Why Some People Don't Have an Inner Monologue
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- Опубликовано: 21 июл 2020
- Do you always have an inner monologue? Can you imagine not having one? Or maybe you've never had an inner monologue and wondered what it would be like? Psychologists are beginning to study that voice inside your head-and it's much more complicated than you might think! Join Hank Green for a fascinating new episode of SciShow, all about your inner voice!
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I really can’t conceive how anyone can think without inner monologue
I'm pretty sure I don't have an inner monologue and for me, you just know.
There are no needs for words or to "talk to yourself" through the process. You just get there immediately.
@@Soosane So you don’t weigh the pros and cons of your decisions?
some people act purely off instinct
and you can normally tell who those people are
I just think primarily in images, impressions, and occasionally some emotions, not words. So no true inner speech, but there is a type of thought process.
@@larbur9342 Basically like Aura Guard said. I use images. No words are involved.
For thinking about pros and cons, I imagine if I did option A ad what would happen (in images), same for option B and that would help me come to a conclusion.
Does anyone else listen to music in their head? I'm not talking about singing internally, I'm talking about listening to songs, with or without vocals, and hearing the various instruments or sections. Also not talking about ear worms, where you get a song stuck in your head, but having conscious control over what sort of music you want to hear and which piece.
It's like a shitty radio up there (for me) lol.
YEESSS. Like an internal mp3 player
Yes I can do that
And another thing that my brain does is when it gets overloaded I hear a toilet flush and my brain seems to calm down after it
Yes, but actually listening to it is more satisfying. But a shitty alternative I’ll take.
As someone who can’t ever catch a second of silence in my own head, I find the idea of some people not even _having_ an inner monologue baffling
Same!!!
I don't have inner voice but I do have inner monologue and everytime I'm completely shocked some people hear a literal voice when they think. Like, what do you mean it was not only a cartoon thing??? Despite not having an inner voice, is not quiet. I would describe having thoughts as the sea, there are waves all the time, sometimes calm and others like a storm.
Yep, I literally stay up til like 2am daily cause the voice just keeps on thinking and talking as I lay in bed with my eyes closed lol.
YES, I don't understand how they function either!
It's why there's so many NPCs who don't have any opinions or views or thoughts of their own, they use society/mass media for that
Growing up, I had no idea inner speech was something real. I thought it was just a saying to refer to thoughts, but thoughts weren't actually words, or it was something done by Hollywood to portray a character's thoughts. Honestly, I've always thought in pictures, colors, sensations, but I've never had any problems speaking
I'm the same way. I don't know how these people relax or sleep at night while literally talking to themselves all the time. I just have to conclude that they're all crazy, and we're the normal ones. I don't see any benefit to having an inner monologue, and I definitely don't want to experience it anytime soon.
@@skhotzim_baconNot crazy. In fact I too see pictures and experience sensations.
@@Beyt_El Yes, that's normal. I was referring to talking to yourself as being crazy.
@@skhotzim_bacon I also have an internal monologue though. I don’t know how I would operate without it either. It helps me process and workout issues in my mind. Lol
@@Beyt_El I can't imagine how. Do you argue with yourself or go through a mental checklist of sorts?
I cannot imagine *not* having inner speech.
Hi I dont
When I think about it, this voice in my head says, stop it!
I don't either unless I'm reading.
@@NoThankUBeQuiet Could you please describe what is going on in your mind when you are thinking about something? Curious.
@@NoThankUBeQuiet I am also curious about what your thoughts look like lol although idk how someone would describe that
The "inner me" never shuts up. As we share a warped sense of humor, I find me quite entertaining.
When I actually "talk" to myself I say we, I've always just thought of myself as two very close people that are different in some major ways.
I'm shocked to find out not everyone does this. My head never shuts up either. It's rather annoying at times. It makes it difficult to go to sleep. What the hay do people who don't have inner speech in their heads have going on? I mean, how the hay do they think?
Rock the Vote exactly my thoughts. (Ironically) isn’t reflection all about thinking? I talk a *lot* to myself. How would I think if I didn’t?
Same. I have a constant conversation with my inner self, particularly when I’m nervous or stressed or I’m focusing on something. then it’s a continous conversation about what to do or how to do something. And If I’m bored or walking somewhere, The conversation is usually about something totally unrelated...
Neither does mine, which I'm actually grateful for, because if everyone heard what was in my head all the time, I'd get punched more often, Inner me is kind of an ass sometimes.
Dude, I can literally hear music in complete silence. I could be sitting in a dark room, with only the sound of my own breathing, and I can clearly hear movie quotes, or lines from a video game with the correct voice actor. I can see things in my head too. I’ll zone out in class sometimes and just stare at the wall. But I don’t see the wall. Im seeing whatever it is im thinking about
This is called audiation, and anyone can do it if they develop the skill. It used to be core to our survival up until the industrial revolution.
Same, I literally have no idea how a person functions without this ability. I’m seeing a lot of people in the comments section claiming they can’t process images in their head. Like do they never zone out and just imagine weird scenarios? How can they do it if they’re not hearing/seeing anything in their mind?
You have been programmed correctly
@@pugnacious6290 I can't hear music in my head, maybe my own muttering of it but nothing close to perfect.
Can't see anything either, I think in ideas and feelings, words, nothing auditive or images.
I HAVE to do this when I'm having an MRI, because the panic of being shoved into a tube is overwhelming for me.
Say I have an appointment on Wednesday with my therapist. I could spend Friday - Tuesday literally having the appointment’s conversation play out in my head 1000’s of times.
I just have music all the time and it never stops, I don't really think outwardly ? Is like unconscious thinking, my brain does it thing like I speak six languages and if I need to think of a phrase or something is just silence and then I get my answer and I don't voiced it out loud (head) is just there . maybe I will smile or be satisfied but I don't go over the details , my friends are creeped out by this since I am able to think or continue talking without pauses but is cause I don't think , during a test, there is silence when I have to read the questions I just hum it, then start writing and I heard the sound of the pen against paper in my head . until I have finished written it
"Can you all shut up for a minute." - Is still the weirdest thing I've said to myself.
mostly when I'm feeling super depressed I have to tell my inner voice to shut up because it makes things even worse, then I have to do something to literally get my mind off of the depressive thoughts
@@aamu3 I hear you friend. Try to think of at least two things you love about yourself before you criticize yourself
@@leepope3500 yeah, once I realize I'm spiraling I try to change tone and talk to myself in a well-meaning manner, as if I were a child. Sometimes it's really hard to even just realize what you're actually thinking :(
@@aamu3 Sometimes, you gotta talk to yourself like you are someone who cares and loves you. Not romantically, but just _love._
That's sometimes difficult, especially when the depression disappears(or does it?) and self-hate and/or regret takes over.
@@aamu3 Depression for me is mainly inflammatory with a root to mindset as well.
It's better for me when I'm eating for my body (I can't tolerate carbs so I'm keto [Mediterranean] but I'm not strict, I also have omega 3 and vitamin c. Enough potassium etc)
Anxiety, if you ever get it was my body telling me that something is wrong on all occasions. My worst, was when my gut flora wasn't up to scratch. Fixed it :)
My inner speech isn't like a monologue or dialogue, it's more like a running commentary on everything I'm doing.
