Synaesthesia: Downsides

People assume that day to day life is enhanced for those with synesthesia, which it does, but it can also have some downsides. 

Support
- to those without synesthesia, it can seem strange and overwhelming whcih leaves synesthetes unable to talk to anyone without them getting confused or disbelieving what they are saying
- may feel anxious about explaining what they see because if it isn't normal then it may leave them feeling alienated

Ridicule
- those without synesthesia will often find a description of a synethetes experience to be strange and react through shunning and criticism

Personal Bias
- depnding on which part of the condition the individual has, they may be affected by certain letters being 'pretty' or 'ugly', leading to them preferencing them over others
- voices may sound attractive or unnattractive, so can limit who you interact with and make social situations/conversations uncomfortable 

Stereotypes
- there are lots of stereotypes surrounding synesthesia, which may not apply to everyone
- inherently creative
- left handed
- bad at math

Math Abilities
- as a synesthete may have to view the mathematical process a little differently, it can become uncomfortable for those with the condition
- an individual with OLP synesthesia may not want to expose a 'nice' number to a 'mean' number
- a grapheme synesthete views each number as a colour so therefore may realise that the laws of colour theory do not allow for these combinations to work, menaing they will have to disregard their colours temporarily and may struggle

Object Perception
- mirror-touch synesthesia is when aperson observing someone else being touched will feel the sensation of being touched in the same area
- upon appraoching large, tall, deep or wide objects (lakes, large animals) those with synesthesia may react badly due to how they feel the object  

Musical Abilities
- those with sound-colour synesthesia may find that their musical abilities are counteracted by their synthetic experiences. Having the presence of a colour everytime they hear a sound can be pleasant, but may also make it difficut and meaning they will need to rely on their memory more than others.

Visual Obstruction
- an individual with sound-colour synesthesia will usually be unaffected by the extra colours, but in situations with extreme/unexpected noise they may find themselves overwhelmed
- a fire drill to a non-synesthete is loud and annpying, but a sound-colour synesthete will have obscured vision which may cause them to trip as they try to exit the building

Life Changes
- synthetic experiences become weaker in intensity over time or stronger and more vivid

Illness
- to anyone a high temperature can cause an altered perception of reality, so a synesthete who attempts to perform daily activities while feverish may find that the synesthesia is either stronger or weaker. 
- ear infections mean that the synesthete's colours will be altereed for the duration of the infection.