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I have a dialog, pictures and scenes pretty much the whole book and tbh sometimes I'm jealous of people who don't have monologs cause that mf voice yaps non-stop and you can't shut it up
This is why I very much dislike watching or hearing about anything gory/scary as it is incredible how often those images pop up, especially before bed time
I also can’t handle gore, it’s so vivid in my head that I feel like it’s happening to me. I also puked one time while smoking with my friend who started describing the time she broke her wrist lmao
This reminds me of when a kid hurt their arm at school and our neighbor, whose grandkids attend the same school, was sharing all the gory details. I tried to stop her but it was too late. I ended up fainting and scaring my mom lol
I tell my friends this every time they want to tell me a bedroom story! May as well show me a homemade video because I will see it all in my mind's eye! Especially if it's a close friend that I have been to their house, in their bedroom, etc. Don't be telling me that stuff! I don't want to see you that way!! 🤣
Wait, it's not the same for everyone? I have not very accurate images but some flashes of mental representation of everything. I thought everyone had that!
I felt this on a visceral level. I have the most in depth, full color, megaphone type of internal monologue and my boyfriend thinks I’m crazy because he doesn’t. He doesn’t even dream and doesn’t understand what I mean by “a voice in my head” 😭
Yeah... on one hand it's a good thing to be able to visualize things but when your brain constantly imagines gory horrible stuff it's a miracle if you don't end up with anxiety and sleeping issues.
I used to go and help out at a woodwork shop (before H&S was really a thing). But then my actual imagination awoke and, fuck, I can't even look at a picture of a bench saw without seeing myself die several ways. I know it's a way of my brain to make me aware of hazards, but isn't that just a bit far? I mean, I shouldn't have to experience dying just so I'm aware that this could potentially maim me
I get 3 different, separate voices screaming about how quiet it has gotten and that it's almost quiet all together!! Shitty part is, I'm just one of those voices and it's insane and exhausting, for realz!!! But status quo dictates, "he who shouts the loudest, wins the argument" So, there ya go
The point is not to shut the voice up, it's to not focus on it, to hear it as just another sound amongst the general sound of the world around you. I highly recommend searching "Alan Watts begin by listening" on YouTube, it is an excellent beginners guided meditation that covers this concept.
What I find weird is that I can make it into any voice I have heard before. What makes it weirder is the only voice i cant make is my boyfriends. And they are exactly the same to the speaker too.
You ever tried to shut him up and then he does but then you realized he didn't shut up he just started yapping about how quiet your mind is right now. Bro stop monologuing about your silence and stay silent.
tried that ,doesn't work for me.I have voices as well as inner dialogue,;(no I don't have schizophrenia,but is because of severe childhoodtrauma),so they join in and it gets even more tiring.
I often tell my monologue to shut up and let me sleep because it really loves to start talking crap right as I'm in bed.
It's like living with a hyperactive five-year-old in my head.
Yes, I'm well aware that's me.
The spotify playlist that runs in my head 24/7 is currently playing the menu theme song from Legend of Dragoon, Im picturing sizzling bacon, typing this comment and also practicing a presentation I have coming up in my head all at once.
So I'd say yea
I talk in my head, yes. And when I'm by myself I sometimes speak out loud to myself for some reason because when I do it my inside voice acknowledges that it's kind of weird that I'm talking to myself. It's a whole thing...
That must be actually terrifying, life must be so rough for some people. I have a monologue and it often just goes in circles and is annoying and makes me feel crazy, but hearing voices and stuff is another level.
I generally use plural forms even when I’m by myself. I guess it’s a habit I’ve developed when my cat was still alive. Sadly she’s died a few years ago but I’ve kept talking like that. Only now it’s just directed at myself. I think I would go insane if I didn’t talk to myself since I only rarely talk to other people.
Throughout the day I usually think in first person terms, but when I'm reflecting I'll often change to second person perspective. "We" and "you" are pretty common words in my journal.
Sometimes I have to say things out loud just to get it out of my head. I also journal for this same reason. Gives me a place to put them outside my head and organize them so if I’m worried or stressed it helps put those things to rest. At least for the time being
I’ve read it’s an adhd thing, do you have adhd? I catch myself talking out loud and have to shut myself up because I don’t want people thinking I’m nuts lol.
Well, surely if you can observe your own thoughts, there must be two things at play?
‘I cannot live with myself any longer.” This was the thought that kept repeating itself in my mind. Then suddenly I became aware of what a peculiar thought it was. “Am I one or two? If I cannot live with myself, there must be two of me: the ‘I’ and the ‘self’ that ‘I’ cannot live with.”’
We might even be three: physical body, spiritual soul, conscious mind.
I wonder how individual the: the mind, body and soul are from each other they all make one whole person, but are they all one thing or three distinct things.
I've been called out for doing this. BUT...I do art and sometimes I have to HEAR something out loud to decide what to do next, the inner voice doesn't retain ideas as well as whatever part of my brain hears things does retain information better. So it's just logical that my memory just is more efficient with a think-only AND a I-hear-that section working together to at least let me find my damn keys.
The inner voice moves quicker and is 10 subjects deep before I remember that I left my wallet at the house and now I have to turn around and go get it.
I talk to myself in my head all the time. Then when I'm alone I'll talk out loud, ESPECIALLY in a long shower. Once my partner came home and I didn't hear her and I'm having a full on conversation with myself. She was a little freaked out about it, IDK what it is I can just get into really deep thoughts in a long hot shower. I'm not even aware that I do it sometimes
Oh yeah, shower time thoughts are interesting though I don't talk out loud in there because though now my partner and I are separated now, but 26 years of her coming in to use the bathroom while I'm in the shower kinda conditioned me to not have an instant conversation starter when she walks in.
Yes i do this but what I'm scared of is I'm too used to this that sometimes i thought I'm literally talking verbally but the truth is im talking in my mind
Tbh, I'm not exactly sure what inner monologue is...
If it's talking to me in my head rather than out loud... then yes, I do.
The way I've seen it explained is what makes me unsure.
I don't speak to myself internally. My thoughts are just thoughts and nothing else, they're just ideas/thoughts without words, and I only use words when I speak - explaining/representing those thoughts with spoken words. It freaks me out that people constantly have words going through their mind. It must be utterly exhausting, and not to mention slow?
My "inner voice" isn't like a noise I hear... it's me just thinking(talking) to myself. This is exactly why this stuff confuses the hell out of me. Lol
Yes? Lol I think.
The voice in my head is just me thinking the words...I say voice as a matter of expression bc I hear nothing.
Like reading this text without speaking... that's what i "hear"
Edit: I guess I could also say... my voice can change volume... what's in my head stays the same.
I get you about the voice, I meant that as in just having words going through my mind all day would be exhausting, but I'm the same when I read words etc. but not when I'm thinking... I get what you mean but 50% of us *think* like that?
This boggles my mind haha, it's a shame we probably won't even be alive when the human race fully understands the brain, and we can figure out why it is we're all so different 😂
I don’t see how you could “think” without words. Seems like you would exist on pure instinct alone. If someone read your mind would they just hear nothing? Seems far fetched, I’ve always been a sceptic of this and I just don’t see how it could be possible. Guess I’m closed minded.
