Is it normal to talk to yourself? — Transcript

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1. 0:07As your morning alarm blares, you mutter to yourself,
2. 0:10“Why did I set it so early?”
3. 0:13While brushing your teeth, you think,
4. 0:15“I need a haircut... unless?”
5. 0:18Rushing out the front door, you reach for your keys
6. 0:21and realize they’re not there.
7. 0:23Frustrated you shout, “I can’t do anything right!”
8. 0:28just in time to notice your neighbor.
9. 0:30Being caught talking to yourself can feel embarrassing,
10. 0:34and some people even stigmatize this behavior as a sign of mental instability.
11. 0:39But decades of psychology research show that talking to yourself
12. 0:43is completely normal.
13. 0:45In fact, most, if not all, of us engage in some form of self-talk
14. 0:50every single day.
15. 0:52So why do we talk to ourselves?
16. 0:55And does what we say matter?
17. 0:58Self-talk refers to the narration inside your head,
18. 1:01sometimes called inner speech.
19. 1:04It differs from mental imagery or recalling facts and figures.
20. 1:08Specifically, psychologists define self-talk
21. 1:11as verbalized thoughts directed toward yourself or some facet of your life.
22. 1:17This includes personal conversations like “I need to work on my free throw.”
23. 1:21But it also includes reflections you have throughout the day,
24. 1:24like “The gym is crowded tonight. I’ll come back tomorrow.”
25. 1:28And while most self-talk in adults tends to be silent,
26. 1:31speaking to yourself out loud also falls into this category.
27. 1:35In fact, psychologists believe our first experiences with self-talk
28. 1:40are mostly vocal,
29. 1:41as children often speak to themselves out loud as they play.
30. 1:45In the 1930s, Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky hypothesized
31. 1:49that this kind of speech was actually key to development.
32. 1:53By repeating conversations they’ve had with adults,
33. 1:55children practice managing their behaviors and emotions on their own.
34. 2:01Then, as they grow older, this outward self-talk tends to become internalized,
35. 2:06morphing into a private inner dialogue.
36. 2:09We know this internal self-talk is important,
37. 2:12and can help you plan, work through difficult situations,
38. 2:14and even motivate you throughout the day.
39. 2:17But studying self-talk can be difficult.
40. 2:20It relies on study subjects clearly tracking a behavior that’s spontaneous
41. 2:25and often done without conscious control.
42. 2:27For this reason, scientists are still working to answer basic questions,
43. 2:31like, why do some people self-talk more than others?
44. 2:34What areas of the brain are activated during self-talk?
45. 2:38And how does this activation differ from normal conversation?
46. 2:42One thing we know for certain, however,
47. 2:45is that what you say in these conversations can have real impacts
48. 2:50on your attitude and performance.
49. 2:53Engaging in self-talk that’s instructional or motivational
50. 2:56has been shown to increase focus, boost self-esteem,
51. 3:00and help tackle everyday tasks.
52. 3:03For example, one study of collegiate tennis players
53. 3:07found that incorporating instructional self-talk into practice
54. 3:11increased their concentration and accuracy.
55. 3:15And just as chatting to a friend can help decrease stress,
56. 3:18speaking directly to yourself may also help you regulate your emotions.
57. 3:24Distanced self-talk is when you talk to yourself,
58. 3:28as if in conversation with another person.
59. 3:30So, rather than “I’m going to crush this exam,”
60. 3:34you might think, “Caleb, you are prepared for this test!”
61. 3:38One study found that this kind of self-talk was especially beneficial
62. 3:42for reducing stress when engaging in anxiety-inducing tasks,
63. 3:47such as meeting new people or public speaking.
64. 3:50But where positive self-talk can help you, negative self-talk can harm you.
65. 3:55Most people are critical of themselves occasionally,
66. 3:59but when this behavior gets too frequent or excessively negative,
67. 4:02it can become toxic.
68. 4:04High levels of negative self-talk are often predictive
69. 4:08of anxiety in children and adults.
70. 4:10And those who constantly blame themselves for their problems
71. 4:13and ruminate on those situations
72. 4:15typically experience more intense feelings of depression.
73. 4:20Today, there’s a field of psychological treatment
74. 4:22called cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT,
75. 4:27which is partially focused on regulating the tone of self-talk.
76. 4:31Cognitive behavioral therapists often teach strategies
77. 4:35to identify cycles of negative thoughts
78. 4:37and replace them with neutral or more compassionate reflections.
79. 4:42Over time, these tools can improve one's mental health.
80. 4:47So the next time you find yourself chatting with yourself,
81. 4:51remember to be kind.
82. 4:53That inner voice is a partner you’ll be talking to for many years to come.