Synesthesia: A Beautiful Cross-wiring of the Brain
I recently had somebody pretty much thinking I was from another planet when I explained to them that I had synesthesia, so I thought I’d do a little post about it here for anyone else who might have it and has a hard time getting non-synesthetes to understand that we’re not just crazy…and Monday really is yellow.
For those who don’t know, synesthesia is a cross-wiring of the senses in the brain. There are different types of synesthesia, but all of them involve experiencing multiple senses simultaneously that most people only experience one at a time. Some synesthetes see words as colors, some get a taste in their mouth at hearing certain words, some will see numbers personified, and many other cross-wired sense variations. No two synesthetes experience synesthesia in exactly the same way.
Synesthesia is sometimes referred to as a “disorder,” but for the majority of synesthetes it’s a very pleasant “disorder” to have. Synesthesia is very commonly found in artists (go figure) and most synesthetic people don’t realize they’re any different from anybody else. They go through life seeing the world the same as everybody else…until one day they find out that their friends don’t see music or taste colors. That’s usually when they find out about the term synesthesia.
As for me, I have what is known as “auditory synesthesia,” which is seeing colors in music (that cross between sea green and grass green ripples I see when I hear Bad Moon Rising playing on the radio is just gorgeous), a touch of what would probably most closely be identified as “grapheme-color synesthesia” (I really do see Monday’s as yellow), and “spacial sequence synesthesia,” which is seeing time in 3D.
Spacial sequence synesthesia is one of the hardest ones to explain to people who don’t have it. But basically I see the days of the week and the months of the year on a sort of circular slide-rule or conveyor belt that sort of changes angle depending on what month/day it is, or that I’m thinking about (like I said, it’s hard to explain). Years also materialize like a Candy Land road diagonally in front of me, with the past kinda to the left and front, and the future kinda to the right and rear. People’s ages I see flat out in front of me, with the lower ages to the left, and higher ages to the right.
I first found out that I was synesthetic a few years ago when they had a small piece on the news about it. I already knew not everybody saw colors in music, but I’d just assumed everybody probably could and they just weren’t being open-minded about it, worried about being labeled weird. (I was already labeled weird, so I didn’t really have to worry about that). The part in the news piece that caught my attention, was when they started talking about people seeing time in 3D. That was the first time I realized not everyone saw time the way I did.
I’d never even thought about it before; I guess I just assumed everybody saw it like that. After all, that was the way I’d always seen it, so why would there be another way? According to what I was watching on the news, however, not everyone saw it that way, and it also suddenly made sense why my friends couldn’t see that brilliant red glow while listening to Hendrix’s version of All Along the Watchtower. I was synesthetic and they weren’t.
Since then I’ve learned about the many different types of synesthesia, including some that were extreme enough to actually become unpleasant for the synesthete. One guy actually had to break up with his girlfriend because the sound of her name tasted like broccoli to him and he couldn’t stand it any longer. On the whole, however, most synesthetic people couldn’t image life without synesthesia.
Something that really fascinated me was that several years after learning that I was synesthetic, I came across a random blog post written by a synesthete (and also an artist) where he talked about the many 4-leaf clovers he’d found. I’m pretty good at finding them myself; they’re not really different color, but they do pop out at me as I’m walking, so I was intrigued by the possible connection and did a bit more research. Turns out that it’s actually quiet common for synesthetes to find 4-leaf clovers. Because of the cross-wiring of the senses in their brains, the 4-leaf clovers tend to jump out at them, where most people wouldn’t even notice them amidst the sea of 3-leafs. I wonder if that explains why I find them by the thousands (and 5 leafs, and 6 leafs, and 7 leafs, and even an 8 leaf once), or maybe I’m just really really lucky, and live on a really, really lucky piece of property.
All in all synesthesia is a fun experience and, as artist, I really think the cross wiring of the senses makes experiences richer. Anybody reading this have cross-wiring experiences with food, or colors, or sounds, or seeing time in 3D? If so, did you realize other people don’t see the world the same way you do or is it something you’re just finding out? Copyright © Amber Reifsteck ~ The Woodland Elf
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