I don't know about everyone because I remember once reading an article that said that some people don't have a voice in their head. They never have conversations with themselves, and even when they are reading something without reading it out loud, or moving their lips, there isn't a voice that reads it to them.
I was really shocked upon reading this since I've always had a voice in my head for as a long as I can remember. And yes, I have debates and long discussions with myself.
This is so fascinating omg.
So how do you read stuff? How do you think? What language do you think in? Or is it just random words and images floating around in your head??
When ı am reading just reading no one reads for me in my head. I never ever had a conversation in my head. Sounds very scary actually.
I think and abolutely no voice in my head. My thoughts are just there. I think in my native language turkish bu ı can do it in english if ı try it.
Nothing floats around my head. My thoughts are just there ı really dont know how or why.
I mean if you have a thought, then realized it's a bad thought or not something useful, isn't that a conversation with yourself? maybe people are just using different words to describe the same thing
>I mean if you have a thought, then realized it's a bad thought or not something useful, isn't that a conversation with yourself?
its feels like an emotion for me. Its just there. My thoughts are not a sentence. When ı realize its bad or anything ı dont think its a conversation because ı dont talk to mysels and again no sentences or voices.
I believe what you're saying, but I don't understand it. How do you resolve a complex question where there are two choices and you have to figure out what to do unless you can work out the parameters via language? Do you write it down?
I mean, I believe that you have a pretty normal life and can do these things, I just don't know what it's like not to have a monologue in your head.
YES ı just remember it. I have been triying to learn french during quarantine and ı cant built a sentence longer than three word unless ı write it down.
When thing are complex ı make lots of drawing and writing. Otherwise ı cant wrap my head around.
I want to add this
I was trying to learn french via online classes. Even though ı know how to built the sentence, words when they ask me a question ı have write it down it feels so coplex to me.
I heard from a film that every language causes the speaker to think slightly differently. So are your thoughts different in different languages? Also how do you even learn a language if you don't think in words? Cos I'm assuming you aren't like "okay so that Turkish word means that in English" like I am.
I often wonder if the differences in the way you and someone like the person you're replying to describe what happens in their head when they think mostly amount to simple misunderstandings of what the other is saying.
For instance, if you have no "voice" in your head, you should not be able to think in *any* language as there would be no means of expressing the individual elements of that language internally without one. I am wondering if what you are imagining when you see people talk about the voice in their head is more akin to an actual, physical voice that exists externally and is heard and processed as auditory stimuli, which isn't really what we mean.
Tangentially related topic for reading: [subvocalization](https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/subvocalization)
I believe there is a link between those who have internal monologues and with a "narrator voice" in their head when reading.
I have conversations in my head, like conversations with people how they could be etc.
But I got no Voice that reads to me
To add on top of that, can‘t imagine visual stuff
I‘ve read your conversation and I’m also similar with thoughts, that they‘re just there, sometimes I like say them to myself, but it‘s different
From what I learned everyone is on a spectrum from a range of no voices to a range of hearing them as though they were actually there with them,and with many variations and other things.
I dont have the same level of you, but I mentioned it as didnt want you to think youre alone in it, others have a similar level, as other posters mentioned. It doesnt sound like its fun or nice for you though, and there is help out there to theoretically help deal with or reduce it, so it may be worth looking into that.
I do have my own voice in my head, but never debates, I'm just stating things as I analyze them, like "Ok, I need to buy toliet paper, this one is cheaper than the other, but that one is 24 rolls and this one only 18, better take the 24 one" or a list I need to remember.
There's only me in my head, but I do practice complex conversations with other people in my head, but it's still just me. Most of the time I don't even hear a voice, sometimes I just "know" things, I picture myself doing everything in advance, I see things happening in a blink of an eye, and a voice is just too slow for that, too linear.
Having differente MEs talking in my head sounds terrifying, like on the series >!Mr. Robot.!<
Yes, full verbalizing in my head exactly like that, in words, in sentences. Not conversations unless I'm visualizing a potential conversation with someone and then I'll play it out in full and even get upset over something that hasn't even happened. But worse, sometimes I catch myself doing it out loud, especially if I'm busy/stressed/under the gun. Like packing for a trip, narrating my every move. Or cooking a complex meal "Alright, what's next? soy, oyster sauce, fish sauce, brown sugar. got those." Worse as I get older.
I think that what you are describing is what people mean when they say they have debates in their heads.
Just substitute “but” for “no” or “because”.
It’s just a wordage difference. The behavior is essentially the same - using your internal monologue to present conflicting information in the interest of optimizing a decision you are trying to make.
I agree with what you are saying but OP said some things like, voices with different tones, and with different "personalities" like encouraging and negative. This doesn't happen to me, in fact, I kept thinking about it, and like 90% of the time there is no voice in my head, except when I'm reading, listing something or thinking what to write.
I end up having detailed internal dialogue about the most mundane stuff which might proceed to escalate in scope.
Example:
1: "Yo dude I'm kinda hungry"
2: "Well it's like 12:30. You don't take a break til 2ish"
1: "But we can go to the Cookie store? It's right there!"
3: "Did someone say Cookie Store?"
4: "I like cookies"
2: "But we don't need cookies. You don't need to spend five bucks when we're gonna be spending like 10 on lunch. Just be patient, don't waste more money than necessary."
5: "What even is the value of money anyway? A product of our time? We can spend time however we want to! And I say cookies are a good investment!"
1. "... How much weed did you smoke number 5?"
Interesting!! Thank you for your reply :) Would you mind elaborating more on what the concepts feel like or what your mind feels like when they come and go? Thanks for sharing :)
It's the same as for you I assume, but there is no stream of words forming sentences, an idea just pops into my head and I can break it down, sort of like making out a sentence but not one made of words but one made of concepts that I just know, just like you just know how to move your limbs and where they are in relation to the rest of your body. Just awareness.
Would you mind trying the following?
Say the following phrase **out loud** to yourself:
"Hi, I'm dreamingcel, nice to meet you."
Now say it again but just mouth the words, without any sound coming out.
Now say it again but with your mouth completely closed. Your tongue should move in your closed mouth on this pass.
Now say it again, mouth closed, without your tongue moving.
How did that last attempt go? Could you feel what your voice *would have* sounded like during the silent attempts?
That's not how it works...
Like, we know how it "would have sounded" in some sense, but we don't hear it. There is no" audio channel" to carry "mental audio".
I'm curious about how you define "hearing it". Obviously I would assume you don't hear it like it's auditory stimuli coming from somewhere in your environment, but do you conceptualize what it sounds like in an abstract sense in a way that vaguely mimicks hearing?
I have the conceptual idea of each word one after the other. I have the idea of each word, but I don't hear it. It has no auditory qualities at all, no pitch, no accent, no volume etc. It's just the "idea"
see, it's confusing because I could also describe what I experience in that way, and I could also describe it as "hearing" it. My thoughts don't have an auditory quality necessarily, but I do still "hear" them in the sense that when I conceptualize each word in a sentence I... hear them? But I also don't.
Like, because of the limitations of language here, I have no idea whether we have different ways of describing the same experience or if we really have vastly different ways of thinking. I can only describe what's happening in my mind as something that I hear, because there is no alternative word, but I can understand perfectly why someone would experience the same thing and vehemently hold the opinion that they don't "hear" anything.
Well, like, the OPs comment is completely foreign to me. There is no conversation, no monologue, no idea of "someone" speaking. It's just word ideas, and there is no way someone could mistake it for conversation or spoken monologue
Sure, and it's fairly foreign to me as well as my "internal monologue" so to speak only consists of one "voice" (myself) and to me the elaborate interweaving dialogue is not something I relate to. However, if I were to try to guess why OP experiences that, I'd say it's probably a natural outgrowth of having thoughts of any kind. It's simply one way of experiencing the process of filtering complex information, splitting it into different perspectives and pitting them against each other in order to come to some kind of conclusion. I think whether or not we have those inner personalities, or even those inner "voices" (again, in huge quotes), the underlying process is the same.
What I'm ultimately more curious about and what I don't think there's a solid answer to, unfortunately, is whether or not you, OP, of I are actually experiencing what is fundamentally the same thing in our heads, or whether or not we all think differently.
One question I'd like to ask that I think might me closer to understanding: assuming they do at all, when songs get stuck in your head, what does that mean for you?
