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Comment by Handprint4469 | Hacker News Reader

The term to search for is aphantasia[0], although as far as I understand that refers to people who are born without mental imagery (as opposed to your case, where you had it and then lost it)

A quick search turns up "Charcot–Wilbrand syndrome"[1]:

  a patient loses the power to conjure up visual images or memories, and furthermore, ceases to dream during his sleeping hours

but it seems to be related to patients with some kind of brain damage.

Personally, my ability to visualize is heavily affected by my habits, particularly sleep, diet and exercise. Have you had any lifestyle changes recently that might explain changes in your cognitive performance?

[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphantasia

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charcot%E2%80%93Wilbrand_syndr...

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> ceases to dream during his sleeping hours

For at least a year I am not seeing a dream, I thought this is because I am too tired and sleep goes like a 1 second, I go to sleep and wake up. Don't feel anything what happened in between.

> Have you had any lifestyle changes recently that might explain changes in your cognitive performance?

This habit started around 5 years ago, I am always in a hurry. not feeling what is happening around, not living the moment and doing everything in a hurry.

As a result, multiple times I became "rockstar, most impactful, fastest, 10x", but now I am looking back and feeling like everything I learned is 5 years ago and I driving only with that knowledge, no new knowledge, just using old knowledge, only difference is always in a hurry. Sometimes expectations are becoming high after my performance and I am more in a hurry to outperform myself and working overtime

There is evidence that chronic (long-term) stress is pretty unhealthy for body and mind. It could be that the fast-paced last 5 years is finally catching up to you.

I would read the rest of the thread for ideas, but also consider talking with a therapist: having a trained medical professional giving you their perspective can be invaluable and save you lots of bashing your head against the wall (believe me, I would know)

Chronic stress can cause a burnout. A real, full blown burnout is terrible, you literally loose interest for the life, everything becomes unimportant, to say the least. I’ve been there.

The thing that helped me the most turned out to be having a regular calls with other founders (my peers). We talked about burnout, asked questions to each other. It was like a group therapy but without a therapist.

I tried having the same calls with people with other backgrounds but it wasn’t really valuable, so I’d suggest you find 3-5 peers and setup a weekly call where your goal will be to slow down, become more mindful and talk about how’s everyone doing, what’s working or not on those calls.

It works.

I find that I only dream after interrupted sleep.

When feasible, set an alarm, and see if you dream after the interruption.

Heh, left my job recently because of exactly the same. Unlocked few psychiatric achievements on the way. Hurry equals anxiety, anxiety equals lack of attention. Say no to this bullshit for your own sake, even if it’s unrelated to subj.

Not a doctor, but I think you may be experiencing a form of burnout. You should have a chat with your doctor about this, because it's not necessarily ever going to resolve in its own. You may possibly need to take an extended break from everything. For example, a friend who encountered a similar state only got resolution doing multi-month thru-hiking. I hope you feel better soon.

While I do believe that there are clinical signs of burn-out I would suggest you consult a sleep health professional in a sleep laboratory setting.

If you have any questions about such a thing don't hesitate to reach out.

many people who have ADHD also have aphantasia

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