I hope it's like an enthusiastic sports commentator.
@@shoujahatsumetsu
"Harry Carry here!"
That's interesting. Mine is more like a secondary person who comments on my choice decisions. He sometimes agrees or disagrees, and sometimes we just shrug and do both or neither.
Mine is more like a list that I'm going over through my day like, as I'm doing my work I'm like "go do thissss and now that done so we've got to do this and this-" or just conversation ig? It's cool we all have diff versions 👁👁
@@Pumpkiinhead i feel this one personally.
my inner monologue never stops and in order to listen to you, my head voice repeats your words internally and then I have side opinions coming through in the mix as well
Uss brooo xD its sooo damn hard to sleep
Sounds like hell
Oh my gosh same. My brain just repeats everything someone says if I don’t actively focus on listening AND understanding and not “just hearing”, which is exhausting bc sometimes I do listen but don’t get anything of what someone said bc I didn’t comprehend any of it 😭
Omg same, and also when I read I need to sound it all out in my mind or I comprehend basically nothing. Honestly it’s exhausting and I hate that I always need to have something in my mind. Sometimes when I want the voice to shut up I listen to music but even then my inner voice is humming to it, so yikes
That genuinely sounds like a pain in the ass
As a person who speaks 7+ languages, I often hear the question: "In what language do you think?"
The first time I thought about it, I was surprised to see that the answer is: none! I don't usually have an inner monologue. (Unless I'm about to speak or write something, then I need to convert my thoughts into words.)
As far as I can tell, I usually think in kinds of "global concepts" that encompass intentions, feelings and global meaning. If I were to do the experiment they mention, where an alarm goes off and you note down what you were thinking now, I could write a whole paragraph of the thought-concept I was experiencing at the moment. Trying to convert these thought-concepts into words slows the thinking speed down significantly and "flattens" complex ideas-sensations-emotions into sentences, and confines them into parameters/ideologies/culture of the specific language in which it is formulated.
I don't know if this type of thinking is related to my speaking various languages, I think it might be.
I am also capable of having an inner monologue, but it's more limited as a thinking style for me, I find. I usually resort to inner monologue if I am under a strong emotion and want to calm myself down, if I am rehashing a conversation with someone (which rarely happens), or if I need to structure my thoughts about something (though I usually find writing about it a more effective method for that).
I was very surprised to hear about the negative self-talk that the video says many people experience! I hear about negative self-talk in the context of psychology, but I didn't know it was to be taken literally! This is very foreign to me!
Very interesting! I asked someone who speaks 3 languages what he thinks in & he said he very fluidly switches between the 3 languages in his head regularly.
Knowing 7 languages is amazing! I only speak one language, but everything you described is what I experience. My research has led me to the term "unsymbolized thought," but it's still so hard to describe to someone who thinks in words. I think you did a great job!
I am fluent in two languages, and I often try to catch myself to see which language I am thinking in because I do think a lot. But it seems like I don’t think in any language unless I am thinking about what I said to someone or what I’m planning to say to someone.
@@emilyjane9901I can barely speak a second language and it’s interesting cause sometimes I think shirt thoughts in German until I no longer know the word, then I realize it’s in German and I switch back to English. It’s so interesting!
We have the same thinking style! I don’t have an inner monologue with MYSELF, but my brain never shuts up. There’s always background music and thought-concepts, but it’s not me talking to me you know? It’s just me thinking.
Wait, some people _don't_ engage in imaginary arguments with others? W H A T
I only inhale in imaginary arguments with imaginary people.
Some people hella zen ;)
Hahaha!
I don't. I got really surprised by this video that some people talk to themselves, like wtf!!
I was also surprised. I mean, I expected that from any non-verbal person, but anyone else?
For me even the language changes based on whom I'm discussing with, which usually depends on the topic.
And it really annoyed me when I started actually talking english irl to people everyday after moving and I didn't sound as good as my English inner voice modeled after hearing people speak English in movies and videos. It was really upsetting.
“The purpose of internal speech may be to catch errors when you talk.”
Oh, is that why my inner speech is so perfect and my spoken speech is weirdly gibberish?
Same here!
My inner voice sounds so much deeper and cooler than my actual voice.
@@michaels8628 same lol
@@michaels8628 same. I'm bilingual and my inner speech has perfect English with no stumbling over words or stuttering but when I actually talk in English it's a mess.
Sad but true :(
I regularly listen to music in my mind and have encounters with different scenarios when I work. It gets me to a place where I can ignore the physical fatigue while I work at my job.
Damn unskilled labor is boring as hell
I feel like this video was more about having inner speech than not having it.
"...you can talk about it amongst...yourself."
"We" had a good laugh at that one.
sus...
Sounding like golem there...
that weird moment when I read you comment at the same time he said it
We… are Venom.
Lol dont worry bro I also call my voice by third person but lately it's just been me ig he took a break for a bit 😔
I'm honestly shocked that not everyone has imaginary interactions. They're fun. You always win in the end.
Or lose....it's a matter of perspective
Edit: I have the inner monologues too. Just saying, you keep you positive
I'm always impressed by my eloquence, wit and courage in these inner dialogs hahah
I don't 😔😔😔😔
Well, the inner monologue is a result of really bad anxiety, so staying positive isn't always easy anyway.
@@RatoftheSupremeRodentTakeover Me neither
A bit of a contribution to the idea that inner monologue helps cognition: sometimes, when I'm doing a particularly puzzling task, it helps me to actually speak my inner monologue out loud to myself. It really is like i'm coaching myself through the problem- sometimes i'll even speak to myself in the third person! It used to be a mild issue on math tests especially cause I'd accidentally coach other people through the problems, too.
Saame! I usually don’t think in words, but if I really need to focus I will put it into words (I usually end up talking to myself lol)
As someone with full aphantasia, this subject is endlessly fascinating to me
I haven't seen enough talk about the difference between being unable to have the images created and the ability to access the images that are being generated. I seem to be able to generate the images as I do things like draw that are far more sophisticated than what I'd expect if my brain wasn't creating images, but I can't see any of them. It's a rare day where I see any images, even accidentally. But, the spacial dimension in the things that I draw implies that there is some sort of imagery being created at some point in the process.
I think I have the opposite! Hyperphantasia
when you're watching a video about inner speech and missing parts and having to go back because your own inner monologue can't shut up for 5 minutes so you can listen to someone else... lol
Lol I completely understand 😅🙃
same
Add dyslexia to that and it becomes a chore to read a book.
I cannot imagine how someone could function without that inner speech. I honestly thought the only time your inner speech stopped is when you die
totally true!
I think the weirdest thing about my inner monologue is that I sometimes launch into entirely fictional conversations, usually involving a complete stranger making a negative comment about me, a friend or sometimes other strangers. I start thinking about how I would respond to them, and quite often it turns into a full blown argument and I end up getting really angry at this hypothetical person that my brain made up
Same lol
Same
Same 😭😭😭
same but i dont get angry,i just leave the conversation
@@KURENANI Please tell me how, I literally get stuck un them…
What I wouldn’t do for one minute of silence. Just 60 seconds of pure bliss. It’s hard for me to even imagine what that would be like.
