# Do you have a "internal monologue?"



## donistired (Nov 29, 2018)

When you read or think, can you hear the words being voiced over in your mind, or do you think more abstractly? I learned recently that some people don't have an "inner voice" when they think or read and I genuinely struggle to comprehend how. I'm constantly monologuing/talking to myself in my mind.


----------



## zkv (Feb 18, 2020)

Yup, brain won't shut up. I tend to actually voice some of it too when a feeling gets intense, good or bad. If I'm alone that happens a lot more. I also have pretend conversations sometimes.

Am I crazy? Maybe. But at least I don’t make popcorn when some people are trying to work!


----------



## donistired (Nov 29, 2018)

zkv said:


> Yup, brain won't shut up. I tend to actually voice some of it too when a feeling gets intense, good or bad. If I'm alone that happens a lot more. I also have pretend conversations sometimes.
> 
> Am I crazy? Maybe. But at least I don't make popcorn when some people are trying to work!


Internal monologue can be curse haha. Sometimes, as I'm thinking about my own ideas, I'm basically writing speeches in my brain. Like gosh dang someone give me a podium so I can get this out of my brain and maybe have some internal quiet again haha.


----------



## zkv (Feb 18, 2020)

donistired said:


> Internal monologue can be curse haha. Sometimes, as I'm thinking about my own ideas, I'm basically writing speeches in my brain. Like gosh dang someone give me a podium so I can get this out of my brain and maybe have some internal quiet again haha.


No podium for me thank you. That's scary as hell. I almost had a freaking heart attack the one time I stood in front of the class in university.

I entertain myself as long as I keep it stupid. That's my motto, keep it stupid. Silly is maybe a better word for it. Silliness is important to me.


----------



## donistired (Nov 29, 2018)

@zkv yeah, I'm all talk (talk within my mind that is). But my internal monologue sometimes gets pretty fiery (even though, if someone did give me a podium, it would probably just sound like nonsensical rambling and I probably would be too paralyzed from fear to speak). When I'm not mentally abusing myself, I have way more confidence confided in my own mind than I do when I'm talking to other people or any situation that would make me center of attention.


----------



## ScorchedEarth (Jul 12, 2014)

Had it since childhood. I basically use it to go over stuff I want to memorize or use to make a decision. Nothing from IRL, only hobby-related, and I only use it when I'm away from home and don't have to focus on something else. Say I start a new class in a MMORPG, I'll go over the abilities I can remember at the time and any remarks I have for when I get back to the game. Beats letting my mind wander, I have a problem with intrusive, unpleasant memories.


----------



## Persephone The Dread (Aug 28, 2010)

Yeah I do.


----------



## JH1983 (Nov 14, 2013)

Yes. Sometimes I have trouble paying attention to stuff because of it.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Barakiel (Oct 31, 2013)

It's my biggest distraction and affects just about every aspect of my life.


----------



## either/or (Apr 27, 2020)

Barakiel said:


> It's my biggest distraction and affects just about every aspect of my life.


This! My inner voice never shuts the **** up. I get stuck in these annoying thought chasing cycles where I dive into the endless rabbit hole that is my own psyche and can't get out.


----------



## truant (Jul 4, 2014)

Yes. My internal monologue runs constantly. I'm not sure I _can_ think without hearing that internal voice, since it's always there. One thing I wonder about is what voice other people hear. Is it your own voice, a more idealized version of your voice, or another voice entirely? I've always heard someone else's voice, not my own (and a woman's voice at that, which I foolishly thought was normal for trans women, but it seems like most people hear their own voice, or something akin to their regular speaking voice).

A related question is how people see themselves when projecting themselves into a future or past scenario. Do you see an image of yourself doing something like a movie? Or am I the only person who does this? When I think about something that I have to do, or want to do, in the future, I project an image of myself doing it, from outside, and watch myself going through whatever actions I need to perform. I do this to pre-test for difficulties and prepare solutions. I thought everyone did this, also, but I'm no longer sure. There seems to be a lot of variation in how people think.