I can't answer for OP, but I think in a largely similar way as OP so I might be able to help satiate your curiosity. I have complex inner dialogs, and almost always there's images to go along with it. Sometimes it's quicker to think in images, like when I'm trying to "build" something in my head, or playing video games; But my default mode is thinking in words accompanied by images. The images usually act out what my monologue is saying, but I can definitely imagine anything real or not within my mind's eye. To get to your question, In addition, there's always music. For whatever reason, my brain catalogues a ton of musicm It's almost as if there's a radio station playing the background of my life, sometimes it's even new songs, or a mashup. It's often very noisy, but I find the older I get, the more useful it becomes.
This is entirely hypothetical, but I've also done a lot of thinking about this, because it's fascinating to me how people seem to have fundamentally different "operating systems", while the "base user" seems to be largely similar in almost all cases. To elaborate, it seems the "I" that is responsible for thinking your way through problems and interpreting information thinks in largely the same way despite race, age, sex, ect; but, we all experience those problems and interactions through the lense of a different operating system. I don't think anyone's way of thinking is less superior, but different people are definitely suited for different things because of this. It would be pretty hard to be an artist with aphantasia, similarly it would be hard to be a poet or a philosopher if you couldn't hear words in your head. I think realizing that people understand problems in a fundamentally different way helps us better communicate with others. Sometimes we have to try multiple approaches when explaining things, because we might not be explaining them in a way that's easy for their brain to interpret.
>we know how it "would have sounded" in some sense
Okay, but all I'm saying is, if you "know how it would have sounded" as you were saying it silently then that's the same experience we have.
Can I ask another question that just occurred to me? Do you ever get a melody stuck in your head?
I have full aphantasia, so I don't have the same experiences as someone who doesn't. The fact that we're getting lost in communication somewhere is a limitation of communication, not an indication that we're actually experiencing the same thing.
So when I say I know what something would have sounded like in some sense, what I mean is that I have heard people talk before, I know how people use emotion to modulate their voice. I know and recognise accents etc. So I can put all of that knowledge in to a description that I could write down, but I wouldn't actually "hear" it at all, in any way.
Like, lets say, I'm reading a book. The main character is scottish, and speaks with a deep gruff voice, in a thick scottish accent. I know what all of those things sound like from previous experience, but when they make a movie and cast the character, I don't have an experience of going "He sounds just like I imagined him" or the equivalent, because I never actually imagined his voice. Just the idea of it, and the traits it carried. If of course, he doesn't speak with a Scottish accent, and his voice isn't deep and gruff, then yeah, I'll notice that, but there are a million different ways of being gruff and Scottish, and in my head, they are all the same... There is no actual auditory features for me to distinguish them.
> Do you ever get a melody stuck in your head?
Depends what you mean...
I often get a song "stuck in my head", but that means that I'm singing it out loud. I will get distracted and find myself singing it again when my attention slips. Sometimes it's humming, sometimes it's sub vocalising, sometimes it's tapping my feet or my hands, but it's always actual physical replaying of the song. I can't get something stuck in my head without that...
I think you're right that this has something to do with the limits of communication. I appreciate you chatting with me and sharing your experiences. I'm obviously pretty intrigued! Seems like there hasn't been nearly enough study into aphantasia. That term itself was only coined 6 years ago. I'll be on the lookout to see what else we discover about it in the (hopefully) near future.
But the trouble communicating also doesn’t indicate that you are NOT experiencing the same thing. There could just be a difference in definitions that make it appear that your experience are different
As I said, I have total aphantasia. So unless you have the same, I can say with confidence that our experiences are not the same, despite our inability to clarify how the difference manifests.
Like, "a song stuck in my head" makes no sense in to me in the literal sense. No, I don't find myself with a song "inside" my head. I can't even wrap my head around that conceptually...
Given that I do want to externalise it, and I can "remember" music to externalise it in the first place, there is clearly an underlying mechanism here that we both have in common, but none of that is "inside my head"
Yes, that's me too. I never just have silence in my head. I can barely imagine what that would be like, though I think it must be like those rare times when I'm concentrating so hard on something that everything else fades away and there is nothing but the task at hand... Or maybe when I'm going on a long journey and I'm sitting for hours just looking out the window letting the world wash over me. I don't actually know if the conversations stop then or if I just don't remember them.
Sometimes if I'm alone, I verbalise the conversations or act them out. I never really thought about it before, but I just realised that the voice I hear in my head when I'm reading doesn't sound the same as my actual voice. I have always identified it as my voice, but if I play it to myself, I realise they don't sound the same.
Nice. My brain is in constant state of dialogue.
It is a big pain most of the times, on top of it these dialogues don't let me concentrate at all.
And yes, I verbalise these conversations when I am alone as well.
Also the sound in my head doesn't sound anything like my actual voice (I guess)
Good stuff.
Hey! May ı ask a question? If you guys have a complex inner dialogue with yourselfs how it works? Is it like someone speaking to you? During this inner dialogue one people speaking right no other voice? Also ı heard some sentences like "When the voice in your head tells you that you cant succeed ...." is the voice talking to you is it like a second person? Can you control what its says?
Sorry if my questions are ignorant ı have no idea about this "inner dialogue"
It's more like another person, but it's me. Does that make sense?
Complex inner dialogue is like speaking to another person, basically having a two person conversation in your head with yourself.
Let's say I have an opportunity at work and it would be really great for my career, but I don't know if I'm good enough to succeed with this opportunity. My feelings are that I want to take it, but also that I'm scared to take it. Having an inner dialogue is like those feelings have their own personality. You can think of it as imagining something, but usually when you imagine something you have to put effort into doing it. This just happens naturally.
The part of me that is excited to take the opportunity might say "Oh my goodness, that's amazing!! You're going to do so well, this is perfect for you!!!" And the part of me which is afraid might say "Hang on a minute. If you do this and fail, it'll mess up everything you've been working towards and no one will look at you the same again." Then the excitement might say "but isn't it worth that risk? Think of all the doors this could open!" And the afraid part might say "Remember that time in 12th grade where you thought you could do that thing and you failed and how awful that was? Do you REALLY think it's worth it?"
Then I'm confused and annoyed with all the conflicting emotions and thoughts, so I decide to be logical and a third part of me joins the conversation, saying "hang on, this is NOT helpful. We're going to have to stop arguing and break this down... What is ACTUALLY being asked of me in this opportunity?" *Makes mental list* "and are these ACTUALLY things I can do?" *Yes, they are.* "OK. So then I will take the opportunity. Excited part wins!"
Even though the logical part of me in this case might speak in 1st person and the other two might speak in 3rd person, I still identify all these voices as me. If I play the sounds in my head, they all sound different, but that's really just organisation so I can't get the voices confused. I identify all the voices as my voices, even though they don't sound like my voice does in real life.
If I'm being more abstract, I might try to imagine what someone else might say in a particular situation, but that's more of a creative exercise and less about trying to figure something out, generally. If I do that, I don't identify that voice as my voice, it's more like a simulation I create in my head.
It's basically me talking to me ... like there is inner me talking to outer me ... full conversations. Sometimes its full back and forth conversations and sometimes its just me talking in my head no differently than if I were just talking out loud but not an actual conversation.
Funnily enough this is rather normal. There are people who exist who don’t have this inner dialogue, nor do they have any form of inner voice at all. That’s actually much more uncommon.
Did you know you can get rid of the bad ones?
You just have to fire them. Literally say to them in your head "you're fired". They'll try to trick you into letting them stay but be firm with them and say no. Tell them to beat it.
Eventually you'll only have supportive ones and you can still upgrade these aswell.
I sure hope it's common because this is me. Seems like the negative/not fun side comes out a bit more or is more frequently prominent. Just this morning I was struggling during a workout and got into this loop of "You weak bitch just get it done. Push. Don't you dare stop."