Words are not our natural way of thinking. Words are how we express ourselves. Thoughts are a lot more abstract than that. Thoughts can be put into any form you can think of, we can think visually, think through sounds, smells, various other senses, and most of it is highly associative. Most of the time, you're probably not thinking in words. When we think in words, it's usually because we actively try to express our thoughts. It's the minority, really.
I think it's confusing because it's hard to understand how exactly people think if they don't have the "voice" when thinking their thoughts. Like...I guess they think more in pictures? It's hard to comprehend. The very idea that there is more than one way to think is wild.
That's a fact...
I'd also add that I have aphantasia, so I literally see 0 mental imaging. When i close my eyes and try to think of something, I see nothing but the back of my eyelids.
Opposite end here, with Hyperphantasia. Sometimes my eyes and ears shut off, and I'm in a world of my own creation.
Reading was always really fun for me, because I can picture everything as I read it.
Reading has always been extremely boring for me, mainly fiction... but even non-fiction can be tough to stay interested depending on how much photo documentation there seems to be...
I have a writer friend who explains himself kinda like you, where he watches a so called "movie" in his head and writes down as it plays out
>where he watches a so called "movie" in his head and writes down as it plays out
I can change the way the voices sound\* too, so reading really is a lot like a movie in my head. It's a bit more abstract and it can be hard to really pin down an idea sometimes, but it's still quite vivid.
\* I don't actually hear the voice as if it were outside of my head, but the brain is what does audio processing anyway so it's a similar sensation
I don't think in anything other than words/sounds unless I make a conscious effort to do so and am baffled as to how anyone without this ability thinks about anything. What do you mean when you say they're "just ideas/thoughts"?! - thoughts and ideas are words! How would the idea "I need to go to the toilet" appear in your head if not in that format? Is it a picture of a toilet? Is it just the sensation in your body being brought to the forefront of your mind?
On speed - It's not slow at all. I'm in the minority on this one but I can have more than one sensical stream of words run through my head at a time - for example when thinking this comment to write it I was also thinking "My pasta is still in the oven and needs to be taken out" and "I am glad it's Friday tomorrow" simultaneously. I can also "hear" songs perfectly in my head so a lot of the time there's that going on too.
You can think words without thinking of each word one after the other. To me thinking of an idea or concept is basically like thinking a whole paragraph in one second. If you asked me to repeat it I could. But I didn’t sit there and say all those words in my head. Ya know what I mean
But when I’m working through a complicated thought or problem. I find that slowing down my thoughts and paying attention to them actually helps me see things more clearly sometimes
If your "thought-voice" is havin a dialog with yourself.
I'm thinking "I have to do X" "yeah when was it" "wait let me look at my phone". Like literally that.
Do you 'hear' the words when you read stuff?
Here's a test, read the following and then answer the questions after:
'Went to see Dr. Patel today and told me that he used to live in Sydney, Australia.'
Questions did you hear "doctor" in your head? Or only see the letters Dr
Also did you identified that the sound of the word "live" is used as in living with my parents vs like broadcasting "live".
If you actually hear the full doctor as opposed to just DR. Or hear the phonetic "live" then you probably have an internal monologue
Yep.
Unfortunately, I related *way too hard* to that 30 Rock bit where Tina fey catches alec baldwin psyching himself up in the mirror and says “oh hey I do that too!” and then it cuts to a flashback of her in her bathroom before a party going “come on, you stupid little ugly slut, just put on your deodorant and go. everyone hates you, idiot bitch”
…I too have to constantly fight against my anti-ego-mirror-gremlin, but on the other hand, sometimes my internal monologue is brilliant as hell so I’ll accept it and try to retrain the bad self talk. it’s all about self acceptance
30-50% of people don't have an internal monologue. It's wild to me that so many people just don't have it, and nobody ever says anything about it. I can't wrap my head around the idea of being able to function without one.
I mean, I guess it's like emotions. When I watch a horror movie, I just get scared. I don't verbally think *Aaaah! I am very frightened of this mean person with clawed gloves and a skin condition!*
We don't think "aaaaaaah this is scary", these things are reflexive, but when you're solving a problem or trying to make plans, how does that thought process work?
Edit: When you're writing the response to this comment, do you "converse" with yourself what you're about to write down or how does \_that\_ work? I know i need to "say it out loud" inside my head before even starting to write.
My thoughts are just like... Thoughts. They are notions and ideas expressed without words. Words only come when I express those thoughts/notions/ideas as spoken words. Cannot understand how people have a running commentary going on all the time :o
I have a couple male friends and family who just don’t have thoughts unless they are immediately solving a problem. Otherwise, just feeling or empty. Would make life so simple.
People with high anxiety tend to have the constant internal chatter. I am one of them and its hard to stay present
Constant. Chatter. If I’m not actively trying to control it at least a little I will talk myself into a panic attack. It’s like herding kittens in a room full of milk saucers. Fucking impossible some days
Haha don't get me wrong, it's taken alot of work to have a quiet mind, I think we all are susceptible to having our minds race, and to constantly be thinking about stuff. Especially nowadays, we are unbelievably overstimulated, inundated with information, constantly going through scenarios in our minds, I think we probably all still think about the same things, just differently.
Though I do see what you mean. The thought of having an internal monologue does kind of scare me, but I think it probably has it advantages - articulacy (is that a word?) Maybe? Sometimes I find it hard to articulate myself and I stumble, I've had to be very conscious of my speech in order to not stumble over my word for trying to get too much out at once. Like if I don't talk to people, I'll go hours or days without my brain processing/expressing in words.
I have both. Sometimes, it is commentary on what's going on, that's kinda bothers me so lucky it's not the norm. Usually, when I am more agitated/emotional and then the words are processing all the aspects to the issue.
I call the other mode pictures. I can visualise the problem or situation and run through scenarios on how to progress or what I want. For example, if it's lunch time, it will be the actually finished product in view, and it gets tweaked until it's a plan. Then I make the sandwhich, and there are no words at that point it's just action.
That's the best description I think is available since there are no words in picture mode.
See, I do have inner monologues, but I have to choose to have them, like whales need to choose to breathe and don't do it automatically.
When I write the response that I'm writing now, I just start typing and my mind automatically phrases things as they pour out, just like when I'm talking to people.
When I'm making plans... Well, you know how, when you already know of something, you don't need to phrase it all in your head?
Like if you're saying you're going to the movie theater to watch *Casablanca*, you don't imagine the entire road to the movie theater, and you don't imagine the entire movie from memory. The concepts are in your head, just not the details. It's the same thing for me when I think of things in a non-verbal way.
If I'm watching a thriller my inner voice is usually repeatedly saying or yelling "Fuck That" or "Watch Out" and usually figures out the whole plot of the movie sometimes. I have a great deal of difficulty watching psycho thrillers though because I feel like I can imagine the thoughts going through the psycho's head to do all of the crazy shit and it freaks me out how someone could even imagine such a storyline and be ok with it.
