16 ms·

Interestingly there are people like myself who don't have an inner monologue (some people supposedly even have a constant dialogue with themselves) at all. The

Interestingly there are people like myself who don't have an inner monologue (some people supposedly even have a constant dialogue with themselves) at all. The only time I experience something like an inner voice is when reading. My normal thoughts are more abstract I guess, I'm just sort of aware of what I want to do, how I feel etc. It's hard to describe.

kungito 5y ago
Could people without inner monologue be anxious? How would that kind of overthinking work?
- desmosxxx 5y ago
  You overthink things just without words. Anticipation itself can cause anxiety.
javajosh 5y ago
It sounds peaceful. Do you experience it that way?
- agency 5y ago
  I’m curious about this too. I definitely experience my endless inner monologue as “compulsive thinking.” Even when I have nothing interesting to think about my mind keeps chattering on endlessly and I find my thoughts in that state tend to be more anxious in nature.
- krageon 5y ago
  In my experience, it's not significantly more peaceful than how other people experience life: I can still ruminate, it just doesn't involve an internal monologue or dialogue.
Waterluvian 5y ago
I’m so deeply fascinated by that because it’s not how I experience consciousness. Very cool. I think I’m far in the opposite direction: I have a voice that sounds like me, but I don’t control and it asks me questions and gives opinions. It’s like having a copilot.
- mach1ne 5y ago
  That's odd. Can you silence the voice? Do you exert influence over it?
  - Waterluvian 5y ago
    If I start trying, it completely goes away, replaced by my monologue. I'm sure a lot of people know that feeling where you very intentionally drive your own internal voice. I can do that. I think it's related to my ADHD. Reading is very difficult because as I read, my voice just completely wanders off, CONSTANTLY. "Oh hey, 'gargantuan' that's a great word. Reminds me of a video game monster... Oh did you just read 2 whole pages without absorbing a single bit of it?" To add a bit more commentary: this is the one time I consider my ADHD to be a terrible disability. I cannot read. I just can't. Grad school was HELL when I had to read. But my ADHD and associated strong independent inner monologue is immensely powerful when I'm trying to solve problems myself, such as doing software design.
    - for_i_in_range 5y ago
      Is that just an ADHD thing though or part of human nature? Reading in the beginning is difficult yet, after training your brain to sit and process by reading an hour in the morning you can change things. Very fast.
    - TedDoesntTalk 5y ago
      This is called discursive thought and is very common. The goal of non-dual mediation is to recognize these thoughts and realize they are not you.
      - gowld 5y ago
        They are you; they are a part of you, but they are not all of you. They are as much you as your foot or your eye is you. You are not an atomic entity.
        5y ago
gonehome 5y ago
I’m pretty skeptical of people that make this claim. It’s just surprising to me that a base level feature would work so differently. I’d expect some variation in models (like that old Feynman video about counting), but if you can speak and use language it’s hard for me to accept literally no internal voice is going on. I’ve always kinda suspected people making this claim are lacking introspection to such an extreme extent that they don’t even recognize the inner voice that’s omnipresent.
- impjohn 5y ago
  Language is still a learned skill. It is quite normal to assume someone not raised in civilization and doesn't speak any human languages does not have an inner monologue expressed in words. While we do all thinking in terms of words (thats how we express ideas) it doesn't necessarily follow. I do have quite a loud "copilot" but I can see how it's a configurable behavior
  - gonehome 5y ago
    If you don’t have language I’d guess a lot of things are different about how you think. If you can speak, read, and write though?
    - impjohn 5y ago
      Meditation is exactly the practice of letting your inner monologue chatter until it dies away and you're fully tethered to your sensations and surroundings. So if one can learn to meditate, in theory one can meditate all the time (therefore not have inner chatter/monologue) The more interesting question is what is the usefulness of inner dialogue in itself. A way to rehearse/articulate thoughts to be communicated to someone else? A roleplay with yourself to prepare for a future encounter? Thinking doesn't necessary need the 'echo' of hearing a voice. That's separate, that's more intriguing to me
      - gonehome 5y ago
        Meditation is recognizing the omnipresent voice and trying to quiet it down. It’s partly why I suspect those that think they don’t have an internal monologue just aren’t recognizing it. I think you can get better at quieting the voice or letting thoughts pass, but I don’t think you can really turn it off for longer than a few moments. Gurus that claim they have and have “reached enlightenment” just seem to be lying either to themselves or everyone else (or both).
desmosxxx 5y ago
I've always been a bit perplexed by the claim of not having an inner monologue, but after reading the replies to your comment I wonder if I'm closer to not having an inner monologue than having one. I thought it was about not being able to summon an inner voice at all. Regardless, it's fascinating to read peoples descriptions and see that it lies on a spectrum. I definitely experience it when reading & writing carefully and sometimes in deep thought with conscious effort, but never minute to minute and definitely not compulsively. I'd describe my minute to minute like you, more abstract and intuitive. Yet at the same time I'm very introspective, it just doesn't happen with an inner monologue. edit: after reading the study, I think I fall into the not having an internal monologue. Fascinating.
- doliveira 5y ago
  May I ask you if your inner voice has an accent, can you recognize a tone to it? It was very weird when I realized that other people can imagine their thoughts having a physical voice.
  - desmosxxx 5y ago
    When I do have it, it does have a sound and sounds mostly like me.
  - logosmonkey 5y ago
    Yeah, mine is my voice. When I was thinking rather or not to reply and what I would reply with it was just my voice - as it sounds in my skull, not as it sounds in recording - just talking through the details as if I were speaking out loud to myself.
  - Sohcahtoa82 5y ago
    My inner voice by default sounds like how much own voice sounds to me, but I can make it sound like anyone I know, even with accents, though I can't speak with those accents because I don't know how to move my mouth to precisely make the sounds.
- brightball 5y ago
golergka 5y ago
May be you're like me? I have a lot of thoughts, I just don't use language internally to express them. It makes it hard sometimes to articulate what I'm thinking to another human being, but thinking through language, and especially in SPOKEN language seems so excruciatingly slow and ineffective I'm quite glad I don't have to do it in order to think.
polishdude20 5y ago
I'm on the opposite side of that spectrum. I have such a strong internal dialogue that I talk to myself vocally when doing stuff. Not always, but very often.
nathias 5y ago
Similar, inner monologue is a (weird) willed activity for me.
wpietri 5y ago
For sure. For years I thought "inner monologue" was just a metaphor for the interplay of thoughts. I was really surprised that many people literally have an internal monologue going all the time. That seems so exhausting to me!

