Could you have synesthesia?

Many synesthetes have lived their entire lives without consciously noticing that they had synesthesia. Some might have believed that their color, sound, etc. associations were something everyone experienced normally, and therefore they might never have given thought to it.

One man says he never realized he had synesthesia until it began to fade away, at the age of 24. It was only then that he realized he had enjoyed a special gift for the first quarter of his life. He still experienced some synesthesia, but it was milder than it had previously been.

Though synesthesia does not fade away for all synesthetes, in some cases it does occur.

Synesthesia is not considered to be an illness, even by mental health professionals. It is simply a gift, and one that happens to occur frequently in people with various mental disorders.