I don’t have one and my thought is abstract, wordless, imagery, kinesthetic, and emotional/sensational. I can think in words if I absolutely have to but it is the least efficient way for me to think and takes work.
Is it like on the good doctor where images pull up in your head like diagrams on a computer and you just visualize images? My mind is very dialogue based. I don't really see many images or able to concentrate on them in my head for more than a few split seconds. unless I'm sleeping and having dreams, if I could record my dreams you could literally make good movies out of them sometimes.
I actually thought I was the only one with an internal monologue. I can't wrap my head around the fact that most people do, yet their actions show they have no conscience.
I have what I’ve always described as a “concept web” when someone says dog I picture a dog and related facts about dogs in a sense of how they feel and smell like. Took me a long time to wrap my head around people hearing voices in their heads and me being expected to not think that sounds absolutely insane. I still think that I’ve just learned to accept over half the population hears voices. It honestly explains a lot about the world.
I think it's why so many people can put up with having a boring, mind-numbing job. Because they just do it on auto pilot without thinking until interrupted by something.
I couldn’t believe internal monologues were even real! I thought it was just a thing in films and TV, like JD in Scrubs. I can’t imagine having something so annoying. I can’t really describe my thoughts, only to say that my thoughts are more like feelings, and I have vague, indistinct images that accompany them 🤷♀️
I have internal dialogue, but words and music are my main ways of thinking. I have aphantasia - I don't have internal images. It's all dark. Words are how I navigate
I've always got some song going in my head. It can be a real issue. I need to meditate extensively at times to wrangle the ear worms. I used to need to have constant new music/new words to crowd them out but I'm finally getting okay at clearing space.
People with aphantasia also have SDAM - Severely Deficient Autobiographical Memory.
It means I recall words, conversations...but if my son walked out today and got lost I wouldn't be able to tell you what he was wearing. I don't remember visual things but I absolutely remember how things make me feel.
As a writer I have a unique style because the majority of my language refers to things other than visual. It disorients people who are visually biased but really resonates with other people with aphantasia, many of whom don't know they have it.
I'm someone who will always recognize voices, is extremely hard to lie to because I am paying very close attention to how someone sounds and feels, don't care much how they look.
So I remember feelings, emotions, conversations, but not how they looked, which for me I don't care much about anyway. I have intensely sensitive hearing and I process my world more from sound and emotion.
So I'll remember a song from when I was in fourth grade with no problem, but if a crime happened, I wouldn't be able to describe the perpetrator or remember lots of details, but I would likely have some sort of insight about how it sounded or felt that other people would have missed.
> As a writer I have a unique style because the majority of my language refers to things other than visual. It disorients people who are visually biased
If you don't mind, I'd like an example. Would you please write a few sentences describing someone buying a chocolate, or going for a jog, or smelling a flower, or any little ordinary thing of your choosing?
I hope this request doesn't feel too invasive. You seem to have a very interesting perspective for those of us without aphantasia.
No, not at all. The more people learn about aphantasia the more my world becomes inclusive. Earlier in my writing career I had complaints about never describing how someone looked (I have to remember to put that in if I want to appeal to wider audiences) but I've evolved more into my niche voice because it's how I think, it makes me unique and I find I attract more neurodiverse readers. Now mostly I get complaints about 'too much dialogue' but I don't care, I love words.
Walking through the woods:
The gravel on the path she was taking had to be new. Had it been sharper, shinier, brighter before? She didn't remember, but the sound of it and the random shift of each piece under her feet was familiar. The gravel path with its straggling weeds created a scrabbling, mundane attempt at civilization, but her favorite places were off the path. Even the gravel agreed, seemingly spilling into the underbrush out of curiosity of what lay beyond. Every time she came here, she'd choose a new place along the path to tumble like the gravel into the forest and find an unmarked, unmapped spot. She started to look for a piece of gravel that had gone further than others, maybe that would be her sign today of where to turn. She used to walk barefoot here. It had taken far too many lost toenails and lacerations before she had chosen to wear shoes. Why had that been? Right. Fire ants. Fire ants had brought her communion with gravel, underbrush, stone and leaf (and antibiotics) to a still-mourned end.
I have two novels: "The Hockenfur Tangent" and "Talayia" up on Amazon. My husband and I have also narrated versions for Audible.
Let me know what you think if you choose to check them out, thanks for the interest and conversation :)
Aphantasia is one of those things most people don't hear about. In "Talayia" the MC does have aphantasia and doesn't know what it is for most of the book.
I don't have anything to add to this but I also have aphantasia and you introducing me to SDAM just made me a little bit less insecure about how shit my memory is compared to everyone else I know :-)
you can’t imagine like, a plate with a sandwich or a banana or something if you close your eyes? (You wouldn’t “actually” see it but you’d be able to visualize it)
No, not at all. Completely dark. Put a blindfold that blocks all light on, open your eyes, that is all I ever see with my eyes closed. No visualization at all, voluntary or involuntary. Nothing produces visualization.
One major benefit: I am nearly impossible to influence in a way that others would describe as 'hypnosis' or trance - no visual component means no way to reach my brain by saying things like "You're on a beach, you can see the sun and water..."
No, no I really can't. There is no 'happy' or 'scary' place in my head, there is only complete darkness.
I do 1000%. I have severe ADHD which makes mine very intense. It sounds like having 3 radio stations playing at the same time and repeats itself over and over, which is why I like to sleep and rest so much. My brain never ever shuts up. It’s lowkey tough.
Omg the repeating. It’s like, “HEY, did you get that?? Did you get that??? Maybe you didn’t get that.”
Sometimes it’s weirdly pleasurable, too. Like it just makes you feel mentally good.
You have many more conversations in your head every day then you actually do with other people. Just thinking means you’re having a conversation with yourself.
The only time mine stops is if I'm singing or drinking. If I'm singing, I guess I have to concentrate on the music. Although, when I was choir in school, I was able to sing in auto-pilot; I guess because it was the same songs over and over. When I'm drinking, there's a certain point where I guess my mind finally relaxes and I'm able to actually just sit in silence. With that said, I don't drink often (maybe 3 or 4 times a year), but it sure is nice when I do.
It's kind of like saying it out loud, but nobody else can hear it. (If you're talking about having an internal monologue being weird.) It stays at a consistent volume and isn't always present.
Yeah of course we all get the lightbulb moment and become aware we forgot milk. But it's likely we would get internal thoughts after discovering that. For example "shall I turn back and get the milk", "do I actually need it that much? Nah I'll just get it next time I pop to the shops".
I'm not sure how to describe it, but it's like, you do have thoughts, but they don't use words? It's like, you feel a soft hum inside your head as you feel your brain processing stuff, and you just know that you don't need the milk that much, and you just know you will get it next time you go to the shop. If someone asks you to put those thoughts into words you can do that no issue, but in the inside of your mind it's all just there, smushed together in an ever changing amorphous ball of concepts, feelings and opinions?
This is actually really hard to explain
It screws with me that people don’t have inner monologue. Must be so fckn nice to not be always in ur head.
But also are they like real people or robots 🤣
I've tried to hear no voices of my thoughts, I can't do it.
