Psychedelics anecdotes
First-hand reports from aphants about whether psilocybin, LSD, ayahuasca, or DMT produced any inner visuals.
What people actually say
Ayahuasca / DMT singled out as the one thing that sometimes worked
Across multiple years, ayahuasca (and the DMT it contains) is repeatedly named as the only psychedelic that produced any visualisation, while LSD and psilocybin reportedly did not.
"Ayahuasca gave me the most vivid (and only) visuals I’ve ever experienced in my waking life. Mushrooms, despite high dose (over 4 grams), and an intentional setting (eye mask laying in bed to draw out visuals), I got nothing. Same with acid. Only ayahuasca was able to give me visuals. It completely changed my life." 2021 · t1_gjgn7cm ↗
"Not sure if this helps but the only time I have been able to consciously visualise while “lucid” was while doing ayahuasca. The active ingredient in ayahuasca is DMT." 2024 · t1_kzt8ocn ↗
"I’ve had aphantasia for as long as I can remember, and the only time I can visualize is on ~3+ g of psilocybin." 2025 · t1_nsea7cg ↗
"Same. Although I did manage to visualise once thanks to psilocybin, but the amount was rather large so I really wouldn't recommend it to somebody without experience with such substances." 2021 · t1_hk2k2i3 ↗
"Nothing happened" — psychedelics that didn't unlock imagery
Just as common are flat reports of no effect on inner vision, even at high doses or after multiple ceremonies.
"No visualizations for me any time I've tried it." 2023 · t1_jdn06ce ↗
"I’ve done psilocybin numerous times and I also have aphantasia— it has never affected me. I’ve felt high like weed a bit, but no visuals like my friends and spouse had." 2024 · t1_l4u2eac ↗
"Have congenital aphantasia myself and my recent DMT breakthrough provided nothing in terms of visuals." 2019 · t1_fbad4sa ↗
"Ahh I’ve taken ayahuasca about 8 times and never experienced any visuals regardless of how many cups the shaman gave me. I did feel tremendous healing internally but never experienced the visuals people usually speak about." 2021 · t1_gjgn7cm ↗
Partial: colours, geometry, distortion — but never "seeing" something that wasn't there
A middle band of reports describes intensified colour, kaleidoscopic patterns, or distortions of real objects, while the core inability to conjure imagery stays intact.
"i have tried ayahuasca all i got where closed eye visuals of faded colored geometric shapes like an old kaleidoscope" 2021 · t1_hfjjugx ↗
"I experience vivid geometric hallucinations with ayahuasca but have complete visual aphantasia otherwise. It doesn’t affect any persistent change for me." 2023 · t1_j3urq8n ↗
"I’ve only had very SLIGHT visuals on lsd and ayahuasca (DMT). LSD I had to stare at a Celtic knot until they finally started to move a LITTLE. When I did ayahuasca I think I experienced synesthesia and saw sound." 2026 · t1_oflpidt ↗
"however, even when im tripping out of my mind i see what my head decides to show me, i can not make my head show me anything." 2019 · t3_cf604k ↗
Acquired vs congenital — the recurring framing
Commenters keep returning to the dos Santos case study and the suggestion that trauma-acquired aphantasia might respond to psychedelics where congenital aphantasia doesn't.
"Obviously very little research has been done properly on this but early studies/case studies seem to suggest that aphantasia brought about by trauma (like in this case) may be 'treatable' under psychedelic experience, whereas congenital aphantasia seems resistant." 2019 · t1_fbad4sa ↗
Across the years
The pattern looks remarkably stable from 2019 (year_counts: 5) through 2024 (9, the peak) and into 2026 (2): a mix of "ayahuasca did something for me," "nothing happened at all," and "only colours/geometry." The acquired-vs-congenital framing appears as early as 2019 and is still being cited in 2024 threads about DMT. There is no clear shift in tone — enthusiasm and disappointment co-exist throughout, and no consensus emerges that any substance reliably restores voluntary imagery.
Volume
| Year | Chunks tagged |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 5 |
| 2020 | 4 |
| 2021 | 4 |
| 2023 | 5 |
| 2024 | 9 |
| 2025 | 1 |
| 2026 | 2 |
Cross-references
- Related sub-theme:
themes/phenomenology_pure_blackness.md(closed-eye baseline that psychedelics are tested against) - Related sub-theme:
themes/dreams_visual_dreaming.md(the other involuntary state where some aphants do see imagery)