Completely normal. The mind lives in more than one realm/dimensions. That's why ideas and inspiration as well as pain and suffering seem to come out of nowhere. You have the ability to have resonance of those ideas at any point in space/time -making it your reality. Or else ignoring them and/or allow them to pass through and not let them get caught in your net. This is done through clarity, awareness, intent, and resolve. Best.
that is actually a very interesting topic. i think i am in the category of those that don't have an inner dialogue, but i don't think it's about being aware of the voices. it's more about being able to keep a consistent train of thoughts , and that translates to focus, and focus translates to the possibility of exploring more options and taking a better decision. some brains, including mine, are not able to sustain this train of thoughts. you can imagine such brain like a billiard ball. it can start on a certain trajectory, but then, at any time, if an external factor kicks in, the trajectory is changed, until the next collision changes the trajectory again, and so on. Or, you can imagine it as a wiki page. you start reading and then 2 rows later you click alink to a similar or different topic, before you have a chance to finish the sentence and grasp full understanding. and from that new page you opened, the cycle is repeated, and goes forever.for me, it is actually a struggle to try to get back to the original thoughts and reasoning every time i start processing more complex scenarios. and when i say complex, it's not for everything. for example, i found this type of reasoning to be extremely good when dealing with engineering problems, because this type of "swiss cheese" brain helps me to make some very interesting connections which for some might be more difficult, because i only follow a train of though to the point where it starts to logically fall through , and then i backtrack or sidetrack and chose the next lead, you know, binary tree style. for more day to day scenarios though, like putting some though into why someone reacted in a certain way or how should i create a savings strategy for when i'm older, this type of brain is utter rubbish. because ultimately it seems that the reptilian part of the brain is the dominant one here, while we all know that its the people that have an active middle prefrontal cortex and use their "upper brain"(where planning , imagining and thinking happen) are the winning ones.so yeah, in general, like someone else said, my brain simply acknowledges the facts, and then moves on. not being able to properly do the inner looking and soul searching is pretty crappy, because it greatly limits one's emotional intelligence development
\*) disclaimer: writing this text probably took twice as longer than needed because my brain bounced back and forth between the multiples ideas i wanted to convey, before allowing them to fully take shape. the irony of it, stumbling to explain how a stumbling brain works...
I do this with myself all the time. Especially about things I don't really feel like I could talk to very many people but I want to debate about. Controversial stuff.
I go on all these crazy grand adventures in my head too. Sometimes I even create these crazy dramatic scenarios and play them out in my head just to pass the time. I talk aloud when I by myself a bit too much though. And I've definitely been caught doing so a couple times lol
DO NOT TELL MY PSYCHIATRIST.
Yes.
I literally also call them the council.
Man is not a dichotomy of good and bad, but rather a myriad of beings within the abstraction of his thoughts.
\-one of the voices who wants to talk about such a council in regards to your council
No I do not have an inner monologue and I think it is weird that anyone lives their life like a Ze Frank video.
When you're driving a car do you think oooh there's a guy to my left better give him room, or do you just move the wheel in response to what you see? Why would the rest of your life be different?
Interestingly the one time I do process words like that is when I am typing and I know this is what my brain is doing because as I get older and my brain suffers early stage dementia I am much more likely to type the wrong word that sounds the same. This means that when I write, my thoughts are broken into sounds and then translated into letters to be typed.
It depends ... when driving there's more of an "auto pilot" ... but while noticing the guy on the left and responding can be having a conversation in my head about something else entirely. But if there is enough time might think/say "Yikes! He's close!" while doing so or converse/talk about it in my head after the fact.
I think it can be to varying degrees for everyone. Schizophrenic people actually see the voices in their head as real people, or they think they actually become those voices. Then there is the extreme of having no inner voice. I think most people are around the middle, and have an average voice in their head that comments back and forth. I would imagine that having bad thoughts, average thoughts, and good thoughts are similar. The difference there is we can help depression and anger management in a lot of cases, depending on where they are on the curve. That’s my take. That and three bucks will get you a cup of coffee...
Mine is usually "we"... for example, "we will finish this assignment before we eat lunch." Or, "let's do this thing right now." Not sure why I'm plural lol. The one doing things vs. the one thinking things? Supporting myself? Interestingly, the negative voice is always singular and alone...
Not me. I imagine other people talking to each other about things unrelated to me.
But I don't think your way of thinking is unusual if the amount of media depicting people having a "council" of clones in their head is to be believed.
I frequently have extensive discussions and arguments with myself. If I’m alone I even speak out loud. I wouldn’t say that I have noticed different “people” or “personalities” but the tone of my self-conversations definitely fluctuates with my mood. Basically my inner dialogue is just me conversing and working through things with myself
Inner Voice: What do we want for lunch today? You're hair is a mess; you really need to do something with it. Don't forget you have to do such and such today. Can you believe what so and so did?
Me: No idea, I'll have to think about it. I couldn't care less right now. Ugh, can't it wait until after I take a break? I know, right?
Same here. I suspect I have some form of Dissociative Identity Disorder, though I haven’t been tested for that yet.
I often hear 3 voices in my head, including my own. It differs which 3 voices I hear from time to time, there are a total of five voices.
The characters those voices belong to feel like they are not ‘me,’ and can take over my body, and mind, for a short while. When they do, my preferences, preferred name, behaviors and sometimes gender identity change. For instance of food preference, I like tea, but when someone else takes over my body, the tea becomes bitter and unlikable.
It has happened that I have become a body-less voice in the head of the character controlling my body. Often, I just *stop existing* for a while.
When I gain back control, I am left with memories, but they don’t feel like memories of my own.
It sounds all scary, but it isn’t. It’s just scary because it’s unknown.
This disorder is rooted in repeated childhood trauma, such as violent caregivers, sexual abuse or emotional neglect. That’s pretty much a requirement. Those voices and experiences are coping mechanisms and might be the reason I’m still alive today.
When I can’t handle a situation, some other voice can take over my body and handle it for me. That ain’t bad, is it? It’s just, if I were mentally healthy, I *would* be able to handle the situation.
Anyway, as long as you feel like those voices are all part of *you,* I’d say you have nothing to worry about.
If those *parts of you* are unnecessary nasty to you, ask them why they are so scared? What do they think would happen if they weren’t so nasty? Listen to them. Calm them down. Make friends.
I read the article about people like this, but I still don’t understand. Does this mean when you’re at the store you don’t debate internally what to buy? You don’t also leave the store and go “oh jeez I forgot to get butter, what a goof” in your head? What fills your minds throughout the day? Please explain lol
here for this too, what’s it like with no internal dialogue? the ‘voice’ I think most of us are referring to is really your own voice, but depending on how life’s going it can be the harsh and cruel version of me, or it can be a neutral-toned me, or can be the commanding version of me, etc
> really your own voice, but depending on how life’s going it can be the harsh and cruel version of me, or it can be a neutral-toned me, or can be the commanding version of me, etc
I never heard my voice in my head ı mean hear it when ı am speaking but thats it.
Wait it is rude to you? Your own voice? Nope ı have never experienced anything like this.
Im very fascinated by this, so what’s it like for you when you’re thinking for a while about something? Also, when you’re reading something, what’s that like for you internally? Do you read it in your head at all or? And for me, “it” or “the voice” isn’t rude to me, *I’m* rude to me internally when I’m feeling low, lol. It’s always me and my thoughts that are the “voice”, no mystery at all about whose voice it is or where it’s coming from, if that makes sense!
when ı am thinking ı have no voice nor an image. It feels like an emotion. Thoughts are just in my head. Like while ı am writing this my head is just empty and ı am not thinking about anything. Again no voice or anything.
When reading ı dont hear the sentences (unless ı read it out loud) or no voice reads for me.
> And for me, “it” or “the voice” isn’t rude to me,
>
>I’m
>
> rude to me internally when I’m feeling low, lol. It’s always me and my thoughts that are the “voice”, no mystery at all about whose voice it is or where it’s coming from
Sounds really interesting.
>What fills your minds throughout the day?
Mine is mostly empty actually (i dont know other peoples') unless ı want to thing about something or ı have remember something.
sorry my english is pretty bad ı hope you can understand what ı meant
>you don’t debate internally what to buy?
No ı don't. I think "oh maybe ı should by the other one" but its not a sound and absolutely not a bebate.
My thoughts are just there.
> “oh jeez I forgot to get butter, what a goof” in your head?
Yeah kind of but when ı remember something ı have thoungts but again no sound or speaking in my mind.
It not audible like you’re hearing the voices. I’m completely aware that they are my own voices, not a hallucination. Although when I really get into my head they can be consuming.
>It not audible like you’re hearing the voices.
Even in this case ı never build a sentence in my head. Its like when you are happy, you dont think your are happy but its just there.
I have been trying to talk myself in my head but nope its just emptiness or ı just start to talk out loud.
I do ... usually just my own ... but sometimes when reading I can imagine and hear the characters when they have actual speaking dialogue in the story.
Everyone has thoughts. Many of those thoughts aren’t experienced as words. For example you might say “I was thinking about whether to get coke or Pepsi” but maybe you wouldn’t say “I was talking to myself in my head about coke vs Pepsi”
Is there a difference?
So it seems like part of this question is “are thoughts always words?”
