To think it's impossible to have no thoughts or internal dialogue?

[IAteAllTheTomatoes]

Is it true that some people have nothing going on in their head? No thoughts, ideas, or internal dialogue?

I'm not being bitchy or talking about intelligence but I just always assumed your brain is thinking or you are silently talking to yourself? Like, will my parcel arrive today? What will I make for dinner later? Something anything? Future plans? Pondering on something in the news etc?

Someone told me yesterday there is nothing in their thoughts, except maybe music, until they are asked a question?

I would love to have no thoughts? It is possible?

I'm explaining this poorly but I suppose what I'm wondering is can people shut down their thinking and if so, how?

I don’t hear my thoughts but I have constant thoughts. I also have no minds eye at all and frequently get lost. I have ADHD and the meds help with the constant uncontrollable thoughts and anxiety. I’m a vet so at least average intelligence - it just shows we’re all different!

Forgot to add I’m autistic and dream very vividly! I get songs and noises stuck in my head but that manifests as me singing them. I can’t hear them in my mind (like a voice over in a film)
I do spend a lot of time formulating thoughts and conversations and my thoughts jump from topic to topic. It’s very hard to explain

I have aphantasia so don’t see things in my head or have an internal monologue. I think it’s advantageous as my kind is peaceful so can focus on what I am physically doing. I find it hard to believe people hear and see stuff tbh

I can't even imagine my brain being quiet for any amount of time. I don't understand what people with no internal monologue do when they are just sat? I can't wrap my head around it, it sounds lonely.

I look around at things. I usually have a book though.

How can it be less lonely when the voice you are hearing isn’t real / your own?

I have a sense that I have a monologue but I can’t access it.
Sometimes I can direct it by consciously thinking about a thing and then a fully formed thought will pop out. Or I practice conversations with people or think about wording a mumsnet post. But that’s all very deliberate.

Most of the time there is quiet. Or I sing to myself.

My DC has no internal monologue, but is a PhD and University lecturer, so not daft.

That’s a bit rude. Do you mean they are thick or have no emotional intelligence?

I’m so glad it’s not just me. My brain literally never stops talking it drives me mad!! I have spoken to DH and one or two others and they don’t have this so I thought I was just weird. I even have very vivid dreams so I feel like I never get quiet time. It’s exhausting!

I am one of the people who doesnt have an internal monologue. It actually surprised me that some peoples brains are constantly twittering at them. It would drive me round the bend.

I have an occasional thought that pops up like "I need to remember to stick a wash on later", but they're noticeable by their infrequency if that makes sense.
Its not like a completely empty brain though, I can think things through and am thinking (obviously) while writing this but I call the thoughts into my head, and once ive finished my thinking my brain goes back to being quiet with no white noise chit chat inside it.

I dont overtly think "I fancy a cup of tea", but I autopilot to the kettle instead. it isnt a brain conversation in that sense.

this might be of interest - https://mymodernmet.com/inner-monologue/

Funnily enough, DD was talking about this earlier. According to what she had read, having an internal monologue doesn't appear to correlate with intelligence or personality traits. She, her dad and I all have a constant internal monologue and are fairly introverted, and DH and I have PhDs (not that they are necessarily an indication of intelligence).

I find this fascinating.

Just responding to some of the comments. I don't think it's an intelligence, mental health or introvert/extrovert issue.

For what it's worth, I have 2 Masters degrees, am neurological but split almost 50/50 on the introvert/extrovert scale. Any time I've done those tests, it swings max 48/52 in either direction.

My brain just thinks constantly. Even typing this, I'm thinking about the response I need to write to two emails, having to text two people shortly and trying to think how much petrol is in my car & what way is quickest to travel to a friend tomorrow. It's like all those trains of thought occur together and don't imped each other. It's like having several excel sheets open and the data is uploading on all of them.

Even at my most spontaneous, I'll have thought thoughts in my head a few minutes beforehand.

Thankfully, never had any mental health issues either.