kungito 5y ago

Could people without inner monologue be anxious? How would that kind of overthinking work?

desmosxxx 5y ago
You overthink things just without words. Anticipation itself can cause anxiety.

javajosh 5y ago

It sounds peaceful. Do you experience it that way?

agency 5y ago
I’m curious about this too. I definitely experience my endless inner monologue as “compulsive thinking.” Even when I have nothing interesting to think about my mind keeps chattering on endlessly and I find my thoughts in that state tend to be more anxious in nature.
krageon 5y ago
In my experience, it's not significantly more peaceful than how other people experience life: I can still ruminate, it just doesn't involve an internal monologue or dialogue.

Waterluvian 5y ago

I’m so deeply fascinated by that because it’s not how I experience consciousness. Very cool. I think I’m far in the opposite direction: I have a voice that sounds like me, but I don’t control and it asks me questions and gives opinions. It’s like having a copilot.

mach1ne 5y ago
That's odd. Can you silence the voice? Do you exert influence over it?
- Waterluvian 5y ago
  If I start trying, it completely goes away, replaced by my monologue. I'm sure a lot of people know that feeling where you very intentionally drive your own internal voice. I can do that. I think it's related to my ADHD. Reading is very difficult because as I read, my voice just completely wanders off, CONSTANTLY. "Oh hey, 'gargantuan' that's a great word. Reminds me of a video game monster... Oh did you just read 2 whole pages without absorbing a single bit of it?" To add a bit more commentary: this is the one time I consider my ADHD to be a terrible disability. I cannot read. I just can't. Grad school was HELL when I had to read. But my ADHD and associated strong independent inner monologue is immensely powerful when I'm trying to solve problems myself, such as doing software design.
  - for_i_in_range 5y ago
    Is that just an ADHD thing though or part of human nature? Reading in the beginning is difficult yet, after training your brain to sit and process by reading an hour in the morning you can change things. Very fast.
  - TedDoesntTalk 5y ago
    This is called discursive thought and is very common. The goal of non-dual mediation is to recognize these thoughts and realize they are not you.
    - gowld 5y ago
      They are you; they are a part of you, but they are not all of you. They are as much you as your foot or your eye is you. You are not an atomic entity.
      - 5y ago