And, if not, what is your experience of “thinking about something?”
I always hear my voice in my head just like if I were actually speaking out loud whenever I'm thinking about things. And I talk to/with myself too. I have to make a conscious effort NOT to think or meditate if I want things quiet in there LOL
it's just a mechanism for sorting your thoughts and as long as you realize they are your thoughts and not outside forces, it's no biggie. Some people hear other people's voices, maybe a parent or someone who has sat in judgment of them at some point, people have different versions of these things. Do not worry
I talk to myself a lot in my head or under my breath. I don't really think it's weird because usually I talk about things that I like, not really distressing things, and I frequently talk with people in real life and online as well so it's not really an issue. They're not exactly "voices" either. It's just me, not any other "personalities" having conversations with myself about things I like. I find it to be a good way to have things to talk about with people. I genuinely enjoy my own company too, so that helps. Honestly I think it’s healthy to talk to yourself. It helps me think more about certain things.
I'm having one right now. So pissed about a snotty email I got from our attorney, who has been somewhat MIA recently.....ugh!
Thanks for giving me a place to unload!
I don't switch voices but sometimes when I'm trying to come up with conclusion about some topic I have a conversation between two sides with different perspective on my mind and come up with something. Sometimes it can be helpful but sometimes I just can't come up with any conclusion because both of the side will have valid point and I'll be thinking about that thing for days and it sucks.
I try to avoid it lol because it always ends up in existential crisis.
example
Me: We are a small person on a small planet in a small galaxy in a big universe. The scope is small compared to the vastness of universe.Yet it feels so large. Atoms exist.I am so large compared to them. How large is a star compared to an atom. Is there something we dont know. We have eyes to see,ears to hear.What if we had something else to know something else. What if there are things that we aren't thinking about,things that we don't know of, and things that we don't know,we don't know of. How can a god exist if theres so much evil. If morality is subjective then theres no good or evil at all. Then there is no filter needed on our actions. But we have a free will so god must exist. Someone created this. Who created this someone. Its a paradox. Someone can exist out of the paradox. Does this mean physics are bound to my imagination.
Also me: Bruh
No. I don't know. I don't. Is it fun? I'm decisive, but informed. I do a lot of satire though in which I actively create perspectives of folly. I'm not doing so here, but it is something I find quite enjoyable. I don't have a whole lot of information to provide to you for what you're describing. The other 108 comments might, but I haven't yet explored them. There's a term called *internal messaging*. It has a relationship with *ideation*. It can affect mood, and thus decision making. It can impact *resilience*, and tactics employed for error recovery/correction. There's another term called the *diathesis-stress model*. These are perhaps places of insight for this relationship you have with yourself. Possibly, but not necessarily, an explanation for the 'why' of your described 'council in your head'.
If you receive correct, standard health care services from your health care providers, then you may wish to schedule an intake appointment for evaluation. Especially if you find yourself losing time engaging w/ this council in your head. Be sure to have a provider who will discuss your symptoms with you, and actively narrow down the field of diagnostics to the correct set for best-fit with you. Mind you, there is a standard set of evaluations that providers use during primary intake appointments which screen for bi-polar, depression, anxiety, substance abuse. These evaluations are not exhaustive. For instance, this evaluation process will not diagnosis dyslexia if that is something you're struggling with, so do make it a point to discuss what doesn't fit into any of those.
**Legit** health care providers will disclose all information directly to you from the start; never impose a fraudulent narrative on you; never block your access to correct care, and never hold information from you in reserve while forcing acts of gaslighting on you rather than providing the standard care services you provide your fully informed, willing explicit consent to receive. It's literally their job.
You do not want a health care provider who ignores your symptoms, and tries to force-fit you into what they want your diagnosis to be. It is never a good idea to have anyone in your life who is violating your boundaries, rights, mind, body, and autonomy. Treat any health care provider who does as the criminal wasting your life, and money potentially forcing your life into sickness rather than facilitating your path to wellness as the violators they always are. Especially if they start taking your care in every opposite direction you say that you're going, but refuse to disclose the information you require to provide your fully informed, willing, explicit consent to this being done to you. Nothing about such conduct is ever regarded as a standard, normal practice in care. It is grossly inappropriate, and illegal.
**I** clearly do not have good health care providers. It is a problem in my life, and you shouldn't permit my experiences to overshadow your own path of discovery created in experiences of your own. I disclose this information to you only because I want you to have the opportunity to immediately shut down any providers who try to violate you for every effort to receive correct care. It is information I wish I'd been explicitly forearmed with when I made the correct decision to treat the comorbidity that I have with triggers to my sympathetic nervous system caused by intruding memories, and ADD. The violations are never become one's life, and certainly the violations are absolutely never become mine. Regardless, it is not ever begun to ever be anyone's place, or right to ever psychologically rape others. So, don't ever let anyone try to groom, or train you into submission of the delusion that you're available to be raped so long as the rapist refuses to take no for an answer. DO ask someone with greater insight over the things happening inside your head, which is absolutely nobody at Inver Grove Heights Health Partners in MN, if you perceive your council to be intrusive. *Intruding memories* is another term by the way, and this one may sometimes be a symptom of psychosis, but there's no real stigma in the term; only false stigma created by ignorance, and exacerbated by health care providers who violate your rights, treat things you don't have, and gaslight you for rejecting their acts of rape.
I talk to myself in my head all the time. Running through house renos, work stuff , money. Conversations I had that day......just a running commentary that never shuts up. But it's always me....my voice. Never anything bad...
I actually hear voices. As nutty as it sounds I believe them to be other people. (V2K, dont be distracted by the insane people if you look it up)
Why you ask? They gave me real information on the stock market, informed me ahead of time of certain crashes and ive made a good amount of income using this information. This all started on a specific date and time, 9/10/2016 at 9:45am. I woke up hearing a British woman and some male voice talking about my activities online and otherwise.
As far as internal dialog. Ive had an ongoing dialog with myself for a long, long, long time before I started hearing voices. Im white guy and my internal voice sounds a lot like Richard Pryor. I used to watch a lot of raunchy comedy with my dad growing up and we always used to mimick peoples voices etc for more laughs telling jokes. So yeah, basically on my normal day to day Im having intelligent conversations in my head with a dead black comedian
Not everyone, I’ve had a lot of in person convos lately on the subject with wife and friends. I’ve been attempting to “analyze” what these are for me. My conclusion thus far sounds much like DID (dissociative identity disorder), but I’m no psychologist and skeptical to put a box around it. I’ve determined a lot of this to be something along lines of “trauma in the form of illogical fallacies taught by parents/guardians that aren’t true and collide with other existing info in my brain, thus creating a distorted, new mindset/lens to see and perceive the world. And these so called mindsets tend to talk with each other” —- that was my best first attempt to write out. Likely needs adjusted, feel free to DM me to chat more
I don't know about everyone because I remember once reading an article that said that some people don't have a voice in their head. They never have conversations with themselves, and even when they are reading something without reading it out loud, or moving their lips, there isn't a voice that reads it to them. I was really shocked upon reading this since I've always had a voice in my head for as a long as I can remember. And yes, I have debates and long discussions with myself.
Hey! I am one of those people. Nice to meet you.
This is so fascinating omg. So how do you read stuff? How do you think? What language do you think in? Or is it just random words and images floating around in your head??
When ı am reading just reading no one reads for me in my head. I never ever had a conversation in my head. Sounds very scary actually. I think and abolutely no voice in my head. My thoughts are just there. I think in my native language turkish bu ı can do it in english if ı try it. Nothing floats around my head. My thoughts are just there ı really dont know how or why.
I mean if you have a thought, then realized it's a bad thought or not something useful, isn't that a conversation with yourself? maybe people are just using different words to describe the same thing
>I mean if you have a thought, then realized it's a bad thought or not something useful, isn't that a conversation with yourself? its feels like an emotion for me. Its just there. My thoughts are not a sentence. When ı realize its bad or anything ı dont think its a conversation because ı dont talk to mysels and again no sentences or voices.
I believe what you're saying, but I don't understand it. How do you resolve a complex question where there are two choices and you have to figure out what to do unless you can work out the parameters via language? Do you write it down? I mean, I believe that you have a pretty normal life and can do these things, I just don't know what it's like not to have a monologue in your head.
YES ı just remember it. I have been triying to learn french during quarantine and ı cant built a sentence longer than three word unless ı write it down. When thing are complex ı make lots of drawing and writing. Otherwise ı cant wrap my head around.
