit from this thread already and hope to gain some insight and possibly peace of mind so to speak.

Concerning my own personal experiences:

For me sound is a very immersive experience. I never found it strange or found reason to question it until recently.
The best I can explain the experience for me is that I feel the process of hearing, it can be very pleasurable to my ears. I like to call this an eargasm. Some music is visual for me as well but not necessarily something I see in my field of vision. Some sounds are green. Or sad. Or scratchy. I interpret them as such anyway.
Same goes for other senses..smells are very much tied to emotion for me. As I said I've never really dwelled on it even after having limited knowledge of syesthesia.

Please help me understand if you think you can.

Thank you in advance.