----------



## Memories of Silence (May 15, 2015)

I thought everyone did. When I found out they don't, I tried to stop mine to see if I could, and it didn't work.


----------



## zkv (Feb 18, 2020)

truant said:


> Yes. My internal monologue runs constantly. I'm not sure I _can_ think without hearing that internal voice, since it's always there. One thing I wonder about is what voice other people hear. Is it your own voice, a more idealized version of your voice, or another voice entirely? I've always heard someone else's voice, not my own (and a woman's voice at that, which I foolishly thought was normal for trans women, but it seems like most people hear their own voice, or something akin to their regular speaking voice).
> 
> A related question is how people see themselves when projecting themselves into a future or past scenario. Do you see an image of yourself doing something like a movie? Or am I the only person who does this? When I think about something that I have to do, or want to do, in the future, I project an image of myself doing it, from outside, and watch myself going through whatever actions I need to perform. I do this to pre-test for difficulties and prepare solutions. I thought everyone did this, also, but I'm no longer sure. There seems to be a lot of variation in how people think.


I hear my voice as I hear it inside, not how it actually sounds. I don't like to hear my voice played back to me but it's not nearly as painful as seeing my image.

I see myself from a third person when imagining possible scenarios too, but a non-anxious version of myself, and also how I see myself in the mirror which is not that bad for some reason. It never goes as well as I pictured it/wanted it to go. With the past sometimes it's like a movie, other times as I think it went from my POV.


----------



## aqwsderf (Aug 16, 2013)

You guys hear a voice? I don't hear anything. Theres a quiet monologue in my head. There is speaking but no actual audio


----------



## either/or (Apr 27, 2020)

@*aqwsderf* I mean I don't actually hear anything, there are no sounds, but there is like a quieter version of my own voice narrating everything. It's def my voice. It's like a facsimile of audio, like when you close your eyes and visualize someone you know. Though the voice I think is more precise because its more familiar

I know some people who came to the US as kids and speak mostly English now but still do their thinking in their native language. I always thought that must be difficult, it's like your always translating. Maybe they do think in English too but I remember one in particular saying he always thinks in Russian.


----------



## blue2 (May 20, 2013)

Yup it's Satans voice.


----------



## donistired (Nov 29, 2018)

aqwsderf said:


> You guys hear a voice? I don't hear anything. Theres a quiet monologue in my head. There is speaking but no actual audio


Yes, like a mental-image but instead it's a mental-sound, so that when I'm thinking or reading I can hear my voice narrating in my own mind.


----------



## aqwsderf (Aug 16, 2013)

either/or said:


> @*aqwsderf* I mean I don't actually hear anything, there are no sounds, but there is like a quieter version of my own voice narrating everything. It's def my voice. It's like a facsimile of audio, like when you close your eyes and visualize someone you know. Though the voice I think is more precise because its more familiar
> 
> I know some people who came to the US as kids and speak mostly English now but still do their thinking in their native language. I always thought that must be difficult, it;s like your always translating. Maybe they do think in English too but I remember one in particular saying he always thinks in Russian.


Okay yeah that's more how it is for me as well. It's like when you picture someone its not so vivid but its there. Kind of like your "reading voice." But no actual audio

I came to the US at age 4, but I think in English. I wonder if there's a specific age where that changes. I can intentionally think in Spanish but I'd have to focus.


----------



## SuperSky (Feb 16, 2011)

Yes. When I was younger if I hadn't thought about a topic using the inner voice, I didn't know that I was actually thinking. To me it seems a fine line between not having the voice and not having any thoughts.


----------



## Blue Dino (Aug 17, 2013)

For some, it helps to organize their thoughts and remember things better if they verbally say it out loud and listen to them. Why it's common for older people to do this as well, when their memory starts deteriorating. 

It might also be a coping mechanism with loneliness, when they do this to want to hear a voice. 

I do this often myself, definitely for the first reason. Second reason might be a possibility as well. When I was younger and when my mom will overhear me mumbling out my thoughts, she will see me as having an onset of schizophrenia, thinks I am hearing other voices and freaks out. I have no clue how this person has a degree in behavior science and is a school counselor for 30 years.


