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M. SYNESTHI & NIC SWANERSEPTEMBER 2, 20 12
Synesthesia is generally thought of as a perceptual condition that enhances the experiences of day to day life. For the most part this is
true, and many, if not all synesthetes, wouldnt part with their synthetic experiences to begin with. That does not mean that there arent
downsides to the condition. Synesthesia is unusual in that it manifests the individual and will oftentimes show no effect on the outside
world, unlike other psychological conditions where the effects are obvious to others around the individual. This can result in discouraging
and patronizing reactions to the person affected. When experiencing strong enough stimulation, synesthesia can also becometroublesome and even dangerous. As the list will come to show, synesthesia is not all it is rumored to be. This article was co-written by
M. Synesthi and Nic Swaner and is largely based on experience on M. Synesthis part (items 10-6, 4-1), as well as some experience from
Nic Swaner (items 7, 2-1), and research done on account of both of the authors (item 5).
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10 Disadvantages to Synesthesia
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To a synesthete who can never recall a life without t heir synesthesia, descriptions of colored voices or angry numbers are all too natural.
To non-synesthetes, however, this can seem extremely st range or overwhelming. Due to this, when someone first learns that t hey have
synesthesia and are eager to share their perceptions with others they can be met with confusion and even disbelief from the people
closest to them.
Synesthetes who do not have t he support of their friends and family can be left feeling alienated or even a litt le bit crazy, assuming that
their perceptions of the world are invalid. Additionally, synesthetes who were ridiculed as a child for their craziness may feel nervous and
unwilling to explain themselves, losing critical chances to enrich the world around them.
9Ridicule
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In addition to having to explain their synesthesia to friends and family a synesthete might also experience ridicule at the hands of their
peers. Children without synesthesia will often find a synesthetes descriptions of their experiences to be strange or threatening and react
through shunning or criticism. This often occurs early in a synesthetes childhood when they comment upon their synthetic experiences in
the belief that everyone shares them, and are then left startled and confused to learn that they are the only one with such experiences.
8Personal Bias
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Just like a non-synesthete who naturally prefers one color over t he rest, so does a synesthete with some of their experiences. To those
with grapheme synesthesia certain letters or numbers may be pretty or soothing while others are ugly. To a person with OLP
(Ordinal Linguistic Personification) synesthesia, this extends to the personality of the letters. A might be friendly, for example, while D
is sullen and rude. To a synesthete, this is simply how the letters are, and they make their preferences accordingly.
While this sort of preference is often benign, it at times becomes obvious or challenging. When meeting new people, a person with
sound-color synesthesia may be naturally drawn to someone with a pretty voice, while avoiding those whose voices are sharp orglaring. This isnt a judgment on the people surrounding them, but it can limit who they interact with and make social situations or
conversations uncomfortable.
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A synesthete will eventually encounter stereotypes assigned to them when surrounded by people who are aware of the condition. They
might be asked what their synesthesia is by a curious yet seemingly investigative acquaintance, with the implication being that they have
one type, when many have numerous f orms of synesthesia. Some st ereotypes that continue to be perpetuated by t he internet and the
media are that synesthetes are inherently creative and artistic due to t heir synthetic gif ts; that synesthetes are left-handed; and that
they are bad at math. Richard Cyt owic, a leading researcher on synesthesia has disproven the f irst of these myths, citing that t he
estimated percentage of synesthetes in the US population is proportional to the percentage of synesthetes who are professional
artists. There is also no evidence that synesthetes are predominantly left-handed. The last stereotype contains some truth in it, but has
been applied from one form of synesthesia to all. It is discussed below.
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6Math Abilities
One common stereotype (as mentioned in the last section) is that synesthetes are bad at math. While synesthetes range in
mathematical ability just as non-synesthetes do, individuals with certain types of synesthesia may have to view the mathematical
processes a little differently. For an individual with OLP synesthesia, for instance, math can be at times uncomfortable. The act of adding
a mean number to a nice number may cause a level of anxiety, because the synesthete does not want to expose the nice number to
the meanness of the other number in the problem.
Another common situation regarding synesthesia and math is the plight of a person with grapheme synesthesia, who views each number
as having its own color. This person can know, quite logically, that 2 + 3 = 5. However, to them, this could look like pink + light blue = red. If
they have any experience with color theory, t hey realize that red is a primary color, and therefore cannot be created out of two secondary
colors. In order to solve this addition problem, the synesthete must either disregard their colors temporarily, or struggle to handle the
situation they find themselves in.