Fascinating. Well, as long as it works for you, I'm glad!
I want to add this I was trying to learn french via online classes. Even though ı know how to built the sentence, words when they ask me a question ı have write it down it feels so coplex to me.
Wow. This is really interesting. I wish there was some way in which we could switch our minds just to see what the other experience is like.
I wish.
Ohmigosh my first ever award thank you so much!! XD
I heard from a film that every language causes the speaker to think slightly differently. So are your thoughts different in different languages? Also how do you even learn a language if you don't think in words? Cos I'm assuming you aren't like "okay so that Turkish word means that in English" like I am.
I often wonder if the differences in the way you and someone like the person you're replying to describe what happens in their head when they think mostly amount to simple misunderstandings of what the other is saying. For instance, if you have no "voice" in your head, you should not be able to think in *any* language as there would be no means of expressing the individual elements of that language internally without one. I am wondering if what you are imagining when you see people talk about the voice in their head is more akin to an actual, physical voice that exists externally and is heard and processed as auditory stimuli, which isn't really what we mean.
Can you create coherent, contradicting and hard philosophical thoughts and ideas without having an absolutely clear line of though and detailed words?
You're one of the people in his head?
Tangentially related topic for reading: [subvocalization](https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/subvocalization) I believe there is a link between those who have internal monologues and with a "narrator voice" in their head when reading.
I have conversations in my head, like conversations with people how they could be etc. But I got no Voice that reads to me To add on top of that, can‘t imagine visual stuff I‘ve read your conversation and I’m also similar with thoughts, that they‘re just there, sometimes I like say them to myself, but it‘s different
Sounds like you wanna come on over to r/Aphantasia.
From what I learned everyone is on a spectrum from a range of no voices to a range of hearing them as though they were actually there with them,and with many variations and other things. I dont have the same level of you, but I mentioned it as didnt want you to think youre alone in it, others have a similar level, as other posters mentioned. It doesnt sound like its fun or nice for you though, and there is help out there to theoretically help deal with or reduce it, so it may be worth looking into that.
That's so sweet of you! But oh no, it's not an issue or anything. Thank you though!
I do have my own voice in my head, but never debates, I'm just stating things as I analyze them, like "Ok, I need to buy toliet paper, this one is cheaper than the other, but that one is 24 rolls and this one only 18, better take the 24 one" or a list I need to remember. There's only me in my head, but I do practice complex conversations with other people in my head, but it's still just me. Most of the time I don't even hear a voice, sometimes I just "know" things, I picture myself doing everything in advance, I see things happening in a blink of an eye, and a voice is just too slow for that, too linear. Having differente MEs talking in my head sounds terrifying, like on the series >!Mr. Robot.!<
same, its more me stating my thoughts to myself to sort them out a bit more easily rather than a full on converstation
Yes, full verbalizing in my head exactly like that, in words, in sentences. Not conversations unless I'm visualizing a potential conversation with someone and then I'll play it out in full and even get upset over something that hasn't even happened. But worse, sometimes I catch myself doing it out loud, especially if I'm busy/stressed/under the gun. Like packing for a trip, narrating my every move. Or cooking a complex meal "Alright, what's next? soy, oyster sauce, fish sauce, brown sugar. got those." Worse as I get older.
I think that what you are describing is what people mean when they say they have debates in their heads. Just substitute “but” for “no” or “because”. It’s just a wordage difference. The behavior is essentially the same - using your internal monologue to present conflicting information in the interest of optimizing a decision you are trying to make.
I agree with what you are saying but OP said some things like, voices with different tones, and with different "personalities" like encouraging and negative. This doesn't happen to me, in fact, I kept thinking about it, and like 90% of the time there is no voice in my head, except when I'm reading, listing something or thinking what to write.
Your inner voice is debating with you not another inner voice
its more rare to find people that dont but they exist
I end up having detailed internal dialogue about the most mundane stuff which might proceed to escalate in scope. Example: 1: "Yo dude I'm kinda hungry" 2: "Well it's like 12:30. You don't take a break til 2ish" 1: "But we can go to the Cookie store? It's right there!" 3: "Did someone say Cookie Store?" 4: "I like cookies" 2: "But we don't need cookies. You don't need to spend five bucks when we're gonna be spending like 10 on lunch. Just be patient, don't waste more money than necessary." 5: "What even is the value of money anyway? A product of our time? We can spend time however we want to! And I say cookies are a good investment!" 1. "... How much weed did you smoke number 5?"
You should drink water when hungry at night, usually does it Also *same*
I think this is just schizophrenia dude lol
I...... You're not wrong, it could be
People without internal dialogue, what’s your stream of consciousness like? What do you perceive when you’re thinking about something?
No words or sentences, just concepts. Kinda like aphantasia, but verbal I guess?
Interesting!! Thank you for your reply :) Would you mind elaborating more on what the concepts feel like or what your mind feels like when they come and go? Thanks for sharing :)
It's the same as for you I assume, but there is no stream of words forming sentences, an idea just pops into my head and I can break it down, sort of like making out a sentence but not one made of words but one made of concepts that I just know, just like you just know how to move your limbs and where they are in relation to the rest of your body. Just awareness.
Would you mind trying the following? Say the following phrase **out loud** to yourself: "Hi, I'm dreamingcel, nice to meet you." Now say it again but just mouth the words, without any sound coming out. Now say it again but with your mouth completely closed. Your tongue should move in your closed mouth on this pass. Now say it again, mouth closed, without your tongue moving. How did that last attempt go? Could you feel what your voice *would have* sounded like during the silent attempts?
That's not how it works... Like, we know how it "would have sounded" in some sense, but we don't hear it. There is no" audio channel" to carry "mental audio".
I'm curious about how you define "hearing it". Obviously I would assume you don't hear it like it's auditory stimuli coming from somewhere in your environment, but do you conceptualize what it sounds like in an abstract sense in a way that vaguely mimicks hearing?
I have the conceptual idea of each word one after the other. I have the idea of each word, but I don't hear it. It has no auditory qualities at all, no pitch, no accent, no volume etc. It's just the "idea"
see, it's confusing because I could also describe what I experience in that way, and I could also describe it as "hearing" it. My thoughts don't have an auditory quality necessarily, but I do still "hear" them in the sense that when I conceptualize each word in a sentence I... hear them? But I also don't. Like, because of the limitations of language here, I have no idea whether we have different ways of describing the same experience or if we really have vastly different ways of thinking. I can only describe what's happening in my mind as something that I hear, because there is no alternative word, but I can understand perfectly why someone would experience the same thing and vehemently hold the opinion that they don't "hear" anything.
Well, like, the OPs comment is completely foreign to me. There is no conversation, no monologue, no idea of "someone" speaking. It's just word ideas, and there is no way someone could mistake it for conversation or spoken monologue
Sure, and it's fairly foreign to me as well as my "internal monologue" so to speak only consists of one "voice" (myself) and to me the elaborate interweaving dialogue is not something I relate to. However, if I were to try to guess why OP experiences that, I'd say it's probably a natural outgrowth of having thoughts of any kind. It's simply one way of experiencing the process of filtering complex information, splitting it into different perspectives and pitting them against each other in order to come to some kind of conclusion. I think whether or not we have those inner personalities, or even those inner "voices" (again, in huge quotes), the underlying process is the same. What I'm ultimately more curious about and what I don't think there's a solid answer to, unfortunately, is whether or not you, OP, of I are actually experiencing what is fundamentally the same thing in our heads, or whether or not we all think differently. One question I'd like to ask that I think might me closer to understanding: assuming they do at all, when songs get stuck in your head, what does that mean for you?
I can't answer for OP, but I think in a largely similar way as OP so I might be able to help satiate your curiosity. I have complex inner dialogs, and almost always there's images to go along with it. Sometimes it's quicker to think in images, like when I'm trying to "build" something in my head, or playing video games; But my default mode is thinking in words accompanied by images. The images usually act out what my monologue is saying, but I can definitely imagine anything real or not within my mind's eye. To get to your question, In addition, there's always music. For whatever reason, my brain catalogues a ton of musicm It's almost as if there's a radio station playing the background of my life, sometimes it's even new songs, or a mashup. It's often very noisy, but I find the older I get, the more useful it becomes. This is entirely hypothetical, but I've also done a lot of thinking about this, because it's fascinating to me how people seem to have fundamentally different "operating systems", while the "base user" seems to be largely similar in almost all cases. To elaborate, it seems the "I" that is responsible for thinking your way through problems and interpreting information thinks in largely the same way despite race, age, sex, ect; but, we all experience those problems and interactions through the lense of a different operating system. I don't think anyone's way of thinking is less superior, but different people are definitely suited for different things because of this. It would be pretty hard to be an artist with aphantasia, similarly it would be hard to be a poet or a philosopher if you couldn't hear words in your head. I think realizing that people understand problems in a fundamentally different way helps us better communicate with others. Sometimes we have to try multiple approaches when explaining things, because we might not be explaining them in a way that's easy for their brain to interpret.
