Have you ever caught yourself talking to yourself while doing something? It may have worried you when you realized it, but if you stop to think about it, you surely know many people whom you have heard alone. Perhaps your mother or grandmother while they were cooking they were saying “where will I have put the onions” or “I would swear I left the pan here” or “this is missing something”. And you probably didn't think they were crazy.
Then, Is talking alone normal? In this Psychology-Online article, we solve your doubts.
Index
- Talking alone is bad?
- Is it normal to talk to yourself out loud?
- Why are there people who speak to themselves?
- Are people who speak to themselves smarter?
Talking alone is bad?
Contrary to what many people think, talking alone has nothing wrong. In fact, it helps to organize ideas, to follow the steps to solve a task and to memorize in some cases.
If you have caught yourself talking to yourself on occasion, remembering what you have to do or what cannot be missing in your bag, you do not have to What to worry about, even if it is someone else who has caught you talking to himself, nothing happens, he will not think that you are crazy or that you have a trouble. In general, talking to yourself is neither bad nor abnormal.
However, there are times when talking can only be a symptom of a mental disorder. In these cases, you have to look for other symptoms that confirm the suspicions.
In the psychosis, the person does not speak to himself alone, but responds to visual or auditory hallucinations. These conversations are easily recognized because they lack logic and are usually unrelated to reality. These hallucinations can occur when you have schizophrenia, Bipolar disorder or as a consequence of drug use, for example. And in any of these cases, evaluation and appropriate treatment are needed.
Is it normal to talk to yourself out loud?
Not only is it normal and common, but it has many Benefits:
- It helps us motivate ourselves. If we say expressions such as "encourage", "you can", "you are getting it", etc., we will get enough motivation to continue doing the task and finish it.
- Helps to memorize. Reading or studying aloud favors memorization.
- Decreases anxiety and stress.
- It allows a better interpretation of problems or events. Often times, saying things out loud make them more clear.
- It makes it easy to follow steps to solve a complicated task.
- It favors decision making.
- It allows us to positively reinforce ourselves during the performance of the task. This is highly recommended for difficult or heavy tasks.
- It helps us to reflect with perspective.
Why are there people who speak to themselves?
Our thinking is a dialogue with ourselves. We do not say out loud everything we think, but there are times when we have that dialogue out loud. It can happen even if there are other people nearby.
The kids when they begin to speak, they often speak to themselves. Let's say you think out loud because you don't know how to do it any other way yet. This concept is known as “private talk”And favors cognitive development. As they get older, this private speech becomes internal in the form of thought.
Talking can only be very positive if the dialogue is real, reasonable, or motivating. But what happens when the dialogue is full of blame and anger? So, it is dangerous because it "feeds" negative emotions, intensifies them and makes us feel bad. It affects safety and self-esteem and can lead to disorders such as anxiety and depression if it remains as usual.
In disorders such as depression, there is usually an internal and external dialogue full of negative words and labels: "I am useless", "I do everything wrong", "I will never get anything", etc., and it is very important modify it.
Imagine that one of the people you know said those things to you when you saw them. It would be considered abuse, harassment or similar, right? Well now imagine that that person is with you 24 hours, has access to your thoughts and repeats those negative words continuously. So, it is very important that your internal dialogue is positive and a reinforcer instead of being full of reproaches to bring you down.
Are people who speak to themselves smarter?
Much has been said about the relationship between speaking alone and intelligence. When something is mentioned on this subject, we imagine a genius of science or an artist in his studio speaking alone while working on his work. However, there are no studies that confirm a direct relationship between speaking alone and being very intelligent.
What we can associate is that intelligent people tend to have better strategies for solving tasks or problems. And, seeing the benefits that speaking only brings to concentration, memory and interpretation, we could consider it a sign of fluid intelligence.
Therefore, whether he does it consciously or does not realize that he is doing it, a person who speaks alone to obtain some of the benefits that comes with it, shows signs of intelligence.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
If you want to read more articles similar to Talking alone is normal?, we recommend that you enter our category of Personal growth and self-help.
Bibliography
- American Psychiatric Association (1995). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM IV). Barcelona: MASSON
- American Psychiatric Association (2014). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) (Fifth Edition). Madrid: Editorial Médica Panamericana.