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5Object Perception
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In mirror-touch synesthesia, a person observing someone else being touched will feel the sensation of being touched in the same area. In
the case of vision-touch synesthesia, a visual stimulus is perceived as a particular touch which can occur and be felt on different parts on
the body. Both are normally not a problem for the synesthete, but upon approaching large, tall, deep or wide objects (such as a large
animal or a lake), those that have the latter form of synesthesia may react badly due to how they feel the object. Most vision-touch
synesthetes report a falling sensation and some have even described a reaction akin to the fight or flight response. The same responses
have also been reported with minuscule objects. This may be because vision-touch synesthetes can sense or feel the scale of an object.
4Musical Abilities
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Synesthetes, just like non-synesthetes, have dif ferent levels of musical ability. However, f or people with sound-color synesthesia, t heir
musical abilities may be counteracted by their synthetic experiences. A person with sound-color synesthesia (sometimes called colored
hearing) will see a sound as the presence of a color whenever they hear the sound. While this experience can be pleasant at times, it may
make it difficult for the musician to see their music, and they may find themselves relying on their memory more then their non-
synesthetic peers.
Additionally, performing in a group ensemble may be difficult at times. Some synesthetes with colored hearing may hear everyones voice
as having a unique color. If this individual is part of a choir, they could find themselves overwhelmed by their perceptions when everyone is
singing together, experiencing symptoms of sensory overload such as headaches or nausea.
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3Visual Obstruction
To a synesthete with sound-color synesthesia, every sound has its own color, and of ten louder sounds will dominate t he visual f ield. An
individual with sound-color synesthesia will usually be unaffected by the extra colors, as their whole life has been spent in this manner.
However, in situations with extreme or unexpected noise they may find themselves overwhelmed.
Fire drills are an excellent example. To non-synesthetes, the noise of the fire alarm is loud and annoying, but does not change anything
about his or her visual field. To a synesthete with sound-color synesthesia, this loud, unending sound obscures part, if not all, of their
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vision. This can be especially difficult when trying to exit the building during the drill, as the synesthete may bump objects or trip on
objects on the floor.
2Life Changes
Synesthesia doesnt necessarily stick around for everyone; many who have it experience a gradual fade effect where their synthetic
experiences become weaker in intensity over time. A melody that appeared vividly as bright yellow years ago now would be hardly
experienced at all later on.
Occasionally, people who have had synesthesia throughout their childhood may find that it dramatically changes during their teenage
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years. The reason for this is not entirely understood, but it has been reported t hat several synesthetes f ind that their synesthesia
becomes stronger or vivider. This can be confusing f or t he synesthete, who typically does not anticipate such change.
1Illness
As anyone who has experienced a high fever before knows, an elevated body temperature may cause an altered perception of reality.
Synesthetes who att empt to perform daily activities while f everish may f ind that their synesthesia is st ronger or weaker, or perhaps
just looks of f . This goes back to normal aft er the body temperature returns to normal. Ear infections of ten present additional
challenges with sound-color synesthesia. A bad ear infection makes it more difficult to hear what is happening in the world, causing the
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affected person to feel somewhat deafened. A synesthete with sound-color synesthesia and an ear infect ion will not only lose t heir
hearing temporarily, but will also have their colors altered for the duration of the infection.
As mentioned before, some synesthetes find that their synesthesia gradually weakens with time. It is very uncommon to lose your
synesthesia overnight. However, a synesthete suff ering f rom depression may f ind that t heir synesthesia temporarily leaves. The reason
for this is not known, but to the synesthete, this is another traumatic life event to add to the pre-existing depression, often prolonging
or enhancing the depression and extending the period without the synesthesia.
When synesthesia is reported by individuals who dont normally experience it or inherit it genetically, this can be an indicator of brain
damage, the onset or aftereffects of a stroke or seizure, and, if applicable, as a result of the brain healing after the removal of tissue,
such as a brain tumor. Since synesthesia is a condition that exists within the brain, it is understandable that a traumatic brain injury such
as a concussion may t emporarily aff ect a synesthete in that way as well. A concussed synesthete may f ind themselves more sensitive
to sounds, or have problems blocking out excessive colors in their reading or writing activities. As with general confusion following a
concussion in a non-synesthete, these symptoms will typically lessen over time.
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