Another neat thing I noticed, if I'm stressed/nervous, songs that calm/hype me up (even those I thought I fully forgot) play in my head
Does anyone ever struggle to shut it up, I have arguments with myself in my head telling both voices to just be quiet 😂
Omg yes, always, they often don't listen and need another voice to shut them up. 🤣 And other techniques 😅
Yes 😂😂
Yes i do too.. can't get em to stop. I havent decided if uts a inner voice or actually ppl talking to me... cause they r different voices plus.. they do more harm then good
@@chuckcheek2703 mine are sometimes different voices too, which is weirder when I remember that I try to put on voices when reading a book. Like reading the Harry potter books and trying to read them in the voice of the actors from the movies. Apart from famous quotes, it naturally turns back into my voice
So how on earth is my inner voice able to keep changing, sometimes drastically, without thinking, when I can't consciously maintain a different voice, even when I know how it should sound, for more than a few seconds. 😫
@@chuckcheek2703
Have you looked into that? It's apparently more common than having naturally red hair, but extremely hard to detect (at least if you don't know what to look for). Especially the lesser known Otherwise Specified Dissociative Disorders, as they are often hidden, since they are designed to hide in order to protect you, since it is the bodies coping mechanism. But all bodies can react to similar situations differently.
Only about 6% of people that have others in their head have overt symptoms ( 94% having subtle symptoms, less noticeable, seem normal) and that more people have that then have schizophrenia or are natural red heads, possibly 1% of the population could have it.
A lot of stigma and misinformation, if your worried ask questions, research and seek out a good professional.
Sorry if that was a lot, I got a little carried away and thought the information might be interesting to someone. Information on this is very difficult if you don't know what your looking for. So figured comments like these on videos like this might help someone someday 🤞.
It could just be a different mental health issue, maybe anxiety, depression, guilt, shame, impulsiveness. These can cause harmful thoughts, it depends on the type harm you mean.
No matter what the cause of them, loads of people around the world say that you shouldn't label them as bad or evil. That they are there for a reason, try Mindfulness or reach out to a professional.
Thank you for coming to my ted talk 😅
You know when someone reminds you to breathe and then you breathe manually. Well now ive been reminded to think and im thinking manually
Same. I was brain dead most of the day inner speech wise and then this video came out.
You know you’ve just reminded every single person who gets to this comment to breathe, right?
Oh no don't remind me that manually breathing is a thing oohhh ohh aw man aahhh.
Dude brains are so weird.
I find this amazing. Do you guys actually go times without inner dialog? Mine never shuts tf up!
Edit: Ever.
@@lmao2302 Thats creepy..wtf
By far rhe best conversations i have ever had have been with myself. My inner speech is so strong that my breathing, tounge and lips will sometimes mimic the words that I'm thinking if I'm alone.
After getting COVID i lost my inner monologue, and i never have got it back. It's such an isolating experience.
What so you can’t think in words now? Just out of curiosity like as you read this are you hearing your own voice in your head reading it? I’ve never heard of someone losing their internal monologue before only gaining one
Weird, I caught the coof and my inner monologue got louder.
Anyone else just playing music in their heads all the time when there isnt anything to really think about
I remember seeing a poll once asking how often people get songs stuck in their heads, and I was like, "Wait... you mean not everyone has a song stuck in their head nearly 24/7?!"
The other day I was listening to a song in my head and someone started talking to me. I had an embarrassing moment when I went to turn my music off on my phone before remembering it was just in my head
@@Handicrafti that's so weird something kinda similar happens to me all the time. When I say or read or think about a word and say it in my inner speech when I go to type my password I type that word subconsciously. Why is that? It happens to me all the time.
My paracosm is generally a noisy place, but music is something I need to tune the other stuff out to focus on. I might be able to get it going in the background while playing out a scenario I'm wanting to write, but it's hard to do that much.
@@woosh_police4018 Same.
Inside my brain: super talkative
In RL: the silent one
In in real life
This should be a top comment!
This comment speaks to my soul haha
Ella Jameson thats kind what he said
That's a hard way to live. I know from experience. It's a great relief to be able to speak your truth.
The weirdest part about it is that you never get tired of talking internally.
I used to have lots of inner speech but most of it was intensely negative and distracting.
During therapy using cognitive behavioral therapy method I learned over a long course of time to “silence” this voice. Ignore it, state it isn’t helpful, untrue.
Since I’ve been mostly successful with this through the years I notice I don’t have much of inner speech except for certain tasks.
I speak to myself when writing, reading, rehearsing what I’m going to say or should have said. Anything that involves words or speech.
But when I’m doing other things, even problem solving or deciding, I hardly ever talk to myself at all anymore. The thoughts are more direct and innate involving pictures, emotions, and logic that are hard to describe.
Really fascinating video!
The way your inner speech works can indeed change! Mine has changed from being mostly concrete words to emotions and impressions of emotions and concepts. There’s still words being used in my inner speech, but it is being supplemented by emotions, impressions, and concepts.
I feel like reading a book for a while completely changes my inner speech. Like suddenly I'll notice myself thinking in the tone of the book's narration.
Or a tv show, the inner voice might be a character...who..knows in this world
I get that too! I even choose certain books to intentionally shift my internal voices, in order to control the narrative style of my writing. It's very useful when I'm not reading trash, which--let's be honest--is most of the time...
Surly that's just your voice
I do that with RUclips videos, sometimes my thoughts sound like someone making a reaction video about my life
Oh my gosh I thought I was the only one, last year I was re-reading Harry Potter and reading a lot of HP FanFiction and at some point my inner speech had a British accent
It's not just a monologue, it's not even a dialogue--it's a polylogue--a whole committee sometimes.
Hahahahah best comment
I was just going to comment along those lines! I feel like sometimes my brain takes up multiple positions on a topic and I'm debating with myselves!
Touch thumbs brother! I legit have a party going on up here!
yeah; like the smarty pants in your head, the happy over-the-top person... its basically like inside-out!
I have that experience aswell and with me the reason for that is that I have dissociative identity disorder (DID). If you have several voices in your head, DID might be a reason for that. I don't mean to worry anyone (btw I don't even perceive my condition as a disorder, or as something negative at all), but you might want to look into that, if you have similar experiences on a regular basis.
In many cases that condition doesn't need any treatment, but knowing about it can be very helpfull in gaining a better understanding of yourself. Also in case you happen to receive any treatment for an unrelated mental issue, you might want to know about whether you have DID, since it changes drastically how common issues like anxiety or depression need to be treated.
I definitely have an inner monologue, and it’s most active and complete when I am planning various things or prepping for a conversation, or problem solving, etc. I’m fairly certain that I often have “shorthand” inner monologue, where I don’t have to think the whole sentence out, but I immediately come to conclusions that do need much language to internalize them until someone asks. I think this mostly happens when it comes to emotional things. I’m an INTJ and when it comes to sorting things out, I think I tend to identify those feelings in a simple manner and then shelve them somewhere. That’s not to say I don’t feel emotional, but I tend to not dwell on it especially when it comes to decision making.