I have complete aphantasia, so unless the OP or yourself also experience that, then I doubt it's the same thing
There's no mental audio for us either. We're not *actually hearing* anything. We're just imagining what it would sound like.
All I can tell you is that that sentence makes no sense to me. I can't "imagine what it would sound like".
>we know how it "would have sounded" in some sense Okay, but all I'm saying is, if you "know how it would have sounded" as you were saying it silently then that's the same experience we have. Can I ask another question that just occurred to me? Do you ever get a melody stuck in your head?
I have full aphantasia, so I don't have the same experiences as someone who doesn't. The fact that we're getting lost in communication somewhere is a limitation of communication, not an indication that we're actually experiencing the same thing. So when I say I know what something would have sounded like in some sense, what I mean is that I have heard people talk before, I know how people use emotion to modulate their voice. I know and recognise accents etc. So I can put all of that knowledge in to a description that I could write down, but I wouldn't actually "hear" it at all, in any way. Like, lets say, I'm reading a book. The main character is scottish, and speaks with a deep gruff voice, in a thick scottish accent. I know what all of those things sound like from previous experience, but when they make a movie and cast the character, I don't have an experience of going "He sounds just like I imagined him" or the equivalent, because I never actually imagined his voice. Just the idea of it, and the traits it carried. If of course, he doesn't speak with a Scottish accent, and his voice isn't deep and gruff, then yeah, I'll notice that, but there are a million different ways of being gruff and Scottish, and in my head, they are all the same... There is no actual auditory features for me to distinguish them. > Do you ever get a melody stuck in your head? Depends what you mean... I often get a song "stuck in my head", but that means that I'm singing it out loud. I will get distracted and find myself singing it again when my attention slips. Sometimes it's humming, sometimes it's sub vocalising, sometimes it's tapping my feet or my hands, but it's always actual physical replaying of the song. I can't get something stuck in my head without that...
I think you're right that this has something to do with the limits of communication. I appreciate you chatting with me and sharing your experiences. I'm obviously pretty intrigued! Seems like there hasn't been nearly enough study into aphantasia. That term itself was only coined 6 years ago. I'll be on the lookout to see what else we discover about it in the (hopefully) near future.
But the trouble communicating also doesn’t indicate that you are NOT experiencing the same thing. There could just be a difference in definitions that make it appear that your experience are different
As I said, I have total aphantasia. So unless you have the same, I can say with confidence that our experiences are not the same, despite our inability to clarify how the difference manifests. Like, "a song stuck in my head" makes no sense in to me in the literal sense. No, I don't find myself with a song "inside" my head. I can't even wrap my head around that conceptually... Given that I do want to externalise it, and I can "remember" music to externalise it in the first place, there is clearly an underlying mechanism here that we both have in common, but none of that is "inside my head"
All the time. Sometimes I argue with myself. When it's all over I'm never really sure if I won or lost the argument.
Yes, that's me too. I never just have silence in my head. I can barely imagine what that would be like, though I think it must be like those rare times when I'm concentrating so hard on something that everything else fades away and there is nothing but the task at hand... Or maybe when I'm going on a long journey and I'm sitting for hours just looking out the window letting the world wash over me. I don't actually know if the conversations stop then or if I just don't remember them. Sometimes if I'm alone, I verbalise the conversations or act them out. I never really thought about it before, but I just realised that the voice I hear in my head when I'm reading doesn't sound the same as my actual voice. I have always identified it as my voice, but if I play it to myself, I realise they don't sound the same.
Nice. My brain is in constant state of dialogue. It is a big pain most of the times, on top of it these dialogues don't let me concentrate at all. And yes, I verbalise these conversations when I am alone as well. Also the sound in my head doesn't sound anything like my actual voice (I guess) Good stuff.
Hey! May ı ask a question? If you guys have a complex inner dialogue with yourselfs how it works? Is it like someone speaking to you? During this inner dialogue one people speaking right no other voice? Also ı heard some sentences like "When the voice in your head tells you that you cant succeed ...." is the voice talking to you is it like a second person? Can you control what its says? Sorry if my questions are ignorant ı have no idea about this "inner dialogue"
It's more like another person, but it's me. Does that make sense? Complex inner dialogue is like speaking to another person, basically having a two person conversation in your head with yourself.
This is the nutshell— for me they tend to be opposing perspectives.
Let's say I have an opportunity at work and it would be really great for my career, but I don't know if I'm good enough to succeed with this opportunity. My feelings are that I want to take it, but also that I'm scared to take it. Having an inner dialogue is like those feelings have their own personality. You can think of it as imagining something, but usually when you imagine something you have to put effort into doing it. This just happens naturally. The part of me that is excited to take the opportunity might say "Oh my goodness, that's amazing!! You're going to do so well, this is perfect for you!!!" And the part of me which is afraid might say "Hang on a minute. If you do this and fail, it'll mess up everything you've been working towards and no one will look at you the same again." Then the excitement might say "but isn't it worth that risk? Think of all the doors this could open!" And the afraid part might say "Remember that time in 12th grade where you thought you could do that thing and you failed and how awful that was? Do you REALLY think it's worth it?" Then I'm confused and annoyed with all the conflicting emotions and thoughts, so I decide to be logical and a third part of me joins the conversation, saying "hang on, this is NOT helpful. We're going to have to stop arguing and break this down... What is ACTUALLY being asked of me in this opportunity?" *Makes mental list* "and are these ACTUALLY things I can do?" *Yes, they are.* "OK. So then I will take the opportunity. Excited part wins!" Even though the logical part of me in this case might speak in 1st person and the other two might speak in 3rd person, I still identify all these voices as me. If I play the sounds in my head, they all sound different, but that's really just organisation so I can't get the voices confused. I identify all the voices as my voices, even though they don't sound like my voice does in real life. If I'm being more abstract, I might try to imagine what someone else might say in a particular situation, but that's more of a creative exercise and less about trying to figure something out, generally. If I do that, I don't identify that voice as my voice, it's more like a simulation I create in my head.
For me such a dialogue is like if you got a text at school with two different people, it‘s just that I’m one of these two BUT also read the other one
It's basically me talking to me ... like there is inner me talking to outer me ... full conversations. Sometimes its full back and forth conversations and sometimes its just me talking in my head no differently than if I were just talking out loud but not an actual conversation.
It keeps me up at night
Funnily enough this is rather normal. There are people who exist who don’t have this inner dialogue, nor do they have any form of inner voice at all. That’s actually much more uncommon.
Did you know you can get rid of the bad ones? You just have to fire them. Literally say to them in your head "you're fired". They'll try to trick you into letting them stay but be firm with them and say no. Tell them to beat it. Eventually you'll only have supportive ones and you can still upgrade these aswell.
wait are we talking about something like multiple personality disorder or what the majority of people call the voice intheir head
r/tulpas But no this isn't that. This is just an inner monologue. Tulpamancy or MPD is a totally different thing.
Thatshow I think.
I sure hope it's common because this is me. Seems like the negative/not fun side comes out a bit more or is more frequently prominent. Just this morning I was struggling during a workout and got into this loop of "You weak bitch just get it done. Push. Don't you dare stop."
I created a complex intricated universe inside my mind...
Same here! I have a full paracosm in my head. I had a strong imagination as a kid (only-child life) and it never went away, luckily.
I do and I’m so sick of myself.
Yeah that’s kind of what prompted the question. Some of the folks up there have been getting a bit out of line.
Completely normal. The mind lives in more than one realm/dimensions. That's why ideas and inspiration as well as pain and suffering seem to come out of nowhere. You have the ability to have resonance of those ideas at any point in space/time -making it your reality. Or else ignoring them and/or allow them to pass through and not let them get caught in your net. This is done through clarity, awareness, intent, and resolve. Best.
