I've lost my Ni's images and feel quite confused about this

I'll obviously give some context as to what I mean. Before I begin, I'd like to reference some material from papa Jung concerning the nature of Introverted Intuition, just to make sure we all have a rough understanding of the whole picture preceding my problem. First of, I need to say that Ni does indeed see things in images, although I presume many Ni-doms happily live their life without them: "Inner objects appear to the intuitive perception as subjective images of things...", "Intuition... ...peers behind the scenes, quickly perceiving the inner image that gave rise to the specific phenomenon,..", "This image fascinates the intuitive activity: it is arrested by it and seeks to explore every detail of it. It holds fast to the vision, observing with the liveliest interest how the picture changes, unfolds further, and finally fades." (https://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Jung/types.htm)

I can personally attest to these statements, I had been living such an experience for years on end (until I didn't, of course) -- what I'm trying to imply by saying this is that I'm not really looking for any debates on whether the images are real or not because one Ni-dom (apparently) lived their whole life without them while the other trusts that this is very true, hence the oppositions meet here and misunderstandings multiply, nowhere helping me or others in search of an answer. I made this thread in hopes someone will guide me atleast a bit, directing my attention away from this to an attempt to prove somebody that the images are real and part of Ni is a big self-sabotage. I'll accept the existence and function of images as a living fact purely because I've lived it, but I won't turn a blind eye over the other fact that some others may not be so fortunate to have lived it (or remember living it) since I'm finding myself in the same situation as of now.

I'm sure we can mediate the two standpoints by making each accept the idea that sometimes the images are there and sometimes not -- this way both are justified -- but now appears a question regarding the reasons as to why the images are at one point there and the other not. I imagine these periods to take years because that's what I have been met with: I remember a long time ago in school I just started having these envisionings of things for no reason, and it kinda fucked with me because "What the hell is happening to me?". These envisionings are of course the images already spoken of. I had a very good time with them until I began studying in university: by that time they just really ceased to be, I presume because my attention was constantly being directed to, well, studies and all that rather than the images themselves. Having the knowledge of how Ni supposedly works, a great contrast appeared between how things were in my life & Jung's description and how it's all going now -- such an event prompted me to ask myself "What the hell is happening to me?" once again, only this time it's not because of something but because of the lack of this 'something'.

Now that I think about it, I should've probably entertained the two standpoints before telling you my bloody life story because some of you may not be familiar with them well enough. The first standpoint are of course all those people who do believe that the images are a part of Ni and its perceiving process, the second then is all the others who don't really have any experience with these images. Don't think of these as structured groups of people who have their own online forums and chatting spaces where they know each other by name and fight with the opposing group, by the 'standpoints' I'm merely denoting a collection of people who each independently came to a more-or-less similar view on the matter at hand. The first standpoint doesn't require much of my introduction because you can just simply read Jung's descriptions of Ni and have a good grasp of what this group believes -- it's a different case with the second one: these don't really view the premise of images as literally purely because they work and live and function without them, instead you may hear of "connecting the dots" and all that mumbo-jumbo Ni-doms constantly talk about compensating the lack of personal experience with the images. These, I presume, simply have lived the perspective I'm currently in for years or enough time to really forget about such things. Why do I say 'forget' exactly rather than suspect that they never at all saw them? I'm just basing my guess on my own self: at first, my head was empty, then I had these images, then I didn't have them, now I think this is what other Ni-doms have lived/are living/will live through too.

So, with all that in mind, I'm starting to ponder many thoughts regarding this period, Ni and other Ni-doms. What would prompt images to just cease? Is it because of attention being directed away from them? Do they genuinely dissapear or just sink to the depths of Unconscious, waiting for a release? Is it a natural phase in the life of Ni-doms or is this a sign of something bad? How does one bring them back? Should they really be forced to come back? What does one miss out on if they don't gaze at the images? Does this ordeal get compensated, by Ni or other means? What actually changes in one's mind/psyche/soul, if it does? Fate put me into this uncharted territory and I feel quite confused, what sort of a challenge is this? It's probably a challenge: the images were a cool addition to Ni, nothing really malevolent about them, and then they were suddenly "kidnapped", does one actually have to save them? Reminds me of a hero's journey monomyth really, especially the "crossing the first threshold" part. May seem a tad too overblown to really consider such a little change in one's mind so seriously, but I just can't help but see it as such -- it is so loaded with importance for me, I even made an account just to post my thought here!

Mental image forming was a big part of my mental life for a long time. But I had a series of strokes recently, and my imagery has been severely hampered since. The strokes didn't affect the parts of the brain that controls imagery but rather balance. Nevertheless, it seem to compensate for balance in a way that seems to hamper quality image making. I can still visualize, but making deductions based on those visualizations has become more faulty.

BTW, I no longer place any credence in personality theory and believe that personality isn't permanent, but I won't debate this aspect.

ygolo said:

I no longer place any credence in personality theory and believe that personality isn't permanent, but I won't debate this aspect.

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I mostly agree with you and place very little credence in it anymore.

Personality is fluid and the theories don’t account enough for variables like trauma (both physical and emotional). Many (if not all) people may experience enough trauma that they are effectively rewired. (My own experience was that childhood trauma largely shaped my adult personality, and working through that trauma as an adult has made me realize that I’d adopted many personality traits as direct coping mechanisms. Other so-called traits and aversions of mine could be chalked up to my innate neurological wiring)

The problem with personality theory is the great risk of normalizing pathologies. Too many amateurs and so-called professionals in the type communities fall into that trap. Understandable, as it can be tricky determining where personality and pathology begin, end and overlap.

Well, you really are NiTe.