----------



## Persephone The Dread (Aug 28, 2010)

truant said:


> Yes. My internal monologue runs constantly. I'm not sure I _can_ think without hearing that internal voice, since it's always there. One thing I wonder about is what voice other people hear. Is it your own voice, a more idealized version of your voice, or another voice entirely? I've always heard someone else's voice, not my own (and a woman's voice at that, which I foolishly thought was normal for trans women, but it seems like most people hear their own voice, or something akin to their regular speaking voice).
> 
> A related question is how people see themselves when projecting themselves into a future or past scenario. Do you see an image of yourself doing something like a movie? Or am I the only person who does this? When I think about something that I have to do, or want to do, in the future, I project an image of myself doing it, from outside, and watch myself going through whatever actions I need to perform. I do this to pre-test for difficulties and prepare solutions. I thought everyone did this, also, but I'm no longer sure. There seems to be a lot of variation in how people think.


I don't think it's my own voice, definitely not what my voice sounds like in recordings, not an idealised voice either though. I also don't think it has a gender at all. It will switch to other people's voices sometimes if I know what they sound like and I'm reading something they wrote or imagining them saying something. I think there's probably a kind of different tone/vibe as well sometimes if I'm reading something someone else wrote even if I don't know what they sound like, but not always.

It's hard to say when I'm trying to do it but I think I view myself in third and first person when picturing future or past stuff.


----------



## truant (Jul 4, 2014)

zkv said:


> I hear my voice as I hear it inside, not how it actually sounds. I don't like to hear my voice played back to me but it's not nearly as painful as seeing my image.
> 
> I see myself from a third person when imagining possible scenarios too, but a non-anxious version of myself, and also how I see myself in the mirror which is not that bad for some reason. It never goes as well as I pictured it/wanted it to go. With the past sometimes it's like a movie, other times as I think it went from my POV.


My voice doesn't bother me as much as my body, but it's still a big problem for me. It still triggers my gender dysphoria. It can be extremely weird and alienating to be sitting around all day thinking in one voice (the voice I hear 99% of the time) and then have to answer the phone and hear my "man voice" which I only ever hear when I'm talking to other people and which sounds completely different. My real voice sounds different in a recording, too. Though, tbh, I don't really find recordings of my voice any more upsetting than hearing myself talk on the phone.

I was wondering if people heard an "idealized" voice in part because I think people tend to idealize themselves when they picture themselves in their imagination. I think most people tend to sort of overlook their flaws a little and imagine they're more attractive than they are. So I wondered if they did the same thing with their voices. (Though, tbh, I don't know if they actually do this, it's just what I've heard.)

But yeah, lol. When I'm imagining possible scenarios I'm often a much more competent version of myself than I am IRL, because I'm imagining how I want things to go. But then I go and start thinking about all the things that can go wrong and it sort of corrects itself. My default is to imagine my female self-image when I project into the future. Which is fine when I'm just daydreaming about the kind of things I'd like to do. But if I'm preparing for a real event I'll "correct" that to my real body and evaluate it from that perspective since that's what I have to deal with. When I'm remembering stuff, I remember it in terms of my real body, obv, though I think mostly in first person.

What about when you dream? When I'm dreaming I'm usually in my real body (which sucks, my brain hates me) but I think that's because all my experiences IRL have been in that body. I do sometimes imagine myself in a more feminine version of my real body, like I've already transitioned and am presenting fully as female. I've only ever had a couple dreams where I was fully female. I find it odd that my default when waking is the female body but that it rarely shows up in dreams.



Persephone The Dread said:


> I don't think it's my own voice, definitely not what my voice sounds like in recordings, not an idealised voice either though. I also don't think it has a gender at all. It will switch to other people's voices sometimes if I know what they sound like and I'm reading something they wrote or imagining them saying something. I think there's probably a kind of different tone/vibe as well sometimes if I'm reading something someone else wrote even if I don't know what they sound like, but not always.
> 
> It's hard to say when I'm trying to do it but I think I view myself in third and first person when picturing future or past stuff.