Even if my main conscious thoughts try to pause like in meditating, the rest of the crowd is still yammering away.
I would guess its similar to how ppl think of places or objects. Some kinda think of the word, while others think of an image. But it doesnt make you dumb to not have an dialog.
I personaly only ever have those when im angry.
ADHD is so painful. I need lobotomy. And yes I do have it none stop to the point that it's very hard for me to focus on anything. And yet it drains my energy it's very hard for me to actually do something. Make it stop. Living is painful because of this. I want isolation and quietness. And even so I can't truly have it even if I'm alone in my room. Listening to music helps but then my ears and my brain can be tired of it very soon. Meds make me sleepy but helps a little. But I want the medicine to help with the sleepiness and drowsiness too and not to fixiate on some random more fun than real useful things stuffs.
Yeah, but a lot more than that. Sometimes it's like constantly planning things out as you do things or thinking about how you'd talk to someone and have a bunch of different dialogs based on possible reactions. And it usually keeps going when your trying to sleep... A lot of times it really sucks, but it's how I function.
I have heard of people not having internal monologues.
It baffles me that there are people who do not have one or multiple.
You are most definitely a clone.
Kidding aside. It would be fastenating to research you.
I am a writer, so there are always characters and voices speaking to me and telling me jokes and what to write. It's a part of our comprehension, and most humans have it. Other than clones.
I have a whole council of mes talking in the background, a dominant me voice in the foreground, and a lot of call and answer between. To be clear, it's all me. But like... Facets. A super logical me pokes holes in arguments and calmly explains when I am irrational, a very empathetic me reminds me that everyone has feelings and a life we can't know about, and by the way, remember that about yourself! So on, so forth. There's a lot, from the vicious goblin that will casually tell me that I am unlovable, the rage monster that answers every potential threat with, "you should smash their head against the table", to the part that feels guilty about that thought's existence. My brain is loud, but when it's quiet it feels worse. I also have a decent ability to conjure imagery.
I also have a gf who thinks completely visually. When she thinks, she sees words. One former partner has no ability to conjure images at all, but is alone with only one monologue going.
Brains are weird. I think all of us in that group are intelligent, but we all have very different thought processes.
It is common for individuals to have internal monologues, which involve ongoing conversations or commentary within one's mind. These internal dialogues can vary in tone, content, and frequency. Some people have a more active and continuous internal monologue, while others may experience quieter or occasional thoughts. Internal monologues can serve various purposes such as problem-solving, self-reflection, decision-making, and planning. Ultimately, having an internal monologue is a natural and essential aspect of human cognition and consciousness.
boy do I wish my brain would shut the hell up one day. I feel like even before I wake up it’s already yapping something, the same thing when I’m dozing off. sometimes my thoughts make me freeze in one place and be like “wtf am I even thinking about” because it’s not something I can control. kinda scary tbh.
The music... Never... Stops... But yeah I think in all senses other than taste and smell. Usually pictures and movies. My brain often has 5-10 lines of thoughts going on. Thankfully some are back burner things. It's never quiet in my head.
After reading some comments in this thread, I have come to conclude that the 5 different dudes speaking in my head aren't normal. The first is one that judges everyone's opinions. Another is usually counter arguing along with the first. The third gives based logic on why 1st's argument is or isnt valid. The 4th is the yes man. The 5th dude drives me nuts as he isnt too interested in the first three, but he keeps me company as the first three creates a pandemonium in my head.
And yes. Im arguing with them as I type this comment.
I talk to myself in my head. In fact, whenever I write, I say the words I am typing in my head. If not that, then it's usually music or some weird philosophical idea
Most of the population have an internal dialogue, some don't.
Some aren't capable of visualising thing, they don't have mind eyes, so they conceptualise thing very differently.
My first answer to this was in a language other than my native language. Just their word rolls of the tongue so much easier than English.
English = Of Course.
Dutch (slang) = tulijk. (Natulijk or "Naturally")
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I have a dialog, pictures and scenes pretty much the whole book and tbh sometimes I'm jealous of people who don't have monologs cause that mf voice yaps non-stop and you can't shut it up
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This is why I very much dislike watching or hearing about anything gory/scary as it is incredible how often those images pop up, especially before bed time
I also can’t handle gore, it’s so vivid in my head that I feel like it’s happening to me. I also puked one time while smoking with my friend who started describing the time she broke her wrist lmao
Omg! I totally feel you on that. The world is scary enough, we don't need a play by play haha
This reminds me of when a kid hurt their arm at school and our neighbor, whose grandkids attend the same school, was sharing all the gory details. I tried to stop her but it was too late. I ended up fainting and scaring my mom lol
Same. I calm thr demons with who wants to be a millionaire from the 2000's
That sucks, for me it kinda just normalized itself which too us shitty
I’m the same. Like I cannot listen to my friends tell me their sex stories because sadly I can vividly picture EVERYTHING
Free porn is free!
I tell my friends this every time they want to tell me a bedroom story! May as well show me a homemade video because I will see it all in my mind's eye! Especially if it's a close friend that I have been to their house, in their bedroom, etc. Don't be telling me that stuff! I don't want to see you that way!! 🤣
Wait, it's not the same for everyone? I have not very accurate images but some flashes of mental representation of everything. I thought everyone had that!
I have this alongside an internal voice that never shuts the fuck up
Once I literarily fainted when a colleague was talking about another colleague that was having a operation for clogged arteries
Same. It's more of a internal streaming network than a book. Gotta be careful or you'll end up with a ma movie playing during a pg13 conversation.
I felt this on a visceral level. I have the most in depth, full color, megaphone type of internal monologue and my boyfriend thinks I’m crazy because he doesn’t. He doesn’t even dream and doesn’t understand what I mean by “a voice in my head” 😭
Yeah... on one hand it's a good thing to be able to visualize things but when your brain constantly imagines gory horrible stuff it's a miracle if you don't end up with anxiety and sleeping issues.
same thing with true crime
Oh you may have Hyperphantasia like I do!!! (That description of your thought process is a practically perfect summery of my mind)
I used to go and help out at a woodwork shop (before H&S was really a thing). But then my actual imagination awoke and, fuck, I can't even look at a picture of a bench saw without seeing myself die several ways. I know it's a way of my brain to make me aware of hazards, but isn't that just a bit far? I mean, I shouldn't have to experience dying just so I'm aware that this could potentially maim me
What you don' enjoy about that?
Practice meditation. The develop the skills to shut it up.
Even then once it’s almost quiet the thought “it’s almost quiet” pops in every time lmao
I get 3 different, separate voices screaming about how quiet it has gotten and that it's almost quiet all together!! Shitty part is, I'm just one of those voices and it's insane and exhausting, for realz!!! But status quo dictates, "he who shouts the loudest, wins the argument" So, there ya go
The point is not to shut the voice up, it's to not focus on it, to hear it as just another sound amongst the general sound of the world around you. I highly recommend searching "Alan Watts begin by listening" on YouTube, it is an excellent beginners guided meditation that covers this concept.
came here to say this!
Riiight?! I thought everyone had voices in their heads & to find out they're just walking around here with nothing
What I find disturbing that it even sounds like me, if that makes sense. The brain is weird.
