People without an internal monologue say they 'just feel things' instead

04 November 2023 , 16:23

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Having an internal monologue seems quite common for the majority of us (Image: Getty Images)

Whether it is your favourite voice of authority scolding us for acting silly or our own voice telling us we should really get back to the gym – most of us have an internal monologue talking to us in our waking hours.

So it will probably come as a bit of surprise to the majority of us when someone claims they have no internal monologue whatsoever. However, a person on Reddit did exactly that and other users of the social media site were mostly sceptical about their revelation.

User Vadermaulkylo said: "Today, I told my mum that I have no internal monologue and she stared at me like I have three heads. Is having one common?" and added that that type of thinking was actually imaginary and simply used as a narrative device in the TV show Dexter.

Those who don't have an internal monologue seem fairly uncommon (Getty Images/Image Source)

The commenters on their post were fairly rough with their replies, with many saying the Redditor was as a non-playable character, but others told of their own experiences of an internal monologue and some also claimed they did not have one. One person said: "Wait, so do you never have an internal monologue? Like for example when you were writing this post were you not saying in your mind what you wanted to write and maybe mulling over it a bit in your head like 'no, no, I should phrase it this way,' Etc?"

And another said: "I have to say, as someone with a noisy internal monologue, the idea of being able to zone out with nothing going on in your head neither visualisation (which can be interesting, and is definitely the easiest way for me to semi-successfully meditate), nor constant thoughts or a song playing (or all of those together) sounds like a super power. I can sometimes do that for a second or so, but getting my brain to just stop often seems impossible."

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But others said they were in the same position as Vadermaulkylo with one poster claiming: "This is a great way to put it. I don't have a inner monologue either. Any time I have to communicate outside my head with words, I have to 'translate' what I'm thinking. That takes time and effort. It's why I vastly prefer written communication over verbal, since you can take more time than the instant response a verbal conversation requires."

And one Redditor said they had only just discovered that other people can see and visualise things, adding: "It blew my mind that day-dreaming is an actual thing, and not just zoning out and staring into nothingness with nothing going on in your head. To me, the idea that you can picture and visualise things sounds like a super power."

Paul Donald