Disadvantages of Synesthesia

Disadvantages???

       In my own experience, I've encountered some moments that, when I here a particular song in my head, my hand and feet starts moving like I was literary playing drums. While doing that, a friend of mine reacted and asks me, "Ok ka lang ba James?" and I said "this is what happens when I here music in my head". In this case, I felt a little mock, but I knew she was just concerned that's why it was just ok. Synesthesia, it could not get any worse. According to the article 10 Disadvantages to Synesthesia written by Mr. Synesthi and Nic Swaner, 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, wouldn’t part with their synthetic experiences to begin with. That does not mean that there aren’t downsides to the condition. 
 Synesthesia has its advantages, but here, I found some interesting disadvantages about what a synesthete person experiences. Here are the ten disadvantages in the article:

1. Support - lack of support from family and friends, and feeling alienated
2. Ridicule - experiencing mockery 
3. Stereotypes - perpetuated by the internet and media due to their synthetic gifts

    For me, being musician is a difficult thing, I experience a lot of sound-synesthesia, and because I don't have an mp3 player with me, I use my mind as a DJ set. When my mind is silent, a song always just pops up in my head, and then I start sing it, play it, remember it for almost two days. Seeing colors, pictures, hearing voices in your head are all symptoms of synesthesia. But the question for us now is, how do we control it? Being a drummer in a band has its benefits, because when you are a professional drummer hearing beats and copying it is easy, but how about if you try to imagine it, that is where synesthesia comes in, it gives you a great and infinite of imagining want you want to imagine. Synesthesia is not always negative, you can make it positive if you want to. It has disadvantages, but its up to you to find how to control your own synesthesia in yourself. According to the article, a lot of comments in there are positive, just like what Havengirl2001 said "I have synesthesia and its like a power. I love it. There are ups and downs but it is my friend and mine new friend!!!". See how positive this girl is, to her its a power, and that's a good thing, because when you embrace something positively, it becomes more easy to be with it. Think of it as a supernatural power, a good power, you can do anything with it, as long as you do good with it without hurting people.

     While reading the article, most of the things that came to my mind are the times I've experience synesthesia. I think my synesthesia only comes up in times that I play music, or think of it. There has been no negative effects of it, it just helps me imagine and think of positive things during spare time at school. According to the author Nic Swaner, he quoted, "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". 

       Well to this, there is a downside to my synesthesia, sometimes I think too much and different thoughts and visions come up and ruin it. So to this I simply suggest that when you experience a negative synesthesia, be sure that you have your family around you or your friends among your side to comfort you. But at times when you're alone, be sure that you can control it, or find inner peace in yourself, meditate a while, relax and clear your mind, then focus on one thing only, to gain peace in your mind. You should never be alone, be with your love ones, your friends and most important be with the Almighty God, because through Him, you can find that everlasting peace.