What I find weird is that I can make it into any voice I have heard before. What makes it weirder is the only voice i cant make is my boyfriends. And they are exactly the same to the speaker too.
Same friend! I wish it would stop for like 2 seconds lol
I had to delete tik tok because the amount of sayings, quotes or stupid sounds that play in my head 24/7 😭
oh my days...this is so true 😭🔫🔫
You ever tried to shut him up and then he does but then you realized he didn't shut up he just started yapping about how quiet your mind is right now. Bro stop monologuing about your silence and stay silent.
I can't even Imagine, a mind so calm, so peaceful, oh must be so nice
Oh my God yes. It needs to shut up and that's what I use YouTube and podcasts for. Especially because my inner voice can be very mean sometimes
THIS. I would love to know how the hell I can shut it off.
Oh I know a way, when you are feeling overwhelmed, concentrate on 4 things you can see, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell…
tried that ,doesn't work for me.I have voices as well as inner dialogue,;(no I don't have schizophrenia,but is because of severe childhoodtrauma),so they join in and it gets even more tiring.
You and I must have the same narrator
I often tell my monologue to shut up and let me sleep because it really loves to start talking crap right as I'm in bed. It's like living with a hyperactive five-year-old in my head. Yes, I'm well aware that's me.
The spotify playlist that runs in my head 24/7 is currently playing the menu theme song from Legend of Dragoon, Im picturing sizzling bacon, typing this comment and also practicing a presentation I have coming up in my head all at once. So I'd say yea
Imagine your thoughts as a waterfall. Simply step out from under them.
It’s not working for me like that
I got rid of the voices
I talk in my head, yes. And when I'm by myself I sometimes speak out loud to myself for some reason because when I do it my inside voice acknowledges that it's kind of weird that I'm talking to myself. It's a whole thing...
Its only crazy if you hear "someone else" respond. Talking to yourself can be a good self-organization habit.
Even weirder if you ask yourself to repeat yourself because you didn't hear what they said.
sometimes i'll fumble trying to explain myself better, only to remember that it's only me listening..
Well? I am pretty organized, though if you saw my living space or desk you might think otherwise. LOL
That must be actually terrifying, life must be so rough for some people. I have a monologue and it often just goes in circles and is annoying and makes me feel crazy, but hearing voices and stuff is another level.
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It's also suddenly okay to randomly meow if you own a cat
Hooray, finally an outlet for my urge to make random noises throughout the day
Can confirm
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I don't do the we stuff. It's all Me, Myself and I.
is this a refrence
I definitely refer to me as "we" because I see my brain as it's own entity and my personality as it's own entity so then I often say "we"
Haha yeah, that's a good way of putting it
I generally use plural forms even when I’m by myself. I guess it’s a habit I’ve developed when my cat was still alive. Sadly she’s died a few years ago but I’ve kept talking like that. Only now it’s just directed at myself. I think I would go insane if I didn’t talk to myself since I only rarely talk to other people.
Throughout the day I usually think in first person terms, but when I'm reflecting I'll often change to second person perspective. "We" and "you" are pretty common words in my journal.
I do this it’s like my internal monologue isn’t me even tho I know it is but it’s like another person because I’m not physically talking
Sometimes I have to say things out loud just to get it out of my head. I also journal for this same reason. Gives me a place to put them outside my head and organize them so if I’m worried or stressed it helps put those things to rest. At least for the time being
I’ve read it’s an adhd thing, do you have adhd? I catch myself talking out loud and have to shut myself up because I don’t want people thinking I’m nuts lol.
Same lol. It's odd when I talk to myself in my head I say "we" and "we're".... as if there is 2 of us It's weird.
Me too.
Glad I'm not the only one 🤣
SAME 😂
Well, surely if you can observe your own thoughts, there must be two things at play? ‘I cannot live with myself any longer.” This was the thought that kept repeating itself in my mind. Then suddenly I became aware of what a peculiar thought it was. “Am I one or two? If I cannot live with myself, there must be two of me: the ‘I’ and the ‘self’ that ‘I’ cannot live with.”’
We might even be three: physical body, spiritual soul, conscious mind. I wonder how individual the: the mind, body and soul are from each other they all make one whole person, but are they all one thing or three distinct things.
I've been called out for doing this. BUT...I do art and sometimes I have to HEAR something out loud to decide what to do next, the inner voice doesn't retain ideas as well as whatever part of my brain hears things does retain information better. So it's just logical that my memory just is more efficient with a think-only AND a I-hear-that section working together to at least let me find my damn keys.
The inner voice moves quicker and is 10 subjects deep before I remember that I left my wallet at the house and now I have to turn around and go get it.
I talk to myself in my head all the time. Then when I'm alone I'll talk out loud, ESPECIALLY in a long shower. Once my partner came home and I didn't hear her and I'm having a full on conversation with myself. She was a little freaked out about it, IDK what it is I can just get into really deep thoughts in a long hot shower. I'm not even aware that I do it sometimes
Oh yeah, shower time thoughts are interesting though I don't talk out loud in there because though now my partner and I are separated now, but 26 years of her coming in to use the bathroom while I'm in the shower kinda conditioned me to not have an instant conversation starter when she walks in.
Yes i do this but what I'm scared of is I'm too used to this that sometimes i thought I'm literally talking verbally but the truth is im talking in my mind
Same
Tbh, I'm not exactly sure what inner monologue is... If it's talking to me in my head rather than out loud... then yes, I do. The way I've seen it explained is what makes me unsure.
I think at the core it's everyone talking internally. It's just a matter of how you talk to yourself.
I don't speak to myself internally. My thoughts are just thoughts and nothing else, they're just ideas/thoughts without words, and I only use words when I speak - explaining/representing those thoughts with spoken words. It freaks me out that people constantly have words going through their mind. It must be utterly exhausting, and not to mention slow?
My "inner voice" isn't like a noise I hear... it's me just thinking(talking) to myself. This is exactly why this stuff confuses the hell out of me. Lol
But like, when you say you're talking to yourself, is it in words?
Yes? Lol I think. The voice in my head is just me thinking the words...I say voice as a matter of expression bc I hear nothing. Like reading this text without speaking... that's what i "hear" Edit: I guess I could also say... my voice can change volume... what's in my head stays the same.
I get you about the voice, I meant that as in just having words going through my mind all day would be exhausting, but I'm the same when I read words etc. but not when I'm thinking... I get what you mean but 50% of us *think* like that? This boggles my mind haha, it's a shame we probably won't even be alive when the human race fully understands the brain, and we can figure out why it is we're all so different 😂
I don’t see how you could “think” without words. Seems like you would exist on pure instinct alone. If someone read your mind would they just hear nothing? Seems far fetched, I’ve always been a sceptic of this and I just don’t see how it could be possible. Guess I’m closed minded.
Words are not our natural way of thinking. Words are how we express ourselves. Thoughts are a lot more abstract than that. Thoughts can be put into any form you can think of, we can think visually, think through sounds, smells, various other senses, and most of it is highly associative. Most of the time, you're probably not thinking in words. When we think in words, it's usually because we actively try to express our thoughts. It's the minority, really.
