Relationships July 5, 2017
It can be a good or bad thing, depending on how often you do it.
We’ve all done it. It’s common, and it’s not all that strange — no matter what we think.
It can actually be a sign of intellect, which is great. However, it can also be a sign of serious issues, which isn’t that great.
Here, ENTITY