Subvocalization : Talking to yourself is perfectly natural and even useful

It is learnt that the voices in your head are normal and there are reasons behind why talking to yourself is perfectly natural and even useful.

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Behind this strangeness every now and then almost everyone catches itself. "So, it's time to go home," "We must go out to eat", "Where did the pencil go? Just because it was here! "," How I'm tired of everything! "- suddenly tells us a voice in my head. Although, it seems, could do without comments: why duplicate words that you are already aware of?

Okay, the inner monologue can be more or less understood. However, it often happens that the inner "conversation with an intelligent person" grows into an external one: you, without noticing that, suddenly start talking to yourself aloud, scaring others. "I'm completely wild, I'm talking to myself," they think, or even openly teasing colleagues and friends. "Maybe I'm going crazy and this is some kind of mental deviation ?!" - Your own voice in the head is frightened without any jokes.

Stop. Do not be scared.

It is found that such monologues are absolutely normal and even useful.

The voice in the head is in everyone

Do you know that it is impossible to read the text without saying it to yourself? If you do not believe it, try it. No matter how hard you try, the words you read will still be duplicated by a "voice in your head". This is called subvocalization.

The reason is that the visual and audio information is processed by the same parts of the brain. And they also take an active part in the thought process. When we see the written word, the brain reacts to it as if we heard it. This leads to the appearance of an internal voice that reads the text. When we think, the situation repeats: our meditations are automatically formalized into an internal monologue, since the same neurons are involved in both processes.

Subvocalization in general is a very interesting phenomenon that allows scientists to assume that the recursive mind: the origins of the human language, thought and civilization, that it was the speech that played the most important role in the evolution of man to Homo sapiens: the more words our ancestors knew, the deeper was their thought process and the more there was the need to create new words for the expansion of the internal monologue. But now it's not about that.

The inner voice is inherent in every person and is so powerful that on its basis researchers from the University of California at Berkeley are trying to create a medical prosthesis that would allow "talking" to paralyzed people or those who are in a coma.

So talking with yourself is absolutely normal. They can be suppressed for a while - for example, speed reading enthusiasts recommend chewing gum or mooing for themselves. But finally get rid of the inner voice will not work. Clear and clear phrases such as "Do not go for a roll?" From time to time and will sound in your head.

Well and a bonus. Inner speech, whether reading or thinking, is usually accompanied by articulation: we barely noticeably move our lips and tongue, repeating the words. In most cases, people "hold their tongues" while limiting themselves to a mental monologue. But when self-control for some reason weakens (you are tired, confused, there are too many distractions around), the monologue begins to sound aloud.

And it turns out, it's even useful!

Why should we talk to ourselves

The inner voice that has spoken loudly is a convenient help in everyday life. Here are just a few ways of its practical application.

• 1. It helps in searches

"Where are the keys?" - you try to remember aloud aloud, and do the right thing. American psychologists Gary Lupyan and Daniel Swingley in the article for the "Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology" called Self-directed speech "visual search performance" such phrases as "self-directed speech". The essence of the phenomenon discovered by scientists is simple: when we say a single word or concept, the brain focuses on the thing that it indicates, clearly and clearly represents it - and this makes it easier for us to search for the desired object visually.

So wandering around the supermarket showcase, muttering to himself "Milk, milk, where is milk?" Or to ask "Where did my phone go missing ?!" is the right way to find what you are looking for faster.

• 2. It helps to concentrate on the important

Around us is full of information noise, which dispels attention, not allowing to focus on one thing. Unconscious pronunciation helps the brain prioritize. You probably noticed: if it's noisy around, and you try to get a grasp, for example, in an important business letter, it's easier for you to do this, moving your lips and even reading the text in a half-whisper. This is it: subvocalization, which is necessary for the brain to concentrate on the most urgent problem.

• 3. It improves memory

The best way to remember textual information is to read it aloud. That is why to recite poems, we recite them, and repeat foreign words. Talking to yourself, yeah.

• 4. This allows you to regain self-control

Having said to myself "Quiet. Calm down, "you can quickly and effectively pull yourself together. In an article "Talking to yourself is a sign of sanity," the American psychologist Linda Sapadin argues that the inner voice helps us control emotions. He acts as an "adult" in the psychological triad "child-parent-adult", on which human behavior is largely based. And this "adult" can calm, support, motivate to achieve goals.

• 5. This increases self-esteem

Talking to oneself is a good way to minimize psychological losses from outside criticism. Remember the common mental "Sam fool" in response to someone's reproach - this is it. In addition, the inner voice can also be praised. We rarely hear praise from others in adulthood, and the inner "Well, what a fine fellow I am!", "Good work!" Or, for example, "I look just brilliant today!" Make up for the lack of approval so necessary to maintain a healthy self-esteem.

So, if you suddenly heard the inner "I", do not shut up his mouth. It spoke to make your life easier. Better support the conversation.

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Thanks for the read.