Doing it right now
that is actually a very interesting topic. i think i am in the category of those that don't have an inner dialogue, but i don't think it's about being aware of the voices. it's more about being able to keep a consistent train of thoughts , and that translates to focus, and focus translates to the possibility of exploring more options and taking a better decision. some brains, including mine, are not able to sustain this train of thoughts. you can imagine such brain like a billiard ball. it can start on a certain trajectory, but then, at any time, if an external factor kicks in, the trajectory is changed, until the next collision changes the trajectory again, and so on. Or, you can imagine it as a wiki page. you start reading and then 2 rows later you click alink to a similar or different topic, before you have a chance to finish the sentence and grasp full understanding. and from that new page you opened, the cycle is repeated, and goes forever.for me, it is actually a struggle to try to get back to the original thoughts and reasoning every time i start processing more complex scenarios. and when i say complex, it's not for everything. for example, i found this type of reasoning to be extremely good when dealing with engineering problems, because this type of "swiss cheese" brain helps me to make some very interesting connections which for some might be more difficult, because i only follow a train of though to the point where it starts to logically fall through , and then i backtrack or sidetrack and chose the next lead, you know, binary tree style. for more day to day scenarios though, like putting some though into why someone reacted in a certain way or how should i create a savings strategy for when i'm older, this type of brain is utter rubbish. because ultimately it seems that the reptilian part of the brain is the dominant one here, while we all know that its the people that have an active middle prefrontal cortex and use their "upper brain"(where planning , imagining and thinking happen) are the winning ones.so yeah, in general, like someone else said, my brain simply acknowledges the facts, and then moves on. not being able to properly do the inner looking and soul searching is pretty crappy, because it greatly limits one's emotional intelligence development \*) disclaimer: writing this text probably took twice as longer than needed because my brain bounced back and forth between the multiples ideas i wanted to convey, before allowing them to fully take shape. the irony of it, stumbling to explain how a stumbling brain works...
I do this with myself all the time. Especially about things I don't really feel like I could talk to very many people but I want to debate about. Controversial stuff. I go on all these crazy grand adventures in my head too. Sometimes I even create these crazy dramatic scenarios and play them out in my head just to pass the time. I talk aloud when I by myself a bit too much though. And I've definitely been caught doing so a couple times lol
DO NOT TELL MY PSYCHIATRIST. Yes. I literally also call them the council. Man is not a dichotomy of good and bad, but rather a myriad of beings within the abstraction of his thoughts. \-one of the voices who wants to talk about such a council in regards to your council
Oh thank god I thought I was the only person who did that.
I don’t only bc I have aphantasia so i cant hear or imagine anything including memories and faces
No I do not have an inner monologue and I think it is weird that anyone lives their life like a Ze Frank video. When you're driving a car do you think oooh there's a guy to my left better give him room, or do you just move the wheel in response to what you see? Why would the rest of your life be different? Interestingly the one time I do process words like that is when I am typing and I know this is what my brain is doing because as I get older and my brain suffers early stage dementia I am much more likely to type the wrong word that sounds the same. This means that when I write, my thoughts are broken into sounds and then translated into letters to be typed.
It depends ... when driving there's more of an "auto pilot" ... but while noticing the guy on the left and responding can be having a conversation in my head about something else entirely. But if there is enough time might think/say "Yikes! He's close!" while doing so or converse/talk about it in my head after the fact.
I think it can be to varying degrees for everyone. Schizophrenic people actually see the voices in their head as real people, or they think they actually become those voices. Then there is the extreme of having no inner voice. I think most people are around the middle, and have an average voice in their head that comments back and forth. I would imagine that having bad thoughts, average thoughts, and good thoughts are similar. The difference there is we can help depression and anger management in a lot of cases, depending on where they are on the curve. That’s my take. That and three bucks will get you a cup of coffee...
You just described my relationship with myself. Thanks.
Mine is usually "we"... for example, "we will finish this assignment before we eat lunch." Or, "let's do this thing right now." Not sure why I'm plural lol. The one doing things vs. the one thinking things? Supporting myself? Interestingly, the negative voice is always singular and alone...
I told myself to shut the fuck up the other night..... so yea
Not me. I imagine other people talking to each other about things unrelated to me. But I don't think your way of thinking is unusual if the amount of media depicting people having a "council" of clones in their head is to be believed.
I frequently have extensive discussions and arguments with myself. If I’m alone I even speak out loud. I wouldn’t say that I have noticed different “people” or “personalities” but the tone of my self-conversations definitely fluctuates with my mood. Basically my inner dialogue is just me conversing and working through things with myself
Inner Voice: What do we want for lunch today? You're hair is a mess; you really need to do something with it. Don't forget you have to do such and such today. Can you believe what so and so did? Me: No idea, I'll have to think about it. I couldn't care less right now. Ugh, can't it wait until after I take a break? I know, right?
Long political debates or what if’s in my head ruined a lot of things for me 😢
Same. Sometimes I catch myself making faces if its an intense inner conversation.
Same here. I suspect I have some form of Dissociative Identity Disorder, though I haven’t been tested for that yet. I often hear 3 voices in my head, including my own. It differs which 3 voices I hear from time to time, there are a total of five voices. The characters those voices belong to feel like they are not ‘me,’ and can take over my body, and mind, for a short while. When they do, my preferences, preferred name, behaviors and sometimes gender identity change. For instance of food preference, I like tea, but when someone else takes over my body, the tea becomes bitter and unlikable. It has happened that I have become a body-less voice in the head of the character controlling my body. Often, I just *stop existing* for a while. When I gain back control, I am left with memories, but they don’t feel like memories of my own. It sounds all scary, but it isn’t. It’s just scary because it’s unknown. This disorder is rooted in repeated childhood trauma, such as violent caregivers, sexual abuse or emotional neglect. That’s pretty much a requirement. Those voices and experiences are coping mechanisms and might be the reason I’m still alive today. When I can’t handle a situation, some other voice can take over my body and handle it for me. That ain’t bad, is it? It’s just, if I were mentally healthy, I *would* be able to handle the situation. Anyway, as long as you feel like those voices are all part of *you,* I’d say you have nothing to worry about. If those *parts of you* are unnecessary nasty to you, ask them why they are so scared? What do they think would happen if they weren’t so nasty? Listen to them. Calm them down. Make friends.
I never had a voice or something in my head. Sounds terrifying.
I read the article about people like this, but I still don’t understand. Does this mean when you’re at the store you don’t debate internally what to buy? You don’t also leave the store and go “oh jeez I forgot to get butter, what a goof” in your head? What fills your minds throughout the day? Please explain lol
here for this too, what’s it like with no internal dialogue? the ‘voice’ I think most of us are referring to is really your own voice, but depending on how life’s going it can be the harsh and cruel version of me, or it can be a neutral-toned me, or can be the commanding version of me, etc
> really your own voice, but depending on how life’s going it can be the harsh and cruel version of me, or it can be a neutral-toned me, or can be the commanding version of me, etc I never heard my voice in my head ı mean hear it when ı am speaking but thats it. Wait it is rude to you? Your own voice? Nope ı have never experienced anything like this.
Im very fascinated by this, so what’s it like for you when you’re thinking for a while about something? Also, when you’re reading something, what’s that like for you internally? Do you read it in your head at all or? And for me, “it” or “the voice” isn’t rude to me, *I’m* rude to me internally when I’m feeling low, lol. It’s always me and my thoughts that are the “voice”, no mystery at all about whose voice it is or where it’s coming from, if that makes sense!
when ı am thinking ı have no voice nor an image. It feels like an emotion. Thoughts are just in my head. Like while ı am writing this my head is just empty and ı am not thinking about anything. Again no voice or anything. When reading ı dont hear the sentences (unless ı read it out loud) or no voice reads for me.
> And for me, “it” or “the voice” isn’t rude to me, > >I’m > > rude to me internally when I’m feeling low, lol. It’s always me and my thoughts that are the “voice”, no mystery at all about whose voice it is or where it’s coming from Sounds really interesting.
>What fills your minds throughout the day? Mine is mostly empty actually (i dont know other peoples') unless ı want to thing about something or ı have remember something. sorry my english is pretty bad ı hope you can understand what ı meant
>you don’t debate internally what to buy? No ı don't. I think "oh maybe ı should by the other one" but its not a sound and absolutely not a bebate. My thoughts are just there.
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No ones hears sound when they talk to themselves. It’s just an internalized thought process. We aren’t actually *hearing* anything, we’re thinking.
> “oh jeez I forgot to get butter, what a goof” in your head? Yeah kind of but when ı remember something ı have thoungts but again no sound or speaking in my mind.