gonehome 5y ago

I’m pretty skeptical of people that make this claim. It’s just surprising to me that a base level feature would work so differently. I’d expect some variation in models (like that old Feynman video about counting), but if you can speak and use language it’s hard for me to accept literally no internal voice is going on. I’ve always kinda suspected people making this claim are lacking introspection to such an extreme extent that they don’t even recognize the inner voice that’s omnipresent.

impjohn 5y ago
Language is still a learned skill. It is quite normal to assume someone not raised in civilization and doesn't speak any human languages does not have an inner monologue expressed in words. While we do all thinking in terms of words (thats how we express ideas) it doesn't necessarily follow. I do have quite a loud "copilot" but I can see how it's a configurable behavior
- gonehome 5y ago
  If you don’t have language I’d guess a lot of things are different about how you think. If you can speak, read, and write though?
  - impjohn 5y ago
    Meditation is exactly the practice of letting your inner monologue chatter until it dies away and you're fully tethered to your sensations and surroundings. So if one can learn to meditate, in theory one can meditate all the time (therefore not have inner chatter/monologue) The more interesting question is what is the usefulness of inner dialogue in itself. A way to rehearse/articulate thoughts to be communicated to someone else? A roleplay with yourself to prepare for a future encounter? Thinking doesn't necessary need the 'echo' of hearing a voice. That's separate, that's more intriguing to me
    - gonehome 5y ago
      Meditation is recognizing the omnipresent voice and trying to quiet it down. It’s partly why I suspect those that think they don’t have an internal monologue just aren’t recognizing it. I think you can get better at quieting the voice or letting thoughts pass, but I don’t think you can really turn it off for longer than a few moments. Gurus that claim they have and have “reached enlightenment” just seem to be lying either to themselves or everyone else (or both).

desmosxxx 5y ago

I've always been a bit perplexed by the claim of not having an inner monologue, but after reading the replies to your comment I wonder if I'm closer to not having an inner monologue than having one. I thought it was about not being able to summon an inner voice at all. Regardless, it's fascinating to read peoples descriptions and see that it lies on a spectrum. I definitely experience it when reading & writing carefully and sometimes in deep thought with conscious effort, but never minute to minute and definitely not compulsively. I'd describe my minute to minute like you, more abstract and intuitive. Yet at the same time I'm very introspective, it just doesn't happen with an inner monologue. edit: after reading the study, I think I fall into the not having an internal monologue. Fascinating.

doliveira 5y ago
May I ask you if your inner voice has an accent, can you recognize a tone to it? It was very weird when I realized that other people can imagine their thoughts having a physical voice.
- desmosxxx 5y ago
  When I do have it, it does have a sound and sounds mostly like me.
- logosmonkey 5y ago
  Yeah, mine is my voice. When I was thinking rather or not to reply and what I would reply with it was just my voice - as it sounds in my skull, not as it sounds in recording - just talking through the details as if I were speaking out loud to myself.
- Sohcahtoa82 5y ago
  My inner voice by default sounds like how much own voice sounds to me, but I can make it sound like anyone I know, even with accents, though I can't speak with those accents because I don't know how to move my mouth to precisely make the sounds.
brightball 5y ago

golergka 5y ago

May be you're like me? I have a lot of thoughts, I just don't use language internally to express them. It makes it hard sometimes to articulate what I'm thinking to another human being, but thinking through language, and especially in SPOKEN language seems so excruciatingly slow and ineffective I'm quite glad I don't have to do it in order to think.

polishdude20 5y ago

I'm on the opposite side of that spectrum. I have such a strong internal dialogue that I talk to myself vocally when doing stuff. Not always, but very often.

nathias 5y ago

Similar, inner monologue is a (weird) willed activity for me.

wpietri 5y ago

For sure. For years I thought "inner monologue" was just a metaphor for the interplay of thoughts. I was really surprised that many people literally have an internal monologue going all the time. That seems so exhausting to me!