Neurodiversity/Synesthesia

Misophonia: how loud eaters, pen clickers, public whistlers, and ticking clocks alter how we live our lives

Do you hate certain sounds with a passion that you know is unreasonable? You might have misophonia. Greek for hatred of sound, "misophonia" is replacing previous labeling attempts such as Select Sound Sensitivity Syndrome and Sound-Rage. Misophonia is surprisingly common. It is an involuntary, visceral hatred or disgust felt when... Read more →

Synesthete's senses are not "all mixed up": airing a pet peeve

The drug analogy implies my world is random and mixed up and disorienting, and nothing could be further from the truth. I am often distracted by predictable stimuli, for example, I know that robin chirps will intrude in my mind as little twisted dark shapes, predictably. But this is not the same thing as having random stimuli surprise you. Robin chirps always look the same way to me. Read more →

Synesthesia Interview

I was interviewed for a research project. This is the transcript of the interview: 1. At what age were you diagnosed with synesthesia? Had you heard of the condition before or was it a new concept for you? I can't remember not having this condition, but I didn't know what... Read more →

How do you tell friends or family that you have synesthesia?

I see text as colored when I read it. This is involuntary and I've done this my entire life. Each word takes on the color of the first letter. It helps me organize information. I just received a question from a young woman asking me for advice on how to... Read more →

How Fantasia let me down

was told that for the first time, this film was created so the music would match what you saw! Well, it was about time! I thought. I just could not wait to see this.     I remember sitting in the theater waiting for the movie to start, and being so excited. Finally! I really could not understand why this had not been done before. Even as young as I was, I felt, surely there is a great need for everyone to see on screen the same thing that you are hearing!     I watched and watched and watched, and there were little cartoons of hippopotamuses, and of Mickey Mouse, and even of a symphony playing, but during the whole movie, I could not find even one tiny instance where the music was being matched by any colored shapes on the screen. Did I miss it? I was so confused! I asked several times afterwards, where was the part when the music matched the colors? I did not see it! That was when I started to feel a bit alone. Read more →

About my synesthesia

I feel awkward talking about my synesthesia. First, I never thought it was anything unusual, for most of my life. When I realized that I perceive the world quite differently than most people, it was disorienting, yet philosophically stimulating. I have made a decision to discuss my synesthesia when it... Read more →