Yes like others I don't have a strong inner monologue, I also tend not to clearly imagine images. I tend to just know. So I won't think to myself 'oh I fancy a cup of tea' instead it is just a concept. My brain is a bit like a huge warehouse of filing cabinets and I just retrieve the appropriate information when needed, I don't need to listen to anything or picture anything, it is just there. Dh however will be wandering along talking out loud to himself. He will also rehearse conversations and then analyse them afterwards whereas I just tend to say what I am thinking and then stop.

As a pp said though it can be harder in a group setting when lots of others are talking to form ideas in my mind of what to say because I am listening to their ideas. I tend to find that my mouth starts talking and trying to verbalise the concept as if forms in my mind. I think for this reason I would say I am an introvert, I like quiet to work and when not working I tend to read or sleep. When I do have thoughts going through my mind it is never a positive thing.

I have an equivalent level of qualifications to dh and a fairly academic job. If anything I probably find it easier to work and think because I am less distracted and ruminate less than he does.

My brain is always full of deep and intelligent thoughts.

But it is instant. No delay, and I am significantly quicker than average at processing and recalling information etc etc. You could equally say that painting a visual image of something and then being able to speak about it takes a long time. In both cases, I imagine, it is a similar amount of time and is just our personal way of thinking. No better or worse than any other normal internal processing.

@CindersAgain when you look around at things, aren't you having thoughts about those things rather than just nothing at all going on in your mind?

@JassyRadlett I prefer to read information too and get very fed up that help and information seems to be presented in video form a lot of the time these days. It's tiresomely slow. I can speed read, and I don't have to read the words "out loud" in my head unless I want to, which I don't tend to if I'm reading for information or because I'm engrossed in what I'm reading.

@verv I don't mind the constant thoughts, I like having a lot of things to think about at once.

Has anyone here heard of Inner Family Systems? It is a theory of psychology developed by a certain Richard Schmidt in the 1980's. It explains that we have anywhere between 5-30 different 'personality parts' and these parts have different roles and voices and can talk to each other in our heads. They can be used to heal mental health problems, especially for people who don't have a leading 'self' which is our main personality part who acts as a director or CEO.

I would think he would agree that having an inner monologue is quite common. I wonder what he would say about people who proclaim they do not have an inner voice? I certainly have several myself and suffer from CD. But it is by no means the same thing as multiple personality disorder!

@RoseslnTheHospital My thoughts aren't painted and don't gradually appear, they flash up like photos. So if I'm having a debate with someone and I read something in a book then my brain will flash a photo of the book up and I'll recall the information but just say it rather than hear words in my head. Surely you can't be thinking each of the words in your head all exactly at the same time or else it would just be noise? The difference may be minor if the thought is simple, but for complex thought it just seems less efficient. I'm not saying it means your a slow thinker!

You're

This is me! Yep - it’s exhausting!

I have no internal monologue and can have long Homer Simpson moments when I'm on pause or at rest. I watched Hi Ren recently and was fascinated by his voices as I genuinely don't have that. All my "voices" are in sync and tend to agree when actually doing something or just lull when I'm not.

I'm constantly thinking of my next move or what what I'm going to say to someone and I talk through my movements in my head too
So, it's get up
Shower
Dry hair
Tidy up
Have tea , breakfast etc.
And I'll make a mental list as I go through each part.
I can also picture things in my head too
I thought everyone done this ? Or maybe I do overthink things ?

The implication of saying that "for complex thought it just seems less efficient" is that it is slower... unless you're meaning something else by "less efficient"?

What I am saying that it is likely to be pretty similar for either process, because that's the way each individual thinks, and works for them. Not better, worse, more efficient or less efficient. The way you describe my thought process is not right, by the way. And it is as instant as your flashing of a photo and then talking about what you "see". The thoughts are not "noise" but I doubt I could explain it to you as you literally don't think that way.

It's very possible. Part of the aphantasia spectrum I think.

Some people think in feelings/senses not words.