Synaesthesia

I've noticed that there seems to be a high prevalence of synaesthesia among people with DID. Do you experience it in any manner?

Examples of ways in which we have experienced it:
1. Our T has a lavender voice that is buttery and flaky.
2. There's a song that I've heard several times that makes it hard to concentrate because it's blindingly colorful.
3. The word "eve" is green and anciently natural. It sounds like growing.
4. Purple tastes delicious.

Examples I've seen in other multiples:
1. The alphabet is multi-colored and confusing because certain letters are the same color.
2. People are organized by color because of the colors used to spell their names.

Synaesthesia, by the way, is when experiencing something with one sense involuntarily activates another sense. For me, I experience an aural variant that results in a visual and gustatory (occasional olfactory) activation.

Interesting! I believe I have it too. I have it with music, colors, numbers/math, and generally everything to some degree. I once calculated out the conversion factor between Fahrenheit and Celsius over 5 decimal places in my head in seconds...It was like I saw the equation work out in the form of grey rectangles in a black space. I felt pretty proud haha.

LittleRedDogToo wrote:The word "eve" is green and anciently natural. It sounds like growing.

My minds eye instantly saw ivy creeping up a stone wall in Rome. I could see the edge of a roman road in the close foreground that edges up against a small area of dry, haylike grass, and the ivy's brown/red roots turning into deep green ivy that is beginning to take foot in a tall stone wall. I got the sense of viral Roman horses too. Amazing image

Sometimes, when people ask me to describe something, I can only equate it to the images, scenes, or motion it seems to equal. For example, my doc asked me how I'd describe how I was feeling while we were talking...My best reply was something like "It feels like deep blue shimmering night skies". And that feeling is always that image. Can anyone relate to that feeling?

I wonder what was first, the synaesthesia or the DID. Perhaps DID creates it? Or perhaps Interesting! I believe I have it too. I have it with music, colors, numbers/math, and generally everything to some degree. I once calculated out the conversion factor between Fahrenheit and Celsius over 5 decimal places in my head in seconds...It was like I saw the equation work out in the form of grey rectangles in a black space. I felt pretty proud haha.

LittleRedDogToo wrote:The word "eve" is green and anciently natural. It sounds like growing.

My minds eye instantly saw ivy creeping up a stone wall in Rome. I could see the edge of a roman road in the close foreground that edges up against a small area of dry, haylike grass, and the ivy's brown/red roots turning into deep green ivy that is beginning to take foot in a tall stone wall. I got the sense of viral Roman horses too. Amazing image

Sometimes, when people ask me to describe something, I can only equate it to the images, scenes, or motion it seems to equal. For example, my doc asked me how I'd describe how I was feeling while we were talking...My best reply was something like "It feels like deep blue shimmering night skies". Can anyone relate to that feeling?

I wonder what was first, the synaesthesia or the DID. Perhaps DID creates it? Or perhaps synaesthesia allows DID to form?

I don't have it unless I am going through a psychotic episode, and then its overwhelming. That's probably more related to my bipolar disorder than my DID though.
-Geoff

Woah! You have synaesthesia?
I like people with synaesthesia. Sometimes, I want synaesthesia.
That's awesome. Um... well, we don't have synaesthesia. And I THINK there can't be high prevalence among people with DID. But if you're right, well I wish I have one.

nd I THINK there can't be high prevalence among people with DID.

I'd be interested to hear how come?

Not for me. The normal number line doesn't really count. (I see numbers always as a line, but it is a straight line that is just there to make thinking about numbers easier).

I think I'm a visual thinker though. I don't know whether that has anything to do with the DID. This means I can very easily visualize geometric shapes. Actually, this is the only way I can think about them. But it also means that when people talk about things I normally visualize them... this can lead to images which aren't exactly nice. Visual thinking should not occur more frequently in DID, as all young children are visual thinkers (they haven't learned to read/write).

humptydumpty wrote:I once calculated out the conversion factor between Fahrenheit and Celsius over 5 decimal places in my head in seconds...It was like I saw the equation work out in the form of grey rectangles in a black space. I felt pretty proud haha.

WTH???? Was it correct? I thought these kind of things only happened in some autistic people. (btw, I once learned PI to 20 decimals... yes I had no life at the time and thought it was fun. Edit: I don't want to offend anyone).

AdamMZ wrote:That's awesome. Um... well, we don't have synaesthesia. And I THINK there can't be high prevalence among people with DID. But if you're right, well I wish I have one.

There CAN be a high prevalence of synaethesia among people with DID. Really, it's possible for there to be a high prevalence of anything. Whether there actually is a high prevalence of something or not, though, is a different story.

oaktree wrote:

humptydumpty wrote:I once calculated out the conversion factor between Fahrenheit and Celsius over 5 decimal places in my head in seconds...It was like I saw the equation work out in the form of grey rectangles in a black space. I felt pretty proud haha.

