Episode 80. Aphantasia with Joanne Hedger – Author of Aphantasia

I am joined in this podcast by Joanne Hedger to discuss her lifelong experience of aphantasia, something she has written about in her memoir titled Aphantasia: Journeying Through Mind Blindness and Embracing Our Unique Neurodiversity with Passion and Purpose. Our conversation delved into how she discovered she had aphantasia when she alone was unable to understand a joke with friends in a camp site. We also explored the emotions this discovery evoked in her, from loneliness and regret to relief and understanding.

Beyond her inability to imagine visually, Joanne also reflected on other lifelong characteristics, such as with dreaming and memory. Other themes we covered in the conversation are the history of our understanding of aphantasia, its acquired and familial causes, its impact on her perception of herself and on her relationships, and the advantages of having aphantasia.

We also explored the strategies she has adopted to compensate, even before she knew she had aphantasia, from relying on lists and spreadsheets to taking a lot of photographs and notes. Joanne also highlighted practical recommendations for parents, teachers and students which included identifying aphantasia early, using memory aids, accepting it as a feature of normal neurodiversity, and making educational adaptations to accommodate it.

Joanne spent her early years growing up on a dairy farm in south-east England where her fascination with nature began. After a corporate career in software consultancy, which spanned 25 years, several continents, and numerous bouts of stress and exhaustion, Joanne quit the rat race in 2017 to follow her passions for wildlife and photography. Despite being mind-blind and left-handed, Joane stressed that she is hugely creative and sees her own level of aphantasia as a quirky fascination, not a hindrance or a disability.

Following graduation, she worked as a guide and later became the manager of a luxury bush camp in the Kafue National Park, Zambia, where she still freelances for a few months each year. She lives in the UK and, when she's not writing, she spends her time rewilding a small piece of ancient woodland, making handmade nature-inspired jewellery and taking photographs. You can find her on Facebook or visit her website, www.elementalretail.com