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Not everyone has an internal monologue

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Re: Not everyone has an internal monologue

#711
I've noticed that I always use internal monologue for all System 2[0] tasks and that I've never used it for any System 1 task. As for internal imagery, I seem to be using that for both System 1 and System 2 tasks. I cannot think of any counterexamples. But if you can think of one, I'll be surprised.

[0] System 1 vs System 2 as described in Thinking, Fast and Slow

Re: Not everyone has an internal monologue

#712

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do people do without a monolog when they are asked to count something silently? Isn’t keeping track of the current number a form of monolog?

It is, but it helps. A nice way I found to detach myself from racing thoughts is through these steps: - count - count some physiological process within you (breathing or heartbeat) - recognize that you can count it without thinking numbers - recognize that same “emptiness” can continue for a while even after you stop following the physiological process - rinse and repeat until you can drop into that “emptiness” and s…

This sounds like a nice form of meditation, but:

> count it without thinking numbers

...what? Are you telling me you can do this for some arbitrary period of time and then tell me the number of breaths you took, if asked? I find that really difficult to believe...

Re: Not everyone has an internal monologue

#713

This is how I felt when I found out I have Aphantasia I was like WTF? All these people can make pictures in their head? This is not fair!

So you have no dreams? Seeing pictures in your mind is like a dream, but while awake.

I hardly ever remember my dreams and when I do it’s more of a feeling and a memory or emotion of some stuff that happened.

Re: Not everyone has an internal monologue

#714

This is how I felt when I found out I have Aphantasia I was like WTF? All these people can make pictures in their head? This is not fair!

How does, erm, arousal work with no inner image?

Good question. It has to more ‘ideas’ based I guess!

Re: Not everyone has an internal monologue

#715

This topic (comments here, the OP, and comments in threads elsewhere) exposes some conflicting definitions of what an "internal monologue" is or means. - Some people describe hearing their internal monologue, which I take to mean something like: they have an internal monologue, and it manifests as a voice that only they hear. These people are analogous to those who see things they picture in their mind's eye . - Some…

For people who experience having an internal monologue: Suppose you see a bagel on the kitchen table in the morning and decide whether or not you're hungry enough to eat it. Does that process involve an internally experienced stream of words (whether "audible in your mind's ear" or not) like "I'm pretty hungry" or "I bet that bagel would taste good"? Is this what it would be mean to have an internal monologue? Becaus…

> Does that process involve an internally experienced stream of words (whether "audible in your mind's ear" or not) like "I'm pretty hungry" or "I bet that bagel would taste good"?

Yes. I can also do this:

> decide to eat a bagel without experiences any words.

...but I prefer to think consciously about my actions. Doing too many things without internally verbalizing the decision-making process makes me feel like a beetle.

Re: Not everyone has an internal monologue

#716
post #184

This is how I felt when I found out I have Aphantasia I was like WTF? All these people can make pictures in their head? This is not fair!

What do you associate with "Iron Man"? For mental-picture people images from the movies or the comics pop up. Via the movies "Captain America" is closely associated for example. The method of loci [0] exploits this somewhat. Do you rather associate sounds, music, smells instead? Is it purely abstract? [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Method_of_loci

I never even considered this might be what it’s like to have pictures in your head! I guess because I have no idea what that’s like. I have a lot of voice in my head. (Just my own!) and I talk to myself in my head a lot.

I should say that I do have a strong mental _something_ that is good for imagining connections between stuff. When I’m coding I can ‘see’ pretty much instantly how everything should be connected together. What the user agent and server and database and api etc will all do and what they’ll pass back and forth and store just comes into my head very effortlessly all connected together. So I think the visual bit of my brain is being used for that instead.

Re: Not everyone has an internal monologue

#718

This topic (comments here, the OP, and comments in threads elsewhere) exposes some conflicting definitions of what an "internal monologue" is or means. - Some people describe hearing their internal monologue, which I take to mean something like: they have an internal monologue, and it manifests as a voice that only they hear. These people are analogous to those who see things they picture in their mind's eye . - Some…

For people who experience having an internal monologue: Suppose you see a bagel on the kitchen table in the morning and decide whether or not you're hungry enough to eat it. Does that process involve an internally experienced stream of words (whether "audible in your mind's ear" or not) like "I'm pretty hungry" or "I bet that bagel would taste good"? Is this what it would be mean to have an internal monologue? Becaus…

I think it's more related with conflict situations. For example, imagine you are on a diet. Then after the first impulse of eating a bagel you think "but I started a diet a week ago" and then you justify yourself "a single bagel won't matter that much" which creates another thought "you said the same last time. You are going to regret it at the end of the month" and so on.

In fact, this internal monologue can be used in psychology when you are dealing with bad experiences by dividing your thoughts into an entity who suffers the pain and another one who is logical and supportive. For example, acting towards yourself the same way you would do for a friend.

Re: Not everyone has an internal monologue

#719
post #280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is it a bad thing for your brain to be running DFS all the time? Is it a wasteful use of time? Does it cause behavioral issues? Is it a personal choice? Or...?

For me personally it seems to make it impossible to get to sleep. Which makes me tired, and less resistant to rambling trains of thought. Repeat ad infinitum.

I don't usually have this issue, but when I do I find just focusing on breath, meditation style, helps. As soon as you notice yourself thinking, acknowledge the thought gently, and then let it go. At least for me (with a bit of practice) this can head off any thoughts before they can get started, and eventually allow things to quiet down.

Re: Not everyone has an internal monologue

#720

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would imagine the answer would be; the same way you would talk about the concepts out loud to someone else.

So how do you think about something that you can't describe to someone else? There are many things I can deeply understand, but turning that understanding into natural language takes considerable effort. Are people with internal monologues incapable of understanding things they can't verbalize? Or is it that their brain just instantly verbalizes thoughts after the thoughts have already been formed? The latter seems a…

Neither; having an internal monologue doesn't necessarily mean you're constantly using it for everything, much like having speech. Though I would say it's harder to prevent oneself from "monologuizing" too much (particularly in situation of anxiety, and such) than from speaking too much, hence the meditation techniques designed to help with that. But no, at least for me there's no automatic verbalization of all thoughts.
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