WTH???? Was it correct? I thought these kind of things only happened in some autistic people. (btw, I once learned PI to 20 decimals... yes I had no life at the time and thought it was fun).

Technically, anything is possible for anyone. Meaning, what MOSTLY only happens in people with Autism (or any other condition, really), is still possible to happen in anyone else. (Overall it's possible, at least. There are, of course, always going to be exceptions, but as a general rule for things, they're usually at least possible even if they're unheard of and such).

LittleRedDogToo wrote:I've noticed that there seems to be a high prevalence of synaesthesia among people with DID. Do you experience it in any manner?

Examples of ways in which we have experienced it:
1. Our T has a lavender voice that is buttery and flaky.
2. There's a song that I've heard several times that makes it hard to concentrate because it's blindingly colorful.
3. The word "eve" is green and anciently natural. It sounds like growing.
4. Purple tastes delicious.

Examples I've seen in other multiples:
1. The alphabet is multi-colored and confusing because certain letters are the same color.
2. People are organized by color because of the colors used to spell their names.

Synaesthesia, by the way, is when experiencing something with one sense involuntarily activates another sense. For me, I experience an aural variant that results in a visual and gustatory (occasional olfactory) activation.

I know at least one of us has experienced similar stuff to what you've posted, but I can't think of when or what the experience was exactly right now (mainly because it wasn't mine, I haven't experience synaesthesia yet, but I know at least one of us has before).


~The Hawk

oaktree wrote:(btw, I once learned PI to 20 decimals... yes I had no life at the time and thought it was fun)

I learned more than 20 decimals. LOL Sorry guys. I wasn't serious. *cough* Okay...

tomboy24 wrote:There CAN be a high prevalence of synaethesia among people with DID. Really, it's possible for there to be a high prevalence of anything. Whether there actually is a high prevalence of something or not, though, is a different story.

Oh, okay. (I wish I have synaesthesia... Yeah, we're all not being serious. I'm sorry)

oaktree wrote:this means I can very easily visualize geometric shapes.

I think they call that spatial intelligence. Are you good with puzzles?

oaktree wrote:WTH???? Was it correct? I thought these kind of things only happened in some autistic people. (btw, I once learned PI to 20 decimals... yes I had no life at the time and thought it was fun. Edit: I don't want to offend anyone).

Yes, no joke. I didn't learn it, I saw it happen in my head and the numbers came to me. I have my own way of breaking down math...I can tell you what 14*53 is in about 2 seconds. It's like I see how to simplify it into easy numbers to multiply instantly in the form of shapes. I'm not bragging, I'm just trying to give an example of the synaesthesia I experience.

tomboy24 wrote:Technically, anything is possible for anyone. Meaning, what MOSTLY only happens in people with Autism (or any other condition, really), is still possible to happen in anyone else. (Overall it's possible, at least. There are, of course, always going to be exceptions, but as a general rule for things, they're usually at least possible even if they're unheard of and such).

Exactly. DID is caused by bad things happening too often (haha what a childish way to describe it). It could happen to anyone. I would bet that depression, anxiety, and maybe mild visual hallucinations are more common in people with DID than those that do not have it, though.

tomboy24 wrote:Technically, anything is possible for anyone. Meaning, what MOSTLY only happens in people with Autism (or any other condition, really), is still possible to happen in anyone else. (Overall it's possible, at least. There are, of course, always going to be exceptions, but as a general rule for things, they're usually at least possible even if they're unheard of and such).

Yes, of course, it was more like, what the h3ll is this?? I was just kinda... surprised this was possible.

humptydumpty wrote:I think they call that spatial intelligence. Are you good with puzzles?

It depends. Do you mean things like crossword puzzles, sudokus etc.? Not more that normal, I think.
I don't know, but after a while doing sudokus, I had this weird thing that I pronounced them out-loud inside, so to say (thus making no sound) and I just knew the one number that was missing (this is really impossible to learn, there are 9! = 362880 different combinations). I really don't know where that missing number is coming from, I just 'know' it somehow. Maybe I unconsciously have a list of 9 positions and clear every number as it comes along and look at the number that remains?

I think it is indeed spatial intelligence. The best way to learn for me is to visualize things. But, on the other hand, I just can't figure out Rubik's cube (but that cube rotates a lot at the same time, I'm not very good at figuring such things out. And, to be honest, I'm now too lazy to try.)

humptydumpty wrote:I have my own way of breaking down math...I can tell you what 14*53 is in about 2 seconds. It's like I see how to simplify it into easy numbers to multiply instantly in the form of shapes.

I want to learn this! :jealous: . Seriously, this can be really useful, I imagine. Still amazing.