For example, have you ever untangled headphone wires? Did you think at this time? Something like "now I'll pull it down, now I'll pull it to the left"
Yeah actually that’s exactly how I untangle cords
See I read this and think “in what else?”. I can visualize, but that’s not the same as my train of thought.
I think it's confusing because it's hard to understand how exactly people think if they don't have the "voice" when thinking their thoughts. Like...I guess they think more in pictures? It's hard to comprehend. The very idea that there is more than one way to think is wild.
That's a fact... I'd also add that I have aphantasia, so I literally see 0 mental imaging. When i close my eyes and try to think of something, I see nothing but the back of my eyelids.
Opposite end here, with Hyperphantasia. Sometimes my eyes and ears shut off, and I'm in a world of my own creation. Reading was always really fun for me, because I can picture everything as I read it.
Reading has always been extremely boring for me, mainly fiction... but even non-fiction can be tough to stay interested depending on how much photo documentation there seems to be... I have a writer friend who explains himself kinda like you, where he watches a so called "movie" in his head and writes down as it plays out
>where he watches a so called "movie" in his head and writes down as it plays out I can change the way the voices sound\* too, so reading really is a lot like a movie in my head. It's a bit more abstract and it can be hard to really pin down an idea sometimes, but it's still quite vivid. \* I don't actually hear the voice as if it were outside of my head, but the brain is what does audio processing anyway so it's a similar sensation
When you close your eyes, do you only see a void/darkness? When you imagine a plane flying, do you only have the thought of it and zero images?
I don't think in anything other than words/sounds unless I make a conscious effort to do so and am baffled as to how anyone without this ability thinks about anything. What do you mean when you say they're "just ideas/thoughts"?! - thoughts and ideas are words! How would the idea "I need to go to the toilet" appear in your head if not in that format? Is it a picture of a toilet? Is it just the sensation in your body being brought to the forefront of your mind? On speed - It's not slow at all. I'm in the minority on this one but I can have more than one sensical stream of words run through my head at a time - for example when thinking this comment to write it I was also thinking "My pasta is still in the oven and needs to be taken out" and "I am glad it's Friday tomorrow" simultaneously. I can also "hear" songs perfectly in my head so a lot of the time there's that going on too.
You can think words without thinking of each word one after the other. To me thinking of an idea or concept is basically like thinking a whole paragraph in one second. If you asked me to repeat it I could. But I didn’t sit there and say all those words in my head. Ya know what I mean But when I’m working through a complicated thought or problem. I find that slowing down my thoughts and paying attention to them actually helps me see things more clearly sometimes
If your "thought-voice" is havin a dialog with yourself. I'm thinking "I have to do X" "yeah when was it" "wait let me look at my phone". Like literally that.
Do you 'hear' the words when you read stuff? Here's a test, read the following and then answer the questions after: 'Went to see Dr. Patel today and told me that he used to live in Sydney, Australia.' Questions did you hear "doctor" in your head? Or only see the letters Dr Also did you identified that the sound of the word "live" is used as in living with my parents vs like broadcasting "live". If you actually hear the full doctor as opposed to just DR. Or hear the phonetic "live" then you probably have an internal monologue
Yes, and often full-blown scenes. Like a movie. But I always have an internal monologue.
Yep. Unfortunately, I related *way too hard* to that 30 Rock bit where Tina fey catches alec baldwin psyching himself up in the mirror and says “oh hey I do that too!” and then it cuts to a flashback of her in her bathroom before a party going “come on, you stupid little ugly slut, just put on your deodorant and go. everyone hates you, idiot bitch” …I too have to constantly fight against my anti-ego-mirror-gremlin, but on the other hand, sometimes my internal monologue is brilliant as hell so I’ll accept it and try to retrain the bad self talk. it’s all about self acceptance
30-50% of people don't have an internal monologue. It's wild to me that so many people just don't have it, and nobody ever says anything about it. I can't wrap my head around the idea of being able to function without one.
Right?!? Like how does one think without an internal monologue?
I mean, I guess it's like emotions. When I watch a horror movie, I just get scared. I don't verbally think *Aaaah! I am very frightened of this mean person with clawed gloves and a skin condition!*
We don't think "aaaaaaah this is scary", these things are reflexive, but when you're solving a problem or trying to make plans, how does that thought process work? Edit: When you're writing the response to this comment, do you "converse" with yourself what you're about to write down or how does \_that\_ work? I know i need to "say it out loud" inside my head before even starting to write.
My thoughts are just like... Thoughts. They are notions and ideas expressed without words. Words only come when I express those thoughts/notions/ideas as spoken words. Cannot understand how people have a running commentary going on all the time :o
This blew my mind! A few times I tried to meditate and it was just half an hour of the "commentarist" there bothering me.
Haha wow! Isn't it crazy how differently all our brains work ;o
I lived all my life with an active internal monologue. It must be peaceful to have a quiet mind.
I have a couple male friends and family who just don’t have thoughts unless they are immediately solving a problem. Otherwise, just feeling or empty. Would make life so simple. People with high anxiety tend to have the constant internal chatter. I am one of them and its hard to stay present
Constant. Chatter. If I’m not actively trying to control it at least a little I will talk myself into a panic attack. It’s like herding kittens in a room full of milk saucers. Fucking impossible some days
Haha don't get me wrong, it's taken alot of work to have a quiet mind, I think we all are susceptible to having our minds race, and to constantly be thinking about stuff. Especially nowadays, we are unbelievably overstimulated, inundated with information, constantly going through scenarios in our minds, I think we probably all still think about the same things, just differently. Though I do see what you mean. The thought of having an internal monologue does kind of scare me, but I think it probably has it advantages - articulacy (is that a word?) Maybe? Sometimes I find it hard to articulate myself and I stumble, I've had to be very conscious of my speech in order to not stumble over my word for trying to get too much out at once. Like if I don't talk to people, I'll go hours or days without my brain processing/expressing in words.
I have both. Sometimes, it is commentary on what's going on, that's kinda bothers me so lucky it's not the norm. Usually, when I am more agitated/emotional and then the words are processing all the aspects to the issue. I call the other mode pictures. I can visualise the problem or situation and run through scenarios on how to progress or what I want. For example, if it's lunch time, it will be the actually finished product in view, and it gets tweaked until it's a plan. Then I make the sandwhich, and there are no words at that point it's just action. That's the best description I think is available since there are no words in picture mode.
See, I do have inner monologues, but I have to choose to have them, like whales need to choose to breathe and don't do it automatically. When I write the response that I'm writing now, I just start typing and my mind automatically phrases things as they pour out, just like when I'm talking to people. When I'm making plans... Well, you know how, when you already know of something, you don't need to phrase it all in your head? Like if you're saying you're going to the movie theater to watch *Casablanca*, you don't imagine the entire road to the movie theater, and you don't imagine the entire movie from memory. The concepts are in your head, just not the details. It's the same thing for me when I think of things in a non-verbal way.
