Synesthesia

Is a neurological phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. People who report a lifelong history of such experiences are known as synesthetes.

There are many forms of synesthesia. Just as there are different forms of memory. I do not think I am a synestete, but have often wondered. Due to the fact that I'm very visual and I sense things in color but not necessarily in the most common form of synesthesia which is grapheme, or color synesthesia, where people associate a specific color with each letter and number. I took a synesthesia battery to determine, but my memory only caused some of my answers to remain consistent. I make personal associations with everything, which in a logical stance, I would imagine many people do this. However associations are personal for everyone and the strength of these vary.

The battery allows you to click on whichever form you think you may have or do have [perhaps this battery is only for diagnosed synesthetes]. I tried matching colors to letters, which only a few letters consistently bring to mind the same color each time, but whilst taking it I realize it's not a clear vision but merely an association. I can imagine time in a form of space around me. I have graphs in my mind's eye before me, of the days of the week and the months of the year and they remain consistent but there isn't really an online test to delve into that [at least not with this battery]. I did take a Vividness of Visual Imagery test or VVIQ-2, resulting in my score to be 3.5625, taken after a couple glasses of wine [this test became more difficult as it progressed, either from the wine or just the questions themselves. I'm unsure]. The results for this are stated as:

This test quantifies how vividly different people can visualize objects and scenes. A score above 3 suggests a higher level of vividness relative to the general population. We are using this questionnaire to understand whether synesthetes are better at mental imagery than controls.

I am also considered as a Projector Associator with a score of -2.5. Meaning...

Projectors and Associators are proposed forms of synesthesia that describe how you experience your synesthetic percept. If you are classified as an 'Associator', it means that your synesthetic associations (like colored letters, for example) are experienced in your mind's eye. When shown text on a page, Associators know that each letter has a color, but they don't actually see color on the page. If you are a 'Projector', it means that you physically see the color projected onto the page in front of you. A positive score is classified as a projector and a negative score is classified as an associator.

To sum that up, when I do associate a color with something, the color floats in my mind rather than on the exact object/visual in question.

The form of synesthesia that most interested me tonight was the association of color to smells. Unfortuntely you cannot test that with a simple online test.

What brought all this on was a realization of the layers upon layers of associations that start each and every single one of my days. I have recently started to think about this explicitly to myself and finally a month ago I discussed it with a friend and realized how unique it was.

Every morning, I imagine or feel a color or have a particular article of clothing in mind [sometimes even based on it's color]. This is how I begin to get ready for work. Every step after that is all color. It's best for me to describe this with a few examples.

Let's say I woke up and decided to wear a specific orange shirt. From that I have to decide what color bottoms to wear, generally I associate orange with black or gray. There, I grabbed gray shorts. Next after washing my face and moisturizing, I will pick my makeup. Orange is on the brain. I will wear orange or bronze/copper eyeshadow and perhaps mix it with black or gray/silver. Lipstick will be brown or orange. Then the most important part is the perfume. I determine the few scents that I associate with orange and choose whichever pleases me. I will never pick a "purple" scent to wear with orange, even if I like the smell or it is convenient. With perfumes, the color association ranges from obvious to not obvious. Some body sprays tend to be colored, this represents the obvious. But there are scents that may be clear or a completely different color but in my mind are still associated with a specific color.

Next example is black. I wear black very often and rarely you see a black or dark colored perfume. Generally I'll have a black article of clothing that has an accent color, often red in my case. Makeup will be dark or silver. Lipstick will either be non-existent or red. Perfume, generally most of mine are purple colored, which is the darkest I own, but there are many. Whichever is a smell I will associate with the darkness of black I'll choose or on some days I will grab a "orange" perfume that will connect with the red accent. I will never wear a clear perfume with black.

Another example is wanting to do green make up. I wake up with that desire. I will choose clothes that are green, and often mixed with black, gray, or orange. Red or brown lipstick always complements green. Eyeshadow can consist of several shades or green and can be mixed with gray, silver, or a light gold. I do not own any green perfumes, thus purple, clear, or sometimes orange will work for me. The scent must be fresh, citrus like, reminding me of greens in nature.

Furthermore, jewelry is a strong point. I mostly wear silver, but when it comes to wearing brown, gold/bronze/copper appears. Brown is a difficult color for me. I have a hard time associating it with anything other than brown or gold. I cannot mix silver and gold. I find it unnerving. Have a hard time mixing black or gray with it but sometimes that's my only option as far as clothing or shoes goes. Anytime I wear brown, I am uncomfortable. It wasn't always this way. Tan is easier. But brown, really only goes well with red or blue in my mind. Perhaps if I liked gold jewelry or owned brown shoes this would be easier for me. For work, I wear converse, I own two red pairs, black, and gray. Black goes with just about anything but still bothers me to wear with brown in most cases.

Thinking and writing this makes me realize that this is part just simply accessorizing. But yet not every woman or person goes about it in the way I do. Part also is the constraints in my mind. I am very bold in my appearance, but there are lines that are drawn to what makes me comfortable and completely uncomfortable. Over the many years I've developed my own style. It ranges from hippie, tomboy, casual, feminine, fancy, or just simply Alyssa. I have no fear in mixing most patterns. I will wear plaid with stripes. I'll wear checkers with flowers. I'll wear lace with corduroy. In my life, there has been many occasions where I try something on and ask a friend if it works, if it looks good. They are silent for a moment and I add, "for me?" Referencing my specific style and the answer is always yes, while it would never be yes for anyone else. But the colors are what most either make me happy inside or unnerved. The pairs mentioned above are a general public "no", but it works for me. There are aspects of getting ready that come very natural to others, that do not for me.

Getting dressed aside, I do know that I associate colors to smells. I now know that I need to pay more attention to this and determine how consistent they are. Not to mention the science and lack of language associated with smells. It is a lacking connection in the brain. Smells directly trigger memories. We all know this, hell, I've talked about this before and don't need to go further.

So what is all this?