Frisson, Aphantasia, and Feeling Life in the Body

Have you ever had a piece of music give you chills? Or maybe you’ve stood in nature, taken in the vastness of it all, and suddenly felt goosebumps rise across your skin. That sudden shiver, that emotional rush, has a name: frisson.

The word comes from French, meaning “shiver” or “thrill.” It describes that spine-tingling reaction when something moves us so deeply that our body responds before our mind can catch up. Scientists link it to dopamine and the brain’s reward system. It often happens when we hear an unexpected change in music, see a breathtaking work of art, or even have a moment of awe in conversation.

Living Without a Mind’s Eye

As someone with aphantasia—the inability to create mental pictures—I’ve always been intrigued by how my brain processes experiences differently. I don’t visualize the soaring notes of a symphony or replay a scene from memory in my head. My mind stays blank. But my body doesn’t.

When I hear music that stirs something in me, I often feel it as a wave of frisson. Goosebumps, a lump in my throat, sometimes even tears. It’s as if the experience bypasses the imagery system I lack and dives straight into sensation.

Could Aphantasia Heighten Frisson?

This makes me wonder: could people with aphantasia actually experience frisson more intensely? Without mental images to process, perhaps the body takes the lead, responding with a rush of physical and emotional signals.

Research on this connection is still young. What we do know is that frisson is deeply tied to how the brain processes emotion, surprise, and meaning. For those of us who don’t rely on visuals, maybe we’re tuned in differently—catching subtler cues in sound, rhythm, or atmosphere.

Feeling Life Instead of Seeing It

For me, frisson is a reminder that beauty and connection aren’t limited to what we “see” in the mind’s eye. They live in the body, in real time, in the electric moment when something strikes us as true, beautiful, or deeply human.

It’s one of the ways I experience life most vividly. Where others might picture something in detail, I feel it ripple through me.

✨ Have you experienced frisson lately? Maybe through music, nature, or even a simple conversation? I’d love to hear how it shows up for you.