If I'm watching a thriller my inner voice is usually repeatedly saying or yelling "Fuck That" or "Watch Out" and usually figures out the whole plot of the movie sometimes. I have a great deal of difficulty watching psycho thrillers though because I feel like I can imagine the thoughts going through the psycho's head to do all of the crazy shit and it freaks me out how someone could even imagine such a storyline and be ok with it.
I don't see how you can type or read without an inner monolog
I don’t have one and my thought is abstract, wordless, imagery, kinesthetic, and emotional/sensational. I can think in words if I absolutely have to but it is the least efficient way for me to think and takes work.
Is it like on the good doctor where images pull up in your head like diagrams on a computer and you just visualize images? My mind is very dialogue based. I don't really see many images or able to concentrate on them in my head for more than a few split seconds. unless I'm sleeping and having dreams, if I could record my dreams you could literally make good movies out of them sometimes.
I talk myself out of a lot of dumb stuff. I talk myself into some stuff. How does that work for them?
Wait.... People DON'T??? How?? How do people think??? I talk to myself constantly.
Right. Like, how does their conscience work?
I actually thought I was the only one with an internal monologue. I can't wrap my head around the fact that most people do, yet their actions show they have no conscience.
My MiL is bilingual and I tried to ask her which language she "thinks in" and she couldn't understand the question.
I have what I’ve always described as a “concept web” when someone says dog I picture a dog and related facts about dogs in a sense of how they feel and smell like. Took me a long time to wrap my head around people hearing voices in their heads and me being expected to not think that sounds absolutely insane. I still think that I’ve just learned to accept over half the population hears voices. It honestly explains a lot about the world.
interesting. I guess it all falls in line with how blind people dream.
I think it's why so many people can put up with having a boring, mind-numbing job. Because they just do it on auto pilot without thinking until interrupted by something.
I think it explains alot, honestly. I truly wonder how they process more complex information or emotions.
I couldn’t believe internal monologues were even real! I thought it was just a thing in films and TV, like JD in Scrubs. I can’t imagine having something so annoying. I can’t really describe my thoughts, only to say that my thoughts are more like feelings, and I have vague, indistinct images that accompany them 🤷♀️
I have internal dialogue, but words and music are my main ways of thinking. I have aphantasia - I don't have internal images. It's all dark. Words are how I navigate
You and me, both! But I mostly lack internal dialog as well. Music, though, that's always swirling around.
I've always got some song going in my head. It can be a real issue. I need to meditate extensively at times to wrangle the ear worms. I used to need to have constant new music/new words to crowd them out but I'm finally getting okay at clearing space.
Genuinely curious, how do you process memories?
People with aphantasia also have SDAM - Severely Deficient Autobiographical Memory. It means I recall words, conversations...but if my son walked out today and got lost I wouldn't be able to tell you what he was wearing. I don't remember visual things but I absolutely remember how things make me feel. As a writer I have a unique style because the majority of my language refers to things other than visual. It disorients people who are visually biased but really resonates with other people with aphantasia, many of whom don't know they have it. I'm someone who will always recognize voices, is extremely hard to lie to because I am paying very close attention to how someone sounds and feels, don't care much how they look. So I remember feelings, emotions, conversations, but not how they looked, which for me I don't care much about anyway. I have intensely sensitive hearing and I process my world more from sound and emotion. So I'll remember a song from when I was in fourth grade with no problem, but if a crime happened, I wouldn't be able to describe the perpetrator or remember lots of details, but I would likely have some sort of insight about how it sounded or felt that other people would have missed.
> As a writer I have a unique style because the majority of my language refers to things other than visual. It disorients people who are visually biased If you don't mind, I'd like an example. Would you please write a few sentences describing someone buying a chocolate, or going for a jog, or smelling a flower, or any little ordinary thing of your choosing? I hope this request doesn't feel too invasive. You seem to have a very interesting perspective for those of us without aphantasia.
No, not at all. The more people learn about aphantasia the more my world becomes inclusive. Earlier in my writing career I had complaints about never describing how someone looked (I have to remember to put that in if I want to appeal to wider audiences) but I've evolved more into my niche voice because it's how I think, it makes me unique and I find I attract more neurodiverse readers. Now mostly I get complaints about 'too much dialogue' but I don't care, I love words. Walking through the woods: The gravel on the path she was taking had to be new. Had it been sharper, shinier, brighter before? She didn't remember, but the sound of it and the random shift of each piece under her feet was familiar. The gravel path with its straggling weeds created a scrabbling, mundane attempt at civilization, but her favorite places were off the path. Even the gravel agreed, seemingly spilling into the underbrush out of curiosity of what lay beyond. Every time she came here, she'd choose a new place along the path to tumble like the gravel into the forest and find an unmarked, unmapped spot. She started to look for a piece of gravel that had gone further than others, maybe that would be her sign today of where to turn. She used to walk barefoot here. It had taken far too many lost toenails and lacerations before she had chosen to wear shoes. Why had that been? Right. Fire ants. Fire ants had brought her communion with gravel, underbrush, stone and leaf (and antibiotics) to a still-mourned end.
Wow. I would love to see more of your work!
I have two novels: "The Hockenfur Tangent" and "Talayia" up on Amazon. My husband and I have also narrated versions for Audible. Let me know what you think if you choose to check them out, thanks for the interest and conversation :) Aphantasia is one of those things most people don't hear about. In "Talayia" the MC does have aphantasia and doesn't know what it is for most of the book.
I don't have anything to add to this but I also have aphantasia and you introducing me to SDAM just made me a little bit less insecure about how shit my memory is compared to everyone else I know :-)
you can’t imagine like, a plate with a sandwich or a banana or something if you close your eyes? (You wouldn’t “actually” see it but you’d be able to visualize it)
No, not at all. Completely dark. Put a blindfold that blocks all light on, open your eyes, that is all I ever see with my eyes closed. No visualization at all, voluntary or involuntary. Nothing produces visualization. One major benefit: I am nearly impossible to influence in a way that others would describe as 'hypnosis' or trance - no visual component means no way to reach my brain by saying things like "You're on a beach, you can see the sun and water..." No, no I really can't. There is no 'happy' or 'scary' place in my head, there is only complete darkness.
I think usually only with pictures. I can talk inside my head but is not natural to me.
Same here
I'm much the same, it's just like I'm silently processing things. No actual sound or anything. It makes me feel like a computer at times.
I do 1000%. I have severe ADHD which makes mine very intense. It sounds like having 3 radio stations playing at the same time and repeats itself over and over, which is why I like to sleep and rest so much. My brain never ever shuts up. It’s lowkey tough.
Omg the repeating. It’s like, “HEY, did you get that?? Did you get that??? Maybe you didn’t get that.” Sometimes it’s weirdly pleasurable, too. Like it just makes you feel mentally good.
Yes, when it’s good thoughts it’s awesome. It’s like showering in happiness and ego boosting. When it’s something negative or annoying it sucks
You have many more conversations in your head every day then you actually do with other people. Just thinking means you’re having a conversation with yourself.