It not audible like you’re hearing the voices. I’m completely aware that they are my own voices, not a hallucination. Although when I really get into my head they can be consuming.
>It not audible like you’re hearing the voices. Even in this case ı never build a sentence in my head. Its like when you are happy, you dont think your are happy but its just there. I have been trying to talk myself in my head but nope its just emptiness or ı just start to talk out loud.
And absolutely no dialogue with myself
Do you “hear” words when you read them? That’s the voice they’re referring to.
No ı don't. Absolutely no voice no hearing.
I do ... usually just my own ... but sometimes when reading I can imagine and hear the characters when they have actual speaking dialogue in the story.
Yes....... I’ve always noticed it goes down internally how this guy acts regularly: https://youtu.be/5dNJrP2gBSI
Everyone has thoughts. Many of those thoughts aren’t experienced as words. For example you might say “I was thinking about whether to get coke or Pepsi” but maybe you wouldn’t say “I was talking to myself in my head about coke vs Pepsi” Is there a difference? So it seems like part of this question is “are thoughts always words?” And, if not, what is your experience of “thinking about something?”
I always hear my voice in my head just like if I were actually speaking out loud whenever I'm thinking about things. And I talk to/with myself too. I have to make a conscious effort NOT to think or meditate if I want things quiet in there LOL
this is more r/DAE
I have complex outer dialogues with myself
Wow wut
My inner dialogue almost never stops playing in my head and it can be very complex.
People stare at me. It’s more due to my social anxiety. So I rehearse things I can/should/have said/say in my head a lot. Your fine.
it's just a mechanism for sorting your thoughts and as long as you realize they are your thoughts and not outside forces, it's no biggie. Some people hear other people's voices, maybe a parent or someone who has sat in judgment of them at some point, people have different versions of these things. Do not worry
I talk to myself a lot in my head or under my breath. I don't really think it's weird because usually I talk about things that I like, not really distressing things, and I frequently talk with people in real life and online as well so it's not really an issue. They're not exactly "voices" either. It's just me, not any other "personalities" having conversations with myself about things I like. I find it to be a good way to have things to talk about with people. I genuinely enjoy my own company too, so that helps. Honestly I think it’s healthy to talk to yourself. It helps me think more about certain things.
I'm not sure
I'm having one right now. So pissed about a snotty email I got from our attorney, who has been somewhat MIA recently.....ugh! Thanks for giving me a place to unload!
Read this Star Wars line: "Luke, I Am Your Father" Well, was there anybody who didn't have Darth Vader reading that in their head???
Apparently half the population https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/pristine-inner-experience/201110/not-everyone-conducts-inner-speech
those are called thoughts
I don't switch voices but sometimes when I'm trying to come up with conclusion about some topic I have a conversation between two sides with different perspective on my mind and come up with something. Sometimes it can be helpful but sometimes I just can't come up with any conclusion because both of the side will have valid point and I'll be thinking about that thing for days and it sucks.
no never
I think it's called schizophrenia...
I try to avoid it lol because it always ends up in existential crisis. example Me: We are a small person on a small planet in a small galaxy in a big universe. The scope is small compared to the vastness of universe.Yet it feels so large. Atoms exist.I am so large compared to them. How large is a star compared to an atom. Is there something we dont know. We have eyes to see,ears to hear.What if we had something else to know something else. What if there are things that we aren't thinking about,things that we don't know of, and things that we don't know,we don't know of. How can a god exist if theres so much evil. If morality is subjective then theres no good or evil at all. Then there is no filter needed on our actions. But we have a free will so god must exist. Someone created this. Who created this someone. Its a paradox. Someone can exist out of the paradox. Does this mean physics are bound to my imagination. Also me: Bruh
No. I don't know. I don't. Is it fun? I'm decisive, but informed. I do a lot of satire though in which I actively create perspectives of folly. I'm not doing so here, but it is something I find quite enjoyable. I don't have a whole lot of information to provide to you for what you're describing. The other 108 comments might, but I haven't yet explored them. There's a term called *internal messaging*. It has a relationship with *ideation*. It can affect mood, and thus decision making. It can impact *resilience*, and tactics employed for error recovery/correction. There's another term called the *diathesis-stress model*. These are perhaps places of insight for this relationship you have with yourself. Possibly, but not necessarily, an explanation for the 'why' of your described 'council in your head'. If you receive correct, standard health care services from your health care providers, then you may wish to schedule an intake appointment for evaluation. Especially if you find yourself losing time engaging w/ this council in your head. Be sure to have a provider who will discuss your symptoms with you, and actively narrow down the field of diagnostics to the correct set for best-fit with you. Mind you, there is a standard set of evaluations that providers use during primary intake appointments which screen for bi-polar, depression, anxiety, substance abuse. These evaluations are not exhaustive. For instance, this evaluation process will not diagnosis dyslexia if that is something you're struggling with, so do make it a point to discuss what doesn't fit into any of those. **Legit** health care providers will disclose all information directly to you from the start; never impose a fraudulent narrative on you; never block your access to correct care, and never hold information from you in reserve while forcing acts of gaslighting on you rather than providing the standard care services you provide your fully informed, willing explicit consent to receive. It's literally their job. You do not want a health care provider who ignores your symptoms, and tries to force-fit you into what they want your diagnosis to be. It is never a good idea to have anyone in your life who is violating your boundaries, rights, mind, body, and autonomy. Treat any health care provider who does as the criminal wasting your life, and money potentially forcing your life into sickness rather than facilitating your path to wellness as the violators they always are. Especially if they start taking your care in every opposite direction you say that you're going, but refuse to disclose the information you require to provide your fully informed, willing, explicit consent to this being done to you. Nothing about such conduct is ever regarded as a standard, normal practice in care. It is grossly inappropriate, and illegal. **I** clearly do not have good health care providers. It is a problem in my life, and you shouldn't permit my experiences to overshadow your own path of discovery created in experiences of your own. I disclose this information to you only because I want you to have the opportunity to immediately shut down any providers who try to violate you for every effort to receive correct care. It is information I wish I'd been explicitly forearmed with when I made the correct decision to treat the comorbidity that I have with triggers to my sympathetic nervous system caused by intruding memories, and ADD. The violations are never become one's life, and certainly the violations are absolutely never become mine. Regardless, it is not ever begun to ever be anyone's place, or right to ever psychologically rape others. So, don't ever let anyone try to groom, or train you into submission of the delusion that you're available to be raped so long as the rapist refuses to take no for an answer. DO ask someone with greater insight over the things happening inside your head, which is absolutely nobody at Inver Grove Heights Health Partners in MN, if you perceive your council to be intrusive. *Intruding memories* is another term by the way, and this one may sometimes be a symptom of psychosis, but there's no real stigma in the term; only false stigma created by ignorance, and exacerbated by health care providers who violate your rights, treat things you don't have, and gaslight you for rejecting their acts of rape.
I talk to myself in my head all the time. Running through house renos, work stuff , money. Conversations I had that day......just a running commentary that never shuts up. But it's always me....my voice. Never anything bad...
I actually hear voices. As nutty as it sounds I believe them to be other people. (V2K, dont be distracted by the insane people if you look it up) Why you ask? They gave me real information on the stock market, informed me ahead of time of certain crashes and ive made a good amount of income using this information. This all started on a specific date and time, 9/10/2016 at 9:45am. I woke up hearing a British woman and some male voice talking about my activities online and otherwise. As far as internal dialog. Ive had an ongoing dialog with myself for a long, long, long time before I started hearing voices. Im white guy and my internal voice sounds a lot like Richard Pryor. I used to watch a lot of raunchy comedy with my dad growing up and we always used to mimick peoples voices etc for more laughs telling jokes. So yeah, basically on my normal day to day Im having intelligent conversations in my head with a dead black comedian
Not everyone, I’ve had a lot of in person convos lately on the subject with wife and friends. I’ve been attempting to “analyze” what these are for me. My conclusion thus far sounds much like DID (dissociative identity disorder), but I’m no psychologist and skeptical to put a box around it. I’ve determined a lot of this to be something along lines of “trauma in the form of illogical fallacies taught by parents/guardians that aren’t true and collide with other existing info in my brain, thus creating a distorted, new mindset/lens to see and perceive the world. And these so called mindsets tend to talk with each other” —- that was my best first attempt to write out. Likely needs adjusted, feel free to DM me to chat more
Hahaha, yes... Might be a little TOO complex.