I can't make mental pictures how can i learn how to do them so i can be like everyone else. Thanks?

Question

Yep the title says it, i close my eyes and nothing :( I tried and tried but nothing, even things i would really like to see (like the trip we just came back from)... nothing :(
I searched today and they just say it makes a better reader when you see the pictures, but no tricks on how to actually be able to make the pictures appear.

Heeeeellp ;)

Answer 1

Not everyone can envision things.. it's easier for men then for women.. try to slow your mind down... think about hear and now... and focus only on what is in front of you.. do this with no other distractions around you. . you can make flash cards with the word on one side, and picture on the other... I did this in Anatomy/Physiology... and tutored this to students who were having a hard time learning things... Making the pictures in bright or memorable colors is very important... it takes some refocusing of your mind. . to honor and respect the process.. close your eyes. . and picture easy things first.. such as a yummy desert... picture simple things like a pet animal you love... picture a color only... such as a bright pink color on an index card....and the word pink on the back side... attach a feeling or emotion to it, and you may be able to picture things... then gradually begin to picture things that you have no feelings for.. This helps children also to develop this kind of visionary intelligence..

Answer 2

That is why cameras were invented.
Your condition is not very much different than many people's. I think most people have limited abilities to make mental pictures. Most seem to only be able to see certain images in their heads. Few have never made a mental image. Personally, as a more verbal than visual thinker, I dream in words and very vague images, and when I am awake I can see only a few things vaguely that are not around me. How do you dream?
It is quite possible that this condition is based so much on biology that you cannot ever learn this. BUT FORTUNATELY THINKING IN PICTURES IS NOT NECESSARY FOR GOOD READING ! You will not find a magic solution. You might try drawing though and see how that works. The physical act of making physical pictures may help your brain make connections that might help you to make mental pictures. Draw the objects and people that you can see. You will not be very good at drawing, but you will get better as more connections are formed. The more you see, the better you get at seeing. Mental images are not even required for good art, but they do help. I do think mental images are important for good memory, but there are other ways to store memories. The brain usually makes up for this kind of impairment. Sometimes it more than makes up for it.

I disagree with people who say that this means you have no imagination. Almost everyone like you has verbal and/or tactile imagination. These kinds of imagination are no less good.

Answer 3

The reason you are having such a hard time seeing mental pictures is your trying to hard to see them. A mental picture is something that just pops into your head, not something you try to make pop into your head. If you tell yourself you want to picture a monkey from head to toe you will only get it's head and another part of the body, but it if you are just sitting around thinking about the wilderness or zoos and monkey just so happens to pop into your head you are most likely to see the whole body. You can not make yourself have a mental picture. Another example; there are feelings you want to have and feelings you don't want to have. The feelings you don't want to have are usually the ones you end up having. Why?,because you are trying NOT to have them. You are trying to have the ones you WANT!

Answer 4

What like actually seeing pictures in your head when you close your eyes? I can't do this, but I still have a wonderful imagination. Maybe you think about things in words or descriptions rather than in actual image form.

Answer 5

If you can't picture things in your mind it's possible you have no imagination. There are many people like this. They see exactly what is in front of them. You're not peculiar or have something wrong, it's just the way you are. That's what makes us different. Try not to let this bother you. For you, it's normal!