to ask if you have an inner life?

[crochetmonkey74]

Really interesting conversation at work this morning - I was saying that I often walk around a bit oblivious whilst in town/ walking somewhere etc as I am thinking of all of my inner life things- things like bits of films I've seen, ideas for stories, lots of 'imagine if' scenarios. Other colleagues were split half and half between being the same and not having a clue what we were talking about - so for fun: have you got an inner life and what is it?

My inner life is so intense I sometimes barely notice what's going on in the outside world. I have to make a deliberate effort to get out of my head and focus on my external environment.

Music I find is good unless it’s a particularly moving song and then I’m stuck forever with the imagined story of who it was written for and what happened.

there is an Annie Lennox song I will always associate with a man who fell off a mountain and got frost bite and was in a coma… simply because I was reading a book like that at the time and it seemed to fit.

This is interesting. I would entertain myself for ages when I was a child - very creative and imaginative playing for hours in my room! I can always think/find something to do as an adult. I am a total introvert though so contributed this to it! DH however struggles with being bored and always seems to need social interaction!

Some of you are confusing an inner monologue with what the OP originally asked, which is imaginative thoughts.

I have complete aphantasia. So I can't see pictures in my head, or hear voices, or smell smells etc. I don't have an inner monologue in the sense that most people mean it. If I remember things, it's not in any way comparable to having the real things there in front of my sense experience. Nevertheless, I have an imagination and frequently create stories in my mind, or think about what I would say in hypothetical conversations, as well as some of the more prosaic stuff that others have mentioned.

Aphantasia was first researched amongst Disney/Pixar artists, and quite a number people working in creative industries have it. Having a mind's eye and having an imagination are not the same thing!

Don't think I have much of an inner life in the way you describe, @crochetmonkey74 . I have thoughts, obviously, but not stories/scenarios that I "live" only in my head. I'd be interested to know - was there any obvious gender* imbalance amongst your colleagues on this?

I've never been quite sure whether the way my brain works meets others' definitions of an "inner voice", either. I mean, I imagine words, but I don't really hear them. They're just there. If remembering something someone said to me, I can sort of imagine what they might sound like saying it. But it's nothing like I'm "hearing" that person. If I try too hard to imagine them saying the words I sometimes find myself saying the words quietly to myself. Can others literally (not literally, but you know what I mean) experience "hearing" an imagined voice?

Likewise, I can recall details of remembered scenes, and there may be a momentary flashbulb moment that seems almost like a picture, but I can't really hold the image in my mind or walk around it. Whether this is similar to others' "mind's eye" experience, I can't say.

*Or indeed sex

Same.

Do you know your MBTI type, OP? I have a hugely rich inner life and love it - I'm one of the 2 types most prone to this...some people have none or a bit. It's a like sliding scale.

Today my head's in a druid camp in Baldur's Gate 3 (fantasy role playing dungeons n dragons game). I need to do a spot of alchemy, lie about some missing good guys I slaughtered by accident and try to shag a rather attractive vampire.

Hopefully this will sustain my inner peace whilst wading through an extremely boring tax return 😁

Absolutely! When I was in my 20s, I used to walk to work over Waterloo bridge imagining my life as a movie, what might happen, how it would pan out, where and with whom I might end up. Possibilities were endless!

I do it a little less these days - the movie in my head has a distracted director, and the screenwriters are on strike! 😂

Also I'm now mid-40s, all my movie dreams came to fruition in one way or another, and my commute is 5 mins.

Now I movie dream about events and experiences, rather than my "future".

I had never heard of maladaptive daydreaming, but yes, I do this constantly. I am always about to win the lottery and have my house bought, rooms decorated, hobbies planned out, holidays and what we will do each day, family parties etc. At the moment I'm planning out a Victorian style dolls house that I will upcycle into a dark and gothic haunted house.
I've always thought this was probably a bad thing, that it meant I was ungrateful for what I have and not living in the present.
But actually, what @CoffeeCantata said about it making you more content really resonated. My life is technically boring. I'm a single mum, I work and have endless chores and little in the way of fun/me time/hobbies. Very few luxuries etc. But I am generally very happy and content with life. And perhaps that's because I can enjoy having or doing anything at all that I can imagine. It's just I have them inside my head!

I think I do both - constant monologue/inner voice but I can slip into ‘fantasyland’ too, especially if I’ve been really drawn into a recent movie/series or even a book that’s made an impression on me - I will visualise being in the settings or storyline walking around. Maybe I’m on the spectrum?

A haunted dolls house is one of my bucket list dream items to make! With all the flickering lights too

Yes I daydream a lot.

When I go shopping or for a walk I’m literally in my own world and people have been talking to me and I can’t hear them, even though I’m looking straight at them.

I struggled at school because I’d end up day dreaming so much.

My job is quite full on so I don’t get to daydream much but i love having a bath or going to bed early just to lie there and daydream.

I have a constant internal monologue but none of it is fantasy, I've always said I have no imagination, found it very difficult/impossible to write imaginary stories as a child. Difficulty in picturing things in my head and a degree of face blindness. Any intentional thought is usually of a practical nature or going over conversations and what I wish I'd said in certain circumstances.

I do both too and I’ve actually been told I’m on the spectrum (not professionally diagnosed just by people who work with SEN) but I don’t know if this is related.
Its interesting though.

I used to have this when I was younger, but I think as I've got older I've almost purposely rejected it. I was a compulsive reader and artist and really used used to value my imagination. But since I've gradually realised that the only useful skills are communication, tech and making money, none of which I'm particularly great at, it's audiobooks and podcasts all the way so I don't have space to think.

Yes I do and I have actually begin to worry as I get older that I spend increasing amounts of time in this inner world and prefer it to being in company with people

I have a whole different life going on in my head. In my ‘imaginary’ life I’m very accomplished, very clever, can speak several languages fluently, stunningly beautiful but also very nice so everyone adores me (to know me is to love me😁), etc etc. I’m perfectly sane but have always been a daydreamer and my ‘alter ego’ is like an imaginary friend (which I didn’t have as a child). 😁

Yep, immersive daydreaming. Commonly confused with maladaptive daydreaming.

Yup. Very vivid

That would be maladaptive daydreaming, daydreaming that stops you from doing things in the real world, ie socialising

Yes. I'm in a 23/7 power exchange relationship in my inner life.

Confused

I very much have an inner life and it's a helluva lot more glamorous than my reality. It's more daydreaming really, I suppose. At odd moments I like to imagine that a big, strong man has a protective arm around me so that I don't feel so alone.

I'm a childless widow, and I've probably left it too late to remarry but the reality of having a man around the house is rather overwhelming. I've come to enjoy my independence so giving it up would be difficult. So, in my imagination life is pretty damn wonderful.

Yes I have whole alternative lives in my head (not realistic ones)

I also tell myself stories, play songs (sometimes entire albums) in my head, “watch” films and plays etc.

This was at its height when I travelled alone in my 20s. Lots of time was spent seeing sights, meeting people etc. But there was a lot of time sat on transport when I zoned out for hours at a time.

This is why I am never bored and don’t understand the concept of “bored”.

No, but humanity is split between people who have inner dialog and people who dont.
I dont so my brain isnt up to anything while im wandering about.