It recently came to my attention that most people are always talking to themselves in their heads. I don’t know why you do this, my mind is blank unless I need to think of something.
I have no inner monologue. AMA
r/AMA
It recently came to my attention that most people are always talking to themselves in their heads. I don’t know why you do this, my mind is blank unless I need to think of something.
Comments
Man I wish I could have some peace like you do. Idk what to even ask, too busy talking to myself in my head
Do you also have aphantasia? I recently learned I have that …
İt’s a gift.
Did you get Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy?
How hard do you need to think to turn the voice on?
So if you walk past something that you find really beautiful, do you not think words like ‘oh that colour is really nice’ or ‘that view is amazing’ or something similar?
This was a realization to me but in reverse of you. When I learned not everyone had one, I proceeded to ask everyone I knew if they did or did not have one.
I guess it’s a matter of what is normal to each individual.
I have anxiety and mine does not turn off… ever.
Do people have inner monologues as if they are talking to themselves, or as if they are talking to someone else?
I started to wonder if I may not have an inner monologue, in the way of talking with myself.
Without an internal monologs- what was your internal process for coming up with the idea to post this and then deciding to do so?
did you have a really good upbringing? good supportive family? the people I know with no inner monologue had really nice parents who never bullied them for the most part
I fucking wish I was like you. It’s non stop in my brain I narrate everything!
So are you just acting entirely on instinct unless you’re actively trying to think about something, like you’re unconscious but still taking in information? That’s the closest I can imagine to not having a voice in your head
You never wonder about things?
If you have an argument with someone, don’t you ruminate about it afterwards?
Do you get anxious at all?
Have you tried randomly pretending you’re in a transcription of the piece 4’33” and imagine a score?
Hey this is called Aphantasia. I have the exact same thing. I developed mine after I hit my head on the concrete
You never ask yourself what you want to do today?
If you were walking down the street in a new town, and you were by yourself, and you got hungry, don’t you start wondering “what I should eat?”
What does it feel like in your mind? Is it just silence? How do you process experiences?
I’m so jealous. My thoughts exhaust me. They’re constant.
So, if I tell you to imagine a red apple how much detail you see?
If you read, do you hear the words in your mind?
AMA except OP asks the commenters more questions than commenters ask OP 🤣
Idek what to ask but wonder if you’re blessed with raw thought or cursed without internal conversations.
Well I guess I could ask, can you even explore, philosophize, expand, so-and-so an idea? Can you “think” logically about the validity of an argument, morality of an action, basically come to a conclusion via logically processing different parts of a thought individually? Or is it all just one, weirdly shaped and coloured blob of “thought” that you more so “feel” than actually “think”
HOW TF DO YOU THINK ANYTHING?
Honestly my internal monologue is pretty damn external. I’ll be in the kitchen having full conversations with myself and if you stop listening for a minute then you missed season 16 of my ramblings since I’d be talking about season 17’s plot.
When you read something that requires concentration to understand, do you read the words aloud in your mind?
Yay me either!!! Hi cousin!
So, when you sit in silence, your brain is just silent? No thoughts? Sounds like it would be easy to meditate. Do you meditate?
Do you ever feel depression or anxiety?
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So, when you hear the phrase, “Think before you speak,” what did you think that meant?
I’m also curious, if you hear a word, can you imagine it? Like…apple. do you see anything in your head. Like if you close your eyes, can you imagine an apple? Do you see it? What does it taste like? Same with anything, really..dog, ice cream, rain, beach….
I’m convinced everyone has an inner monologue and those who say they don’t just aren’t understanding the concept 😅😅
I find this so interesting! I have a constant inner monologue that I can’t switch off, but can’t visualise things. If you asked me to visualise what my mum looks like for example, I’m aware what she looks like but I can’t see the image of her in my head. What’s it like for you when you think about songs you like for example? For me, I can pretty much “listen” to the vocals of songs I like and know well in my own head, not like “my” voice singing them but the artists – it’s not the same as listening to the song on Spotify for example but I can kinda “hear” the vocals when I want to – I do that often when there’s a song stuck in my head or attempt to as a distraction if there’s thoughts I don’t want in my head (I struggle with OCD). As a result of the OCD (I think it is anyway) I have a habit of often counting things in my head, like I’ll count to 4 repeatedly in my head with my steps when I walk somewhere, or with my heartbeats if I’m just chilling in bed and can feel it in my chest. When I do that, I hear the numbers like I’m speaking them out loud in my head. I don’t notice it all that often as I do it so frequently without realising at first. Do you ever experience anything like that?
You listen to Ringer Fantasy Football podcast? They legit talked exactly about this last week
Do you have a soul?
I am like this too, but it wasn’t always that way. I used to have a constant inner monologue since I had severe anxiety growing up, there was always nonstop overthinking and scenarios replaying in my head. But after I got into meditation and stuck with it, the inner monologue completely disappeared. Now, it’s just quiet unless I’m reading. It’s been like this for years, and honestly, I think what many people call an “inner monologue” is often just anxiety.
Did u always lack inner monologue ?
Because as a child I did have a very strong inner monologue.. but as i grew order it just dissapeared.
Sometimes i force myself to have one and my day is way more productive, structured and overal better.
Can you recite song lyrics in your mind?
During a conversation, I’m not just conversing with what you’re saying, but also what you might say, what you already said, and thinking about your potential responses to the several different things I’m considering saying.
I have multiple voices in my head, that I talk with.
So like when you read something or type something, you don’t hear those words in your head?
I don’t have that either. I can force it, and then I usually visualize text more than have a voice in my head 😅
Biggest con I have noticed, I’m really bad at describing things. I can picture them in my head really well, but the words are hard to find. For example what someone looks like, places, mostly anything visual.
Do you have the same problem?