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People who have unusual, or non-existent, inner voices

theguardian.com

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Re: People who have unusual, or non-existent, inner voices

#161

Post by thepra »

I don't know you guys but I think I have a little bit of everything going on: 1) I can think with my voice 2) I can think with other sounds such as anothers person voice(ex. Donald Trump or Barack Obama) with some effort 3) I can see images or full blown videos or memories or made up ones as if I can hijack my eyes and can override with what I want, both when closed eyes or open(the later is less done because of safety concerns ;)) 4) And lastly there are times when some kind of solution or answer comes out without even thinking, like in total silent head

Am I alone here?

Re: People who have unusual, or non-existent, inner voices

#163

Post by stavros »

patrickdavey wrote: post #139
josephg wrote: post #15

I started doing improv comedy classes a few years ago. It’s terrifying. My friends would share stories of what their inner critics were saying about their performances. “You were rubbish and everyone was knows it!”. It was weird for me - my mind doesn’t have a voice like that. “Hah maybe I don’t have an inner critic” I thought. But I still felt crippling shame after bad scenes in class. In quiet moments my mind is fu…

My partner is one of the most optimistic and positive people I have ever met. One day we discussed negative self talk, and she was like "nope, don't have that", as I was trying to explain the negative self talk. Then she was like "oohhhhh, you mean my brainstorm partner!!!!". Floored me. She just _doesn't_ do negative self talk, instead it's a collaborative problem solving approach. Amazing.

I'm the same way, in that I don't have negative self talk (or an inner voice). I just don't generally stress about what others think of me. I try to improve myself when I can and do the best I can, and think it's entirely pointless to worry about it if you're doing your best (because there's nothing else you can do).

Re: People who have unusual, or non-existent, inner voices

#164

Post by stavros »

Jensson wrote: post #122
josephg wrote: post #15

I started doing improv comedy classes a few years ago. It’s terrifying. My friends would share stories of what their inner critics were saying about their performances. “You were rubbish and everyone was knows it!”. It was weird for me - my mind doesn’t have a voice like that. “Hah maybe I don’t have an inner critic” I thought. But I still felt crippling shame after bad scenes in class. In quiet moments my mind is fu…

Yeah, I don't really understand how people can have an inner voice. I vocalize text when I read, but it isn't like there is a voice in my head saying "I shall now go to the store", rather I just imagine myself going to the store or taking a shower etc, there is no voice I use to reason about problems etc. It would be so strange to talk to myself rather than just imagine the situations, why would you do that? And then…

The voice doesn't think, the voice just narrates the thought. It's optional filler.

Re: People who have unusual, or non-existent, inner voices

#165

Post by csomar »

meowface wrote: post #39
kzrdude wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Aphantasia: Is there a simple test or procedure we can use to make it easier to decide to what degree we have this or not? It just seems like a topic where expectations can differ a lot. Since it's hard to clearly explain what visualizing feels like and doesn't. Some people might even be very normal and yet disappointed and think they are missing something. I don't think my mind's eye is particularly strong for examp…

There are some spatial intelligence tests that essentially require mentally rotating and flipping 3D objects in your mind's eye. That could maybe be one way. Can't speak to the quality of this test, but here's one that might apply: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/tests/iq/visual-spatial-i...

That's not a free test and you are informed of that only after you pass. That's too predatory for me that I don't really care how accurate their tests are.

Re: People who have unusual, or non-existent, inner voices

#166

Post by thepra »

playpause wrote: post #38

How do we know we are all talking about the same thing? Sometimes my thoughts feel very ‘verbal’, lots of words, and other times I can think through complex things without any words entering my conscious mind at all. And there’s a full continuum between those extremes. Usually it’s somewhere in the middle, and it’s hard to say if I am thinking with an ‘inner voice’ or not. Do others really experience just one extreme…

Yep, I am a mixed bag as you.

Re: People who have unusual, or non-existent, inner voices

#167

Post by stavros »

thepra wrote: post #161

I don't know you guys but I think I have a little bit of everything going on: 1) I can think with my voice 2) I can think with other sounds such as anothers person voice(ex. Donald Trump or Barack Obama) with some effort 3) I can see images or full blown videos or memories or made up ones as if I can hijack my eyes and can override with what I want, both when closed eyes or open(the later is less done because of safe…

I can more or less do all these things too, but I generally don't. I don't think with an inner voice, even though I can, because it's much slower than millisecond-thoughts.

Re: People who have unusual, or non-existent, inner voices

#168

Post by stavros »

antman wrote: post #148

I never heard of inner voices, or have discussed such a thing with other people. Is that a cultural thing? I am totally surprised I thought it was a literal construct when I saw it in the movies etc Anyway I had read that when you “vocalize” inside your head during e.g. reading you severely slow down. Isn’t that the same with any kind of thinking? Brain works with abstractions won’t involving your “voice” functions f…

I agree, if I sometimes vocalize, it takes much longer to go from one thought to the next. The thought itself takes very little time, but the vocalization takes a while, and then delays the next thought.

I've found that sometimes I'll vocalize a thought, and in the middle of it think "why am I vocalizing? I've already thought the entire thought" and just stop vocalizing altogether.

Re: People who have unusual, or non-existent, inner voices

#169

Post by thepra »

stavros wrote: post #167
thepra wrote: post #161

I don't know you guys but I think I have a little bit of everything going on: 1) I can think with my voice 2) I can think with other sounds such as anothers person voice(ex. Donald Trump or Barack Obama) with some effort 3) I can see images or full blown videos or memories or made up ones as if I can hijack my eyes and can override with what I want, both when closed eyes or open(the later is less done because of safe…

I can more or less do all these things too, but I generally don't. I don't think with an inner voice, even though I can, because it's much slower than millisecond-thoughts.

I agree, I don't use inner voice all the time
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