What a fascinating video. I have an inner monologue literally every waking moment, so it didn't even occur to me that other brains don't work that way. I just assumed everyone had an inner voice criticizing their past actions, planning future tasks, and motivating them to do the things they don't like. I even have music playing in my head most of the time, and it just plays in the 'background' even while I have complex thoughts. I couldn't even imagine experiencing even one moment of life without speech or music in my head. It sounds peaceful but strange.
That there are people out there that don't hear their thoughts, constantly, is mind boggling. I thought that's just what having a mind is.
Personally, I have very little speech in my head. My brain mostly communicates with visuals that transport concepts and are linked to areas of my brain with additional information that can be introduced to the visual concept when needed.
When my brain uses words, it's most often to simulate arguing and formulating answers to questions, to have it available when needed later. But it's always "outer speech", happening inside the head. It's never addressed to different parts of the brain, but always as a unit. When the different parts disagree, it's mainly by showing problems with current plans or by voting on how confident they are with the choice being a good one.
the only time where they ever break character is when something went terribly wrong and one of the players in my brain is admitting guilt, because it was its job to see that in advance...
@@liquidminds Fascinating
my thoughts exactly. I cant not hear my thoughts. if I try to turn off my inner thoughts, I just start thinking about trying to turn off my inner thoughts
I fall into the category of people who doesn't have any mental talking unless I *deliberately* generate it. Using mental talking is quite useful when thinking however, and there's evidence to suggest people are mentally handicapped if they don't learn some kind of language they can "think in" (in that deaf people really need to learn sign language). That being said most of my thoughts are some combination of abstract concepts and images and the experience of a constant internal monologue sounds strange and exhausting to me.
@@vakusdrake3224 it *IS* exhausting. It's like having an idiot constantly jabbering in your ear, and having a narrator that won't shut the hell up. Perhaps I need to retrain my mind. More concept, less words, like Alan Watts and Zhuangzi suggest.
"[Some people] don't necessarily talk in their heads 24/7."
Lucky bastards.
I bet they sleep too.
Lucky bastards.
Seriously though... Imagine sleeping, or having a quiet mind.
Lol ikr
I have a hyperactive inner speech.... it never shuts up.
The trick i have found to help me fall asleep is to put a movie on that ive watched heaps and 'watch' the movie in my head whilst it plays in the back ground.
Because ive watched it so much, i have no more questions about it that my inner monologue wants answers for.
Its still hard to fall asleep, but it helps.
@@cubiusblockus3973 Yes! I can't sleep without something playing, when they took Friends off Netflix.. not cool ahah
@@cubiusblockus3973 I do the same but I play a song in my head! I've done this since I was a kid
My inner monologue never stops. I can totally relate to the negative self talk in my head, and being able to see an image in my
Mind and also “talk” about it in my mind. I also practice conversations and situations in my head and speak both parts. I often wish my inner monologue would shut up… it often causes me anxiety
I have a very intense inner speech, as well as picture things in my head were vividly. This is probably why I live reading so much because the words instantly become a little movie in my head.
Sometimes this can distract me from doing the stuff I need to get done. Like school work. I have learned that listening to music keeps me from daydreaming and wandering off into my mind as much.
I have a strong inner voice. Its not negative. I basically just silently talk to myself like a friend. I discuss problems, funny stuff, what an emotion is about, entertaining stuff you would discuss with a friend, etc. its rare i get lonely because my internal monologue is so strong. I was mind blown when i found out others don’t do this
I’m the same way, when I’m bored I can talk to myself for hours like there is someone in my head listening.
Me too. Inner me is hilarious and thinks of comebacks I shouldn't say out loud way too often 😂
Same here
This video sounds like it was written by someone who doesn't have an internal voice
For me it was actually stranger how I can think about something without the inner voice, but obviously everyone does that too.
I personally love changing this voice in my head to morgan freeman then making him say the most absurd stuff lmao
LMAO I might have to try that
bruh, i did that minutes before reading this 😳😂
When I read stories I pick such voices to narrate, it’s quite fun.
Yes or David Attenborough
HELP I DO THAT TOO
Thank you for this video. I have constant internal monologue (regardless of if I'm speaking) and my theory is that my brain is "virtualizing" or "abstracting" reality such that I can understand the situation better versus just "experiencing" it and going with the flow. What some call "wrapping your head around something". My guess and my hope is that it also helps with experiencing empathy.
Crazy this video just popped up, because I was *just* having this conversation with people the other day. I was shocked when some of my friends said that they don't have an inner monologue.
I'm insanely aware of my inner monologue, I talk to myself in my head all the time and I'm aware of it.
Same. It’s really annoying. I’ve fallen into depressions from it. I kinda thought everyone did that though, but I guess not
I thought most people had this :p Its rarely quiet. But seems not
Me, too. It switches between describing what I'm doing, or a mostly one-sided argument based on past arguments (real or imagined).
Monologue? Lucky...
Try having a whole endless crowd...😑
I'm the same way to the point that I have an overwhelming urge to actually say it out loud which is why I talk to myself even as an adult.
"It's really hard to measure internal experiences!" You just summarized all of psychology in one sentence.
"The mitochondria are the powerhouse of the cell"
@@brago.gameplays How does that relate to this?
Behavioral psychology though
@@albertjackinson It doesn't. That's kinda the point of the meme.
@@Dan0RG I see. And that's likely the only meme I understand often.
Super interesting topic! Thx SciShow
This is fascinating to me. I was born with an extreme case of rapid cycling bipolar disorder and once given the right help i built a foundation in my mind where as long as my meds are working i can keep a close eye on myselves and the inner discussions. Somewhere along the way i compartmentalized the warring parts of me and in the center is where i listen sometimes argue and try to think logically.
I am able at any time to dive into the world of a book series ive read in the past and some movies as well. i visit memories good and bad and learn what i can from mistakes.
i have practice conversations often enough i cant remember if the real one has happened so i check. This is from getting frustrated with my mom for insisting she told us things but never got past the practices.
the only time the internal noise dies down is when i have to focus on a manual task. i am an extremely visual and hands on learner so that is where i focus best.
"Talking to oneself is the best way to ensure an interesting and intelligent conversation." Oscar Wilde.
as long as you are Oscar Wilde ;)
Not true. I'm a boring idiot.
I'm sure he did alot of that in jail
Best way to self delusion.
Love it. Oscar knew how to say it out straight like an arrow and a fellow dubliner
I have imagined interactions more often than actual interactions.
Same, and i feel like i should be able to draw the different imaginary "people" the interactions are with but i don't quite think i could. Lol.
Lol same....
@Jeremy Shaffer No, but it does give me runny poops.
@Jeremy Shaffer it would be the other way around. You are anxious about the potential interactions so you think about them
@Jeremy Shaffer Getting blow could be a mix of intense excitement for the blow and the intense anxiousness of the deal if we was already on blow he could've been hella paranoid about it aswell. Blow and other stimulants get you really anxious that's why people love to mix with alcohol as alcohol reduces that but it also happens to be really dangerous as the blow can make you not able to notice how drunk you are and may get alcohol poisoning
Oh wow, I'm actually kind of shocked to hear there are people who don't have an inner monologue! I never knew. And so many people! My thoughts are going on non-stop. Even when I sleep they keep on rambling part of the night (only not during deep-sleep). It's my way of analyzing the world and myself, learn, plan, create, imagine, and so many things more. Never a dull moment in my head :) I seriously don't even know how to be bored, there is always something I'm thinking about. May be this explains why I'm not really familiar with the concept of loneliness either. There is always something interesting to think about or things to reflect on, think through, etc. This video was mind blowing and eye opening to me. And now I'm really curious about the people around me. I'm definitely going to ask them!
I have had to learn to live with an extremely loud, critical and constant inner monologue. My mother criticised me all the time while I was growing up, and my inner speech often sounds like her, although not always. It is very exhausting, so I read, do puzzles or learn another language in order to quieten it down for a bit. Being creative also helps. Before, I drank alcohol to excess, but I quickly realised that this was a dangerous way to get some peace in the short term, so I stopped using it for that purpose.
As I have to live with this, I decided to make it work for me. Before I had to put up with the bullying critical voice, but now I reason with it. It is actually quite useful for making the lazy part of me do things that I need to do, so I listen to it when it offers me constructive advice, and “it” seems to like it when I take that advice. It certainly makes me pro-active, which is a positive thing. My theory is that it is the side of me that wasn’t allowed to develop when I was a child and young adult because my mother was so controlling, so my mind is trying to compensate for my lack of confidence and passivity. I have recently been diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum, so that may also play a part and, to be fair to my mother, she may not have been able to deal with an autistic child.
I've been in a 19 year long conversation with myself, it was a rocky relationship the first 10 years, but we've grown to accept each other.
How?
Idk you get used to it maybe
lol
I literally have DID and I approve this comment
Same but for 23 years and it took us like 22.5 years to accept each other.
I remember asking someone if they think to themself in words. They were convinced I hear voiced and were scared of me. This is when I learned not everyone has an inner monolouge.
Being scared of someone who hears voices is completely ridiculous. People with schizophrenia or DID or other stigmatized illnesses are way more likely to be VICTIMS of violence than perpetrators. So if anything, you're safest around people who hear voices, haha
Or not everyone is aware that they are having inner dialogues...
I think you were just explaining badly.
@@Periwinkleaccount Nope. There's a lady who had her first thought at 24 and she believed she was possessed by the devil because of it. It's how she learned about an inner monologue.
@@FLdancer00 who?
Wow, I’m blown away! I have anxiety and depression, plus, I’ve always had a VERY active inner monologue. Too active, almost lol 😅 I even have a lot of experience struggling with that inner speech because of the negativity/critical things it would say. Plus, it just NEVER shuts up unless I concentrate 😖 Luckily, I managed to listen closely enough and notice patterns in my inner speech that I’ve gotten pretty good at changing it so my mood is better. My parents are psychologists so I always assumed my inner monologue was an expression of my mental scripts or schemas (patterns of thinking and behavior that people use to interpret the world). Great video! Glad I’m not as crazy as I thought lol 😜
In much of my life , my inner speech was a dialogue with someone else who was important to me .
A family member or girlfriend who wasn’t present , but someone who I wished were , and I would have these very real seeming conversions with them .
I was alone a lot of my life , working and living as a solitary person , even if others were around briefly from time to time .
Speaking of modifying your actions … I started having trouble distinguishing conversations I had engaged in with those people in reality , and those I had only imagined .
I would see them months or years later , and mention something we talked about , only to be met with confusion …
So I decided those conversations were just a coping mechanism for being lonely , and so … a weakness I should not allow .
I trained myself not to do it .
Now , I don’t talk to myself out loud , or others in my head .
I still can hear playback of old conversations… or sounds … music … that sort of thing …
I can rehearse a conversation I might be needing to have and imagine several scenarios , as to how that might go …
But I don’t indulge in imaginary conversation any longer .
That way lies insanity or at the very least , a symptom of personal weakness and disgusting vulnerability .
They made a video game about this , by the way …
How Mason escaped from Vorkuta …
It wasn’t just me , after all …
i think the weirdest thing is how we read. like my brain narrates the words. i hear them as if i was saying them out load. but i’ve heard other people don’t do that
My brain does that too
Idem
If you pressed me to put a voice to what I read, yeah I guess it's my voice, but it's halfway between that and a thought, kind of a neutral idea of a sound. This is with plain text or narration of course. Obviously, Gandalf sounds like Gandalf and my friends' text messages sound like them.
I'm not hearing the words. Just seeing the film! Also don't have inner speech.
I narrate what I'm reading to myself but my friend doesn't. Her reading speed is significantly faster than mine (and I'm a very fast reader).
This becomes interesting when you are bilingual or polyglot - speaking one and having inner conversation in another
I asked a friend of mine (Polish, moved to England when he was 15, and is now fluent in English) which language he thought in. His answer was that he "didn't know". I wonder if that means he's one of those people who rarely have an inner voice, and just think in concepts
Idk, I never used another language inside compared to the exteriour one... because if you try to think in one the other one's gonna end up mixing with that one.
I've use the inner speech to "practice" my second language
I speak both English and Portuguese fluently, and I also have inner monologues all the time since I have OCD. It's... interesting. The torture happens in both languages, usually mixed in together, sometimes just one or the other, but mostly in Portuguese. Lol As for other stuff (inner conversations that aren't related to OCD), especially if it's about the future or some sort of hypothetical thinking, it's usually English. It also depends on what Language I was using beforehand. If I was, for example, reading something in English, I usually would be on "English Speaker Mode" so to say.
Fluent in two languages, have self conversations in both languages with myself
This is super interesting. I don’t have any internal self-talk (negative or positive), but I do have imaginary arguments/scenarios in my head. I have depression and anxiety, but I don’t have any negative self-commentary. When I feel bad it’s just an immediate sense of feeling bad (or feeling like a failure … or really it’s more like KNOWING, without words). My anxiety is centered around bad things that could happen, but I don’t usually put it into words (unless I’m talking to my therapist). I’m very good at visualizing and I have a good sense of auditory imagination (like I can hear music in my head). I’m very good with language and love reading, and in the past I’ve been a full-time writer. I also don’t practice conversations in my head before meeting someone. It seems like I should be able to do this since I can write any number of characters having a conversation, and I can argue ideas in my head, but rehearsing for real life convos in my head is something I never do; it doesn’t come naturally. Weird.
I have a really vivid inner speech. I also have the neat ability to hear a text of someone I know more, as if that person is speaking. This is not only fun, but also helps me understand their views and toughts of that person.
me: overly aware of the internal monologue that is currently going on as I watch this video
It did not stop at any point
I had to rewind a few times, since I kept missing parts due to that voice in my head talking over the top of Hank. And once because he had me remembering camping trips. I miss camping.
The final countdown
Glad I wasn't the only one that was listening to this over my inner voice just chatting away
its stressin me out!!
I went to a school for disabled children. One of my classmates had a severe speech impairment due to cerebral palsy. Our teacher once asked her whether the speech impairment was present in her inner speech. She said no - it sounded normal inside her head.