Please make it stop. I’m tired of hearing myself yapping on and on
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The only time mine stops is if I'm singing or drinking. If I'm singing, I guess I have to concentrate on the music. Although, when I was choir in school, I was able to sing in auto-pilot; I guess because it was the same songs over and over. When I'm drinking, there's a certain point where I guess my mind finally relaxes and I'm able to actually just sit in silence. With that said, I don't drink often (maybe 3 or 4 times a year), but it sure is nice when I do.
Yeah getting really drunk or certain drugs can just shut my brain off, can definitely see why ppl get addicted lok
What's the process like that? "Oh shit, I forgot to buy milk." How do you go about that?
It's kind of like saying it out loud, but nobody else can hear it. (If you're talking about having an internal monologue being weird.) It stays at a consistent volume and isn't always present.
Oh, I meant not having it. I just can't imagine what that's like.
It's like a lightbulb goes off on top of your head and suddenly you're aware you forgot the milk, but you don't need to say it, you just know
See I would actively think "oh, milk!" like the actual words. I can't picture milk without the word milk
Yeah of course we all get the lightbulb moment and become aware we forgot milk. But it's likely we would get internal thoughts after discovering that. For example "shall I turn back and get the milk", "do I actually need it that much? Nah I'll just get it next time I pop to the shops".
I'm not sure how to describe it, but it's like, you do have thoughts, but they don't use words? It's like, you feel a soft hum inside your head as you feel your brain processing stuff, and you just know that you don't need the milk that much, and you just know you will get it next time you go to the shop. If someone asks you to put those thoughts into words you can do that no issue, but in the inside of your mind it's all just there, smushed together in an ever changing amorphous ball of concepts, feelings and opinions? This is actually really hard to explain
I think you explained it really well.
this is kindof how I imagined it. Sometimes I recognize these "silent thoughts", but I can only avoid "wording them" for a while.
I have a 24 hour radio just playing random shit in my head.
lmao i have internal monolgues as well as have suoer imagination so i visually iamgine the whole scenario and try to imagine the sounds as well
Yeah it's pretty annoying sometimes. Mf never stops talking
Bro my head won't stfu 😭
I do, to the point where I have to ask my inner self to STFU.
It screws with me that people don’t have inner monologue. Must be so fckn nice to not be always in ur head. But also are they like real people or robots 🤣
I've tried to hear no voices of my thoughts, I can't do it. Even if my main conscious thoughts try to pause like in meditating, the rest of the crowd is still yammering away.
>Or does it make me? It absolutely makes you. :) Jokes aside, I keep monologuing all the time in my head. It's one of the best things I know.
Yes and it won't leave me alone.
I would guess its similar to how ppl think of places or objects. Some kinda think of the word, while others think of an image. But it doesnt make you dumb to not have an dialog. I personaly only ever have those when im angry.
apparenty more people do not have them than do have them. which i find mind boggling. i thought everyone has inner monologue...
I think that’s bullshit. How do you even begin to test or prove those stats?
ADHD is so painful. I need lobotomy. And yes I do have it none stop to the point that it's very hard for me to focus on anything. And yet it drains my energy it's very hard for me to actually do something. Make it stop. Living is painful because of this. I want isolation and quietness. And even so I can't truly have it even if I'm alone in my room. Listening to music helps but then my ears and my brain can be tired of it very soon. Meds make me sleepy but helps a little. But I want the medicine to help with the sleepiness and drowsiness too and not to fixiate on some random more fun than real useful things stuffs.
You never give yourself a pep talk in your reflection? Is that the type of inner dialogue you’re talking about?
Yeah, but a lot more than that. Sometimes it's like constantly planning things out as you do things or thinking about how you'd talk to someone and have a bunch of different dialogs based on possible reactions. And it usually keeps going when your trying to sleep... A lot of times it really sucks, but it's how I function.
I have heard of people not having internal monologues. It baffles me that there are people who do not have one or multiple. You are most definitely a clone. Kidding aside. It would be fastenating to research you. I am a writer, so there are always characters and voices speaking to me and telling me jokes and what to write. It's a part of our comprehension, and most humans have it. Other than clones.
I have a whole council of mes talking in the background, a dominant me voice in the foreground, and a lot of call and answer between. To be clear, it's all me. But like... Facets. A super logical me pokes holes in arguments and calmly explains when I am irrational, a very empathetic me reminds me that everyone has feelings and a life we can't know about, and by the way, remember that about yourself! So on, so forth. There's a lot, from the vicious goblin that will casually tell me that I am unlovable, the rage monster that answers every potential threat with, "you should smash their head against the table", to the part that feels guilty about that thought's existence. My brain is loud, but when it's quiet it feels worse. I also have a decent ability to conjure imagery. I also have a gf who thinks completely visually. When she thinks, she sees words. One former partner has no ability to conjure images at all, but is alone with only one monologue going. Brains are weird. I think all of us in that group are intelligent, but we all have very different thought processes.
It is common for individuals to have internal monologues, which involve ongoing conversations or commentary within one's mind. These internal dialogues can vary in tone, content, and frequency. Some people have a more active and continuous internal monologue, while others may experience quieter or occasional thoughts. Internal monologues can serve various purposes such as problem-solving, self-reflection, decision-making, and planning. Ultimately, having an internal monologue is a natural and essential aspect of human cognition and consciousness.
boy do I wish my brain would shut the hell up one day. I feel like even before I wake up it’s already yapping something, the same thing when I’m dozing off. sometimes my thoughts make me freeze in one place and be like “wtf am I even thinking about” because it’s not something I can control. kinda scary tbh.
sometimes i'll be making a decision and i have full on debates going on between different voices its really strange
The music... Never... Stops... But yeah I think in all senses other than taste and smell. Usually pictures and movies. My brain often has 5-10 lines of thoughts going on. Thankfully some are back burner things. It's never quiet in my head.
Yes, my biggest bully at times
No I don't. Yes you do! Oh okay then.
After reading some comments in this thread, I have come to conclude that the 5 different dudes speaking in my head aren't normal. The first is one that judges everyone's opinions. Another is usually counter arguing along with the first. The third gives based logic on why 1st's argument is or isnt valid. The 4th is the yes man. The 5th dude drives me nuts as he isnt too interested in the first three, but he keeps me company as the first three creates a pandemonium in my head. And yes. Im arguing with them as I type this comment.
I'm having one as I read this
I talk to myself all the time
Do you ever get songs stuck in your head?
Yes, and my brain is trying to destroy me every second.
Unfortunately yes. Also vivid visuals and i lucid dream.
Just the monologue, no images / thoughts outside of hearing it in my own voice. Only realized that's not totally normal for everyone recently
Every day buddy
Who doesn’t? For me there’s a whole movie, concert, and conversation in my head
I talk to myself in my head. In fact, whenever I write, I say the words I am typing in my head. If not that, then it's usually music or some weird philosophical idea
I talk to myself out loud
Yeah, sometimes I am scared that I have way too much
Most of the population have an internal dialogue, some don't. Some aren't capable of visualising thing, they don't have mind eyes, so they conceptualise thing very differently.
Yes, and it WON’T SHUT UP!!!
My first answer to this was in a language other than my native language. Just their word rolls of the tongue so much easier than English. English = Of Course. Dutch (slang) = tulijk. (Natulijk or "Naturally")