Do you have an inner monologue?

[samarrange]

I started this thread in response to a post on another thread that got me thinking about things that are "obvious" to some people and "impossible" to others. Now, a couple of posts on that thread have got me thinking about another topic in a similar vein, so off we go on another tangent...

To me, an inner monologue means that there is a voice in your head (whether or not it's "audible", but it's communicating with you in grammatically-formed sentences) telling you what to do next. Not in a psychotic kind of way, but something like what @bringinguptherear wrote here: "If you suddenly realise(*) the bins need taking out do you not think “I need to take the bins out?” In words?" [emphasis added by me]

As far as I can tell, I do not have an inner monologue. Something, somehow reminds me that it's Tuesday and I take the bins out without being aware of those words. While writing this post I got up and grabbed a few crisps from a bag, and I don't think the word "crisps" came up. When I discovered the whole phenomenon of inner monologues I was shocked, like the first time I discovered that the sun goes from right to left across the sky in Australia. (Please don't make me start yet another thread about whether you knew that! 🤣)

Anyway, this is a nice article about inner monologues, discussing how we all think in different ways. Maybe this discussion will open a few eyes, which (I think) is always a good thing.

(*) In this quote I have corrected what I am guessing was an autocorrect-induced typo. Hope this is OK, @bringinguptherear. 🙏

Your subconscious mind communicates with you all the time. Whether that's a constant chatter or just the occasional comment it's always there - it's your emotions, your imagination, your creativity, your memories and your automatic thoughts and actions. Basically anything you're not aware of in any given moment.

The weirdest thing happened to me recently- I woke up (too early), got up and started pottering about. But instead of the usual monologues starting up, all I got was jibberish. Thoughts were bubbling up my head but not forming recognisable sentences. “Blurble blurble postbox skidllefink fish finger”. It was genuinely quite frightening, like the whole operating system malfunctioned. I went back to bed, fell asleep and woke up again later with normal monologue restored. Turned myself off and on again like rebooting a computer!

Brains are weird.

Yes. My inner voice talks me through absolutely everything. I thought everyone was the same 😟

I don't think so... DH says I have an external monologue though! I'll say what I'm thinking outloud without hearing it in my brain first I think.

My mind isn't quiet but rather than hearing things I see or imagine scenes playing out (a particularly irritating trait when coupled with anxiety - I'll "see" a situation or conversation play out quite vividly). I also usually hear snippets of conversation as I'm drifting to sleep and see still images, but I have to consciously focus to notice them.

I don't think "I need to buy coffee" in a shop, so I will have to consciously say "coffee... Coffee... Coffee" in my head until I get to that aisle or I'll get distracted and forget.

The only time I have an inner monologue of sorts is when I've just read a book (I read very quickly, will finish a book in a day) and for a while I'll narrate my actions in the style of the book (ie; "she stood, stretched and walked to the kitchen).

I can also hear the words I'm typing as I'm typing them now but not before...

I have a constant inner monologue. My friend's husband apparently goes into his 'Tom box', which means he sits for ages not having a single thought. Very relaxing apparently. I can't imagine it at all, my mind is constantly chuntering.

I have an inner monologue and I think I’m drawn to people who also have IM. It’s like I can tell none IM people and find them dull.

I do, but DH has recently revealed he doesn’t. My friend thinks it explains why he is so content!

The jabbering and music. It would be nice if it would STFU. Sometimes if I wake up in the night, I manage to get back to sleep before it starts up. Otherwise I lie I bed listening to the cacophony - it is exhausting and distracting.

Sometimes I do and sometimes I don’t.

i definitely do not hear every word as I read that would be incredibly slow.

some things I think about do not go into words. I’m a maths teacher and a lot of maths is geometry and visualisations and I don’t use words when thinking about those.

Yes, constant narration of my day, what I’m doing, what to do next.

One of the best things about being at home by myself is that I can say it out loud too. Like I’m in my own YouTube video just going about my life. This helps to ensure I only deal with one thing at once, as in my head there are normally lots of things.

I find it fascinating that other people don’t have that going on. Kind of like the food noise thing that people using mounjaro found went away. I don’t have food noise, my head is busy with all the other stuff. Other people’s minds are intriguing!

Yes, and it never bloody shuts up, even when I'm asleep! 🙄😂

No. There’s lots of ‘noise’ in my head but no words. I have images, and emotions and flashes of ideas but I never ‘think’ in words and don’t hear my own voice in my head narrating things. I’m quite quick thinking and good at linking concepts and ideas but those ideas just land fully formed in my brain and not in a verbal form.

I'm so glad I'm not alone. Mine is constant and never fucking shuts up!!
Mostly arguing with people in my head and repeating conversations I've had recently, adding to them, it's exhausting.

Yes a constant overlapping monologue often going off at tangents and alot of songs in my head. I’ve heard some people think in pictures/images rather than words. I can’t really see an image in my minds eye. Like if I think of a cucumber I say the word in my head and can even taste it but I can’t really picture it properly.

DD and I had this conversation with DH a while ago. He doesn't have an inner voice, and he can't see images in his mind's eye either. In fact, I don't think he even understood what we were wittering on about.

I can hear a piece of random classical music and invent choreography for dancers in my mind's eye. I'm also attempting to write my first novel at the moment, and all I can see is images of what all the places and scenes look like, and hearing the people talking. I am really struggling to actually get what is in my mind's eye down on paper. Someone said to me the other day that perhaps I should be writing a screenplay instead!

This blows my mind. I definitely don’t have this! Inside my head is quiet, no voices talking. I can’t imagine what all the chatter is like…

I don’t have an inner monologue either. It’s lovely and peaceful in my head! I can’t imagine what a voice constantly jabbering away in one’s head must be like…… stressful?

What’s the difference between having monologues in your head and voices you react to and laugh to?

I don’t have either but my brother who has bipolar has the latter

Those who don’t, how do you properly think things through or solve problems in your head? How do you decide what to say to someone when there’s multiple options, or decide what you want to do in a couple of weekends time for example?

Yes I do. But some people at work don’t. I’ve asked them to explain to me how they think!!! And they just see images?! Blew my mind

Just to try and explain, I've just wrote this 15ish minutes ago. I've repeated it in my head god knows how many times since. Ive rewrote it, tried to say it differently. I've had conversations with some of you to try and explain it more, all in my head. It's time to go to sleep but now I've wrote this one I'll be thinking about this for the next 15 minutes...oh its fun...

I have an inner voice and monologue, yes, but i lost my ability to see in my mind's eye (and subsequently have no mind's eye or imagination really now) after a head injury and post concussion syndrome a decade ago.

I'm still pretty devastated by this to be honest, as I had the most wonderful and interesting mind's eye, and would see anything I wanted to imagine. It's a terrible loss not being able to see images as i read anything that is fiction now too.

I find it very depressing as it feels like i kind of lost a part of me, and almost a part of my identity/soul.

I was so happy when I started watching the tv series scrubs-JD’s inner monologue was so reassuring when I realised it made sense to have one 😂

The words never stop. It’s one of the reasons I like showtimes and ballads. I can sing them in my head and get my brain to shut up for a second. When I am falling asleep, I have to tell myself bedtime stories, otherwise I get other dialogue that keeps me awake.

My inner voice and the ear worms often drive me crackers and keep me awake. However I do find them very useful if a the dentist or anything else horrible or boring as it literally takes my mind off it. Last time I had to have a filling,I actually harnessed it to play one of my favourite albums in my head whilst the drilling and filling was happening.