That's very weird. Cuz I thought the voice inside ur head would be based off how u hear it when u speak
@@fleepity Yes and no, it’s normally different when you more so think about how you speak out loud, but when your just thinking, it’s never a clear voice of yourself to other people because your not focusing on it. Either way it’s pretty cool
@@unrealomida1 mines pretty much exactly how I sound, just without the fumbling from talking too quick that I sometimes do
@@fleepityinteresting, mine doesn’t sound like my actual voice so much. but it feels more like the real me, the actual voice of who i am. not how i’m perceived to other people
@@keeptaiwanfree out of curiosity are u some flavour of trans / nonbinary.
Man, as someone without an inner monologue nor visual imagination I really do hope science one day can explain why some brains can process one thing while others just don’t.
woah .... sorry my dude. You're missing out 😔
I caught myself composing a comment about this video mentally while I was watching it. My inner speech is extremely active.
It’s insane hearing someone talk about “maybe we can train ourselves to have multiple monologues with different voices or to have more consistent conversations with ourselves” when literally this is how I think 100% of the time
Same.
Yea I do the same lol
The harder I try to hear a voice in my head, the more silence I hear.
One time I tried naming all the different kinds of monologues I have in my head... I haven't really heard any of them after that, but there turned out to be about 20.
Same here. Well not 100% of the time, but if I want I can do it.
So my brain isn't haunted? That's good to know.
Well, are you able to control your inner speech?
@@ageamiu8923 Yes I can.
No he can't*
Yep Yea Got demons in the head
Time to get a piece of flint
And for you a Hole in the head
It's called your conscious... totally normal and healthy to have
@@bunille so you're saying my conscience is the one telling me to burn the house down? That's a relief.
Certainly do that a lot myself, some times I swear I can have full blown arguments with myself over things. Honestly, in the end I find it cleansing and helps keep me on track in the long run.
I'm a hypervisualizer and someone whose inner voice is pretty much on 24/7 including in dreams etc. And yes, I've been anxious and depressive pretty much all my life. I've also had strong tendencies towards considering what's going on inside my head at least as stimulating and interesting and important as the stuff going on outside it. Which, together with the overstimulation of constant internal self-generated "input" kind of explains (or relates to) me being an introvert who needs a lot of alone time.
Learning that there are people who DONT have constant inner speech is to me almost as much of a "MIND=BLOWN" moment as when I learned afantasia is a thing.
it's funny to me when im having a conversation with myself in my head and i skip forward a few words or lines because I've gotten to the meaning of the thought and know what's coming next anyway and don't actually need all the words for it
But then I would want to go back because I have to finish what I started.
Then I would spend like, an hour debating about going back or not.
@@lisabriggs9064 meee 😂
yeah same like i’ll be explaining something or working something out in my head and i’ll get to the point where i’m like “i know what i mean idk why i’m explaining it” 🤣
or when I rewind it to change something, and i skip a part because "yeah yeah i got this part"
I was looking for this. There are actually 3 levels of speech that some of us can navigate through, jumping back and forth: full thoughts almost bared of any speech as the video says, an intermediate level in which we can hear the sounds like from afar and full blown speech in which we even articulate the slightest details in our heads such as whether we pronounce the differences between /z/ an /s/. I would even add a 4th level, which is moving the tongue inside with our mouths closed, which personally hardly ever do I do.
I'm so shocked that people don't think every word they read. I can't even imagine processing words without saying them in my head.
Right???
I tried to read without saying words in my head
In end I understood exactly 0% of what I've read and I had to read everything again and it seemed like I have never seen it before
That's because you don't recognize words letter by letter, but instead by the general shape the word forms. Same goes for sentences. Some words you're going to just give them meanings without spelling it out then move on to the next word to refine the meaning of the sentence, or even the whole paragraph.
Same..
I said your whole comment in my head 😭
Something interesting I do when talking to myself is moving my mouth ever so slightly and breathing as if I'm talking. I can also make really loud noises in my head like screaming, static, random frequencies, music, etc.
Watching this video made me realize that I don't really have frequent inner speech. I do have inner speech during depressive episodes (diagnosed with SAD), usually negative, and I occasionally have self-motivating inner speech, but I don't actually have inner speech on a daily basis because most of my thoughts are accompanied by visualization. Neat!
My inner speech consists of speeches, therapy sessions with myself and a LOT of stories I make up when I'm bored 🤷♀️
People forgets the most obvious reason, we don't always get a chance to have an intelligent conversation.
What was your best story?
@@clairee4939 Dude my entire life I've been "writing stories" before going to sleep. I ran out of superpowers. But I do have trouble when adding aliens in my story, it gets extremely difficult to "write" it. If I wouldn't be so lazy, I would probably have had at least 500 stories by now. The thing I like best is using whatever dream fragments I got left to come up with some crazy stuff.
@@Clifford_Banes and it’s in words ？
@@clairee4939 I have full speeches and rewinding the story if at some point things don't fit, choose a different action or response to get to where my story is or simply change the whole story. In my last one I got bored of slowly changing the world, so my main character gets killed by his one and only partner-in-crime and lover, who steals his powers and forces the people of the world to change their ways. She's using both words, and actions. Meeting the leaders of the world, everyone has something to say, everyone has a different point of view (which is limited by my own knowledge of geopolitics, civilisations, religions) and they express it. It's like a book.
Also, I talk to myself a lot. "I'm so stupid, why did I say that? I never learn to keep my mouth shut". But it doesn't have to be a bad thing. It can be "I really nailed that one, didn't I? Well done me."
Sometimes I talk to myself as "you damn fool" if I'm really mad at myself, I'm distancing myself from...myself.
I talk to myself so much that it's tiring. Every word I think about triggers a connection and every connections triggers more. I talk a lot because it forces me to be less divergent and stick to a story.
Meditation works to calm my thoughts down, it's like a thoughts tornado in my head, and meditation is like going into the eye of the tornado.
Medication would probably work better.
I still remember the one history class where one of my (Egyptian-Australian) classmates came in talking about having being approached by another (Turkish-Australian) student asking him if he thought in English or Arabic, being like "who thinks in actual words?"
This was the day we discovered some people don't have an inner monologue, and he discovered other people do.
I used to be confused on the concept of inner monolog because I too don't default to actual words, I was far into my teens when I even started to do that and still have to imagine there's someone else I'm speaking with; I have no self directed inner speech. Now, probably because I'm neural divergent, I do sometimes 'script' things ahead of conversations to help me during them later, but this isn't inner speech so much as priming for an event, practicing.
Even when I began writing as a hobby I didn't develop an inner monolog, and still find them distracting/emersion breaking in stories. For the longest time I thought inner speech was a kind of trope or concept I didn't quite 'get' like so many other social things and expectations, I just accepted it refered to something that I was supposed to accept but might never understand.
Wow, that's fascinating! Does your friend think in a visual logic and language structure?
It's actually funny how it changed for me as I got better in English. First it was always in my native language and I had to go through the mental gymnastics to translate it. Now it depends on the enviroment: I think native when I talk to my fellow countrymen, watch or read stuff in my native language. Mostly Emglish otherwise due to spending a lot of time speaking/hearing English in my daily life (work+hobbies).
