The condition synesthesia is something that is thought of as a blessing to some and a setback to others. It involves interpreting more than one sense at a time, which may lead to the people that experience it to have a special perspective. Here’s a look at what it is and how it can affect you.
What is Synesthesia?
The term synesthesia is used to describe a specific neurological condition, in which a person may experience multiple senses at once, instead of just one. For example, if someone is completing a math problem in their head, they may be able to picture the numbers in front of them as they are calculating. Moreover, they may be able to smell a color or see a number as a certain color.
So, you may be wondering, is synesthesia harmful to your health? Generally speaking, it is not. Those that experience it do not report many drawbacks to the condition, and there are no physical or mental problems that are thought to cause it.
On the flip side, it may lead to a person being more artistic or able to memorize specific details, which are ideas addressed in Frontiers in Psychology.
There are specific types of synesthesia, depending on the sensations that you are affected by. For example, a few types are grapheme-color (letters are certain colors), chromesthesia (sounds are specific colors), auditory-tactile (sound causes another feeling to occur), and number form (seeing numbers when thinking about them). It is possible for a person to experience multiple types of synesthesia.
If you are interested in learning more about this condition, BetterHelp is a great resource with more articles and expertise on synesthesia and how it shows up in everyday life.
What You Can Do About Synesthesia
It may be difficult to know that you are experiencing synesthesia unless you discuss what you are feeling and seeing with others. They might be able to point out that they don’t share some of these practices, which can clue you in to the fact that you may be experiencing your senses a bit differently than they are. This is no cause for concern.
When you are wondering if you have it yourself, think of your favorite word. Is it a specific color? Can you see numbers and letters in your head when you are trying to add or spell something? If the answer is yes to these questions, you might have synesthesia. You can talk to a doctor about taking a test or being evaluated to know for sure.
Again, it isn’t considered to be a mental disorder, so if you think you do have synesthesia, you should do your best to embrace it. One way to accomplish this is by finding out more about the condition. This will help you understand that you are not alone in how you are processing things and may also provide you with the knowledge that you can tell your friends and family members. They might be interested in hearing about what you are experiencing.
In some cases, you may want to talk to other people that have synesthesia. You can find groups and websites online where you will be able to connect with others that share this condition. In other words, you can compare and contrast your tendencies.
Getting Help
One drawback for people with synesthesia is that they may have a hard time concentrating. They may start to feel overwhelmed since there is so much information to process. If you feel this way, you can reach out to a therapist for assistance. A professional should be able to support you with learning skills to help drown out the information you don’t need or talk to you about preventing becoming overwhelmed.
You may find benefit in talking to a therapist online, so you can work with them any hour day, or night.
Keep in mind that everyone who experiences synesthesia doesn’t need psychotherapy to treat it. However, if you need help dealing with the amount of information your brain is processing or you would like to learn more about what the condition involves, taking advantage of therapy may be a good idea. It might also allow you to find out for sure if you have synesthesia and what you can expect from it.
Overview
Synesthesia may be something that affects your life if you experience it, but this is not necessarily a bad thing. If you have it, you might want to talk to others about how you process colors, sounds, and more. If you know someone with it, talk to them about it to learn more or read articles to get a better understanding. This is a condition that is interesting for some and doesn’t cause a lot of issues with those that it affects. It is also a condition that is still thought to be quite rare, which means it hasn’t been fully researched or explained yet.
Photo Credit: iStock