I do that thing when I'm reading. I use other voices for different characters and stuff. And if I'm reading nonfiction by a male author, I hear a male voice, and if by a female author, I hear a female voice. When I'm just thinking on my own, it's always the same female voice.

Idk where the mental female voice/body comes from. I think I must have settled on that a long time ago, when I was a kid, and it just sort of became ingrained. Some kind of maladaptive daydreaming type thing. I often wonder if it's based on a real person I saw on TV or something back in the 70s. I've looked through a bunch of celebrities trying to figure out who I cloned, but I haven't found them yet.


----------



## harrison (Apr 14, 2012)

I'm not sure I even understand what everyone is talking about tbh. I don't think I see it as an internal dialogue (sorry, monologue) as such. I've always been the sort of person that's very focused on how they feel at any given point in time - and then I react to it. I guess there's a bit of that old argument as to what comes first - the thought or the feeling. But I've never thought of it as a voice or monologue.


----------



## blue2 (May 20, 2013)

Its interesting I'll read posts here based on what I know about someone & apply the accent or gender & general demeanor. 

If I don't know as much about someone it's just a neutral male English voice in my head, like from a tutorial on how to build a shelf or something.


----------



## zkv (Feb 18, 2020)

truant said:


> I was wondering if people heard an "idealized" voice in part because I think people tend to idealize themselves when they picture themselves in their imagination. I think most people tend to sort of overlook their flaws a little and imagine they're more attractive than they are. So I wondered if they did the same thing with their voices. (Though, tbh, I don't know if they actually do this, it's just what I've heard.)
> 
> But yeah, lol. When I'm imagining possible scenarios I'm often a much more competent version of myself than I am IRL, because I'm imagining how I want things to go. But then I go and start thinking about all the things that can go wrong and it sort of corrects itself.


I'm lucky enough that a lot of the time I overlook my flaws when looking into a mirror. But sometimes I can't even if I try. It depends on how I feel atm. Literally yesterday I looked into the bathroom mirror and said some mean things to my reflection. Things it wouldn't occur to me to say to someone else. But hey, if I don't get to be an ******* to myself what's even the point of living? :b Seriously though, it's weird how we can be a lot harder on ourselves than we'd ever let ourselves be with other people. Then again maybe it's not that weird, especially when it's about behavior. When it's behavior I actually think it makes a lot of sense and _can be_ constructive.

So you make yourself **** up and get uncomfortable and say the wrong thing when imagining stuff you're going to do? I can see why you'd do that, probably helps in that it limits the level of disappointment when things go wrong.


> What about when you dream? When I'm dreaming I'm usually in my real body (which sucks, my brain hates me) but I think that's because all my experiences IRL have been in that body. I do sometimes imagine myself in a more feminine version of my real body, like I've already transitioned and am presenting fully as female. I've only ever had a couple dreams where I was fully female. I find it odd that my default when waking is the female body but that it rarely shows up in dreams.


I would've thought you'd mostly dream yourself female. I dream myself cute sometimes.



Persephone The Dread said:


> It will switch to other people's voices sometimes if I know what they sound like and I'm reading something they wrote or imagining them saying something. I think there's probably a kind of different tone/vibe as well sometimes if I'm reading something someone else wrote even if I don't know what they sound like, but not always.





blue2 said:


> Its interesting I'll read posts here based on what I know about someone & apply the accent or gender & general demeanor.


I completely ignored the reading part of the OP. I do that too. The more idiosyncratic the writing, the more I do it.


----------



## snow_drop (May 15, 2021)

Yes, i cannot not say something in my head. In my head I'm always either talking to myself, imagine other people talk, sing song lyrics or even just say random words only so that there isn't completely silent there.


----------



## firelight (Jan 31, 2019)

Only when reading text. When thinking it's mostly images and emotions, unless I am stewing over some stupid internet debate and am trying to think up arguments and counterarguments.


----------