Sometimes it's just abstract without having any wordly shape and I struggle to translate them into any language.
@@boginoid the moment I realized that I was becoming fluent in German, was while taking an early morning shower. It suddenly occurred to me that I was thinking about my day ahead *in German, in my head.* It was the coolest thing! And even though I haven’t lived in Germany for decades, I can still switch between English & German almost at will.
@@CharlesPayet Haha, always those shower thoughts. Best place to ponder.
I constantly have a conversation with at least 1 more of myself internally 24/7 and its honestly exhausting at times specially during depressive episodes. I bet not having inner speech must be nice and relaxing
I divide my inner monologue into various concepts or parts of myself like mind body spirit etc as well as some other concepts like anxiety and self destructive behavior.
I have actually trained myself to think differently! When I'm not trying or too tired, I have something like that abbreviated inner speech where full concepts and moments are put into a collage of memories and single words, but I usually force myself think through things in full sentences because it helps me make connections between things!
People aren’t always just engaging in inner speech at all times? Woah.
Ikr... (this may be weird idek) but sometimes i have conversations with different "voices" if i'm bored. But i'm not crazy lol.
@@ethan.000 thats what a crazy person would say....
ethan ADD/ADHD? That’s what I’ve got and my mind hardly ever shuts up lol
jo YES. My brain does not shut up.
It's so exhausting...
It absolutely blows my mind that not everyone has an inner monologue. I feel like there’s a completely separate world in my head…where I see images, I re-experience different situations, I talk to myself, I reflect on things I’ve done and said, I contemplate different ideas, have conversations with other people, analyze and discuss situations with myself while I’m in them…I mean I couldn’t live without an inner world. I feel like it keeps me sane. It’s how I make sense of everything. It’s constant, I’m always aware of it….it’s the real me, my true reality.
I've been mind blown that people REALLY DO have inner monologues and can imagine objects or places in their mind as clear as day. I guess the idea that not everyone processes imagination the same had never occurred to me 😬 I'm actually extremely envious of you, and other people that can. Now that I'm aware of this phenomenon, I feel like I'm missing out on this whole human experience.
But I do find all of this fascinating, it's been a fun rabbit hole to fall into 😊
@@yo_victoria It has it's pros and cons.
It never shuts up.
I wish I could experience silence in my head lmfao
Me, 24/7 😑
❤️❤️❤️❤️
@@yo_victoria same lol, I got full blown aphantasia and have never been able to experience the world most people do. But it is a fun little thing to learn and wonder about
It’s so interesting because I have a very active inner monologue. Even when I try to simply focus on my breath I have some awareness telling me “you are focusing on your breath, not x or y…” and then I spiral without truly thinking the thoughts in words. It’s super hard to explain but it’s just like I’m feeling or am subconsciously aware of my thoughts rather than thinking them(?)
The whole time I was listening to this I was talking to myself, my inner speech is incredibly developed. Conversation, stories, unique characters. Every once in a while like every couple of months I will have a thought so loud I get confused if I had said it out loud. From my point of view I see only one difference between inner speech and talking, the out loud part. I feel crazy to have to describe how inner thoughts work because it feels as if everyone should have them.
I find my inner speech to be very helpful at times it feels like I have both automatic inner speech and dictated inner speech. When I'm bored and write storylines and characters I tend to let my automatic inner speech take control of some characters and I will control the other so I can have a full natural conversation in my head with that character. Of course the automatic inner speech gets very negative when I'm stressed or depressed. Kinda feels weird having to talk it down. Like If I mess something up my inner speech gets very angry starts insulting me and throwing a tantrum and I have to be like well calm down buttfucker we got this. It confuses me how people would make sentences if they don't have inner speech. But my experience is different from the next man, so who knows I may sound super crazy to some.
Props to whoever thought up "you can still talk about it amongst yourself" 😂
Yeah, that made me laugh.
I took my friend's ADHD medication one time and my inner talking completely stopped. It was so weird and kind of nice to have a break! I even said, "I dont understand how Im forming sentences without thinking about it first." My mind had never been empty like that before.
This world is crazy, guys.
congratulations, you also have _some_ form of ADHD then xD
(not necessarily pathological or anything, but if stims make your brain spool down like that it's almost guaranteed you have it)
interesting that it switches off verbalisation for you though. hooman brains are fascinating
@@fariesz6786 ADHD medication also worked for me to quiet my mind, but in my case I have autism. When I asked my psichatrist and psychologist If I could have adhd, they told me not.
I have ADHD. It doesn’t stop my inner speech, but I can control it better. If I have “too much” Ritalin, then my inner speech will stop from time to time. It’s a _really_ weird feeling for me. I don’t really like it. But, it’s nice to be more in control of my inner speech. I used “too much” in quotes because it’s probably not actually too much, just more then I enjoy.
Side note… I think this is also part of the reason why taking Ritalin isn’t addictive if you have ADHD - it just helps you concentrate, and more isn’t better.
@@pedroba76plot twist, you definitely can have both. I do. I only found out about the autism after getting medicated for ADHD. It had been hiding behind my ADHD anxiety and squirrel brain for years.
@@fariesz6786 ADHD is a spectrum, it's not binary. Most people have ADHD in some situations but not others. Mind altering drugs will likely have some kind of an effect on everybody, but if it's appropriate is entirely a different matter. Going for a walk in the woods or just being outside has been shown to help. Maybe meditiation techniques or daydreaming is enough for you to focus your mind when it's needed. Don't try to self-medicate without a competent doctor's advice.
My inner only stops when I'm speaking or actively listening.
One of the ones that has assumedly no inner speech here, though I can have it when I focus hard on it. It's funny to me how this subject has been getting a lot of recent attention. I first learned that people talking about their "inner monologue" weren't just making a metaphor when I was very young, and that cartoon characters thinking about something in words was actually real. I kind of just accepted it and moved on with a, "huh, neat". I didn't realize just how many people actually think that way.
To me, when I actively try to think in words, I feel like I process my thoughts so much slower. That could be lack of practice, I suppose, but I think it's so much easier and quicker to think in pictures or ideas. I also don't have an inner voice when I read, which I think means I can read quicker than I would otherwise, too.
When I have talked to friends about it an mulled on it more in recent times, I made the realization that I DO talk to myself out loud. A lot. Anecdotally more than the average person I know. That's how I usually do the "acting out" of conversations I could have had with someone and practice future conversations. And I wonder if I do that because I don't have an inner speech? It's hard to say, but it seems like it could be connected.
My inner speech is overactive and Im constantly having hypothetical conversations or thinking about what Im doing
Bruuhhh, when I tell people this they like tf??
I get like that when I’m nervous. I’ll replay a situation that hasn’t happened finding everything that could go wrong.
Yeah, this is often how I experience it, especially when I'm anxious as I use my inner speech to talk myself through the situation and calm down (however this doesn't always work and sometimes it gets taken over by the negative stuff).
Thank God, I thought "allot" I was alone. Constantly going, like driving a perpetual motion machine. Going down the right path, awesome figure hard stuff. Going down the wrong path, get in a jamb. It can be trained, just not sure how to master. Just me myself and I 🤣🤣
There's is some sort of inner speech going on in my brain pretty much 100% of the time, the only time there isn't inner speech is when I'm solving math in my head. Makes it very hard to sleep at night since my brain literally never stops jabbering about one thing or another
Very comforting to know I’m not the only person having full blown sentences of self-analyzation in my head
Oh yes, i analyse my action, then a voice comes up and questions the what who why of me analysing that and if I should or should not be analysing it or letting it go, then another thought analysing wether that was worth it or not, and then after that goes on for a while there's a thought thinking about how I'm over analysing everything, and the how that is meaningless for my life, it continues forever until i am interrupted
@@adhritgulati6794yes omg
Also super interesting to know that it's correlated with better being able to put yourself in someone else's shoes. I'm empathetic to a fault and now I know it may be because my inner speech is so prominent in my day-to-day. I'm constantly using it to analyze, reflect, and comment on things. I think it makes me more adept at simulating what someone else's thought patterns may be.
@@JohnDoeWasntTakenEmpathetic != Having high levels of cognitive or emotional empathy.
Actually I brutally envy people who doesn't have it
It must be such a better life experience
Wow! This is is so interesting. I didn’t even know it was unusual to have inner speech preceding every thought that comes into my head. I mean literally I am always thinking 🤔. My inner voice doesn’t ever shut up. Thank goodness it’s pleasant company.
It's a fascinating subject.
I have memories going back to being two, and I'm aware of some quite structured thoughts and ideas. But also know I didn't have the language skills back then.
5:02 is the single greatest image this channel has ever produced
Agreed. Obviously required a bit of extra work to photoshop that date photo. Unnecessary perhaps but probably worth it!
Agreed. 🤣
It's good, but it pales in comparison to the grand creation that is Muscle Hank.
I don't know, the beans thing was pretty great
@@jacksonpercy8044 oh god whatever happened to the muscle hank account
I often use inner dialog to argue against myself when I'm angry about something. I basically check if I might be wrong or if the other side has a good point as well - and that helps me to cool myself down and see the other persons point when the actual argument happens.
Mine usually goes along with whatever I’m feeling 🥲
I do that too, I’ve avoided a lot of needless conflict by arguing against myself. I feel if I can’t win an argument against myself then maybe I should rethink my stance, I don’t always “lose” haha in that case I stay mad
I use my inner voice to not be a hypocrite
That’s called emotional intelligence :). Many are lacking it :)
This!!!
Now this is a very detailed and awesome video!
I just became aware of this thing having a name a year back or so. When I came across a video where someone reacted to another video, and they said "What? You hear yourself in your head?"😂
So, I have this since I was born I guess. And I think, I have it all the time whenever I don't talk or write. But I just remember the negative ones. Like that day when I was on my lowest level ever. And during so many traumas I had to endure. But honestly...I do it really all the time. And NOW after this video my inner speech voice will sound like Hank. For an hour at least 😂
I'm inundated with inner speech all the time, so much so that when I got hit by a car the first thing I noticed (after checking myself over for injuries) was that for the first time I can remember my mind was quiet. I have two facets of my psyche that I regularly engage with, an protector and a manager in my internal family system, but I'll also mull over thoughts by myself, but there are so many thoughts going in the background that I'm not really involved with. Its like being in a room with a bunch of people talking amongst themselves.
Its can be overwhelming sometimes, but I wouldn't trade it for a quiet mind.
"Talk about it amongst yourself." It's like the whole video was made just for that joke.
"The me's in my head wont shut up"
If my inner voices are replaying actual conversations from when I was a child, I must have had some damn sophisticated conversations with my mother at four years old.
lmao
This to me is obviously 100% false.
I am dumbfounded that anyone would actually believe this theory,
I've been speaking to myself in my head from infancy.
@@detran09 How can you remember back that far
@@jake6681 I also have active inner dialogue since 4-5 years old, I think that the difference is that at such age you don't think about the negative things as much so people commonly don't remember it because our inner speech develops with our views of ourselves and changes drastically from childhood to adolescence, it shifts constantly as we mature I guess
I think it's more about HOW we talk to ourselves in our heads. Like, if you talk to yourself with soft, positive tones, or harsh, negative ones, for example. If someone who you looked up to saw you struggling with a problem, and they encouraged you to slow down, think about every part of the issue, praised you for trying, versus if they scolded you, talked down to you, and told you to hurry up, then your inner monologue might reflect that as you age.
My parents raised me with a philosophy of "the voices you hear in your head are your parents'" not necessarily that you hear their voices specifically, but the kinds of things you say to yourself are the kind of things your parents say. I quite often remember how my dad encourages me to be helpful and loving, and my mom reminds me to be compassionate and honest. They worked very hard through to years to help me build a self sufficient and self loving internal dialogue and I greatly appreciate them for it :)
i always talk to myself in the form of a conversation with me and also me, i find it really helps me think :) i think its fun to think of it as giving your subconscious a voice to suggest things
I have full-on arguments just with me and I actually learn, one being a devil's advocate and one being my current standpoint or sometimes constructive criticism about something I made, and then calling myself a degenerate loser, and then beans
I've full on explained my thoughts to myself out loud. I'm straight up just explaining a concept to myself out loud, such as some complex scientific concepts.
@@popcornrocks5208 you do that as well?
Yep, I'm still thinking about thos beans too
@@popcornrocks5208 i do this too. And another part of myself goes “I don’t need to explain this, I already understand it” but it continues
@@damongaming275 both of you do that too?
when I stop to think about it, one of the ways that I became fluent in English (my native language is Portuguese) is that I kinda forced myself to do my inner conversation in English, that was when I was 15-ish, now that I'm 30, I can honestly say that I can have an inner talk mixing English and Portuguese without even noticing! it's really interesting to be able to notice how we are always practicing conversations with others in our minds!
Oh, I relate to this
My internal speech is in English even though my mother tongue is isiXhosa. I think it’s because of reading exclusively English books as a child
It worked for me too. I have inner monologues in German or English even though Spanish is my mother language. It really helped me out to gain proficiency in them, and to work around the missing vocabulary.
@@josecorchete3732 Muchas veces cuestiono en mi mente las cosas que hago en inglés, como "why tf you just let her go" o algo por el estilo, es muy curioso.
That's essentially what separates someone who is trying to genuinely learn a language from someone who is not really that interested. Someone I used to know told me he learned English by "beginning to think in English". He would constantly second guess his thoughts by trying to re-think them in an English equivalent.
Lol that's honestly how I learned Portuguese 😬
At some point in my life i didn't had an inner monologue but then suddenly one day i started to have inner monologue. It was around the age 8 or so i started to notice my inner thoughts.
I noticed when I was young that I could say things without using my mouth.
I was born and live in germany, but I consume a lot of content in english (books, series, movies, YT, etc.), and in the last few years (I'm currently 33) I started to have my inner speech in english after e.g. watching a movie. Furthermore, I was unable to switch back easily. I had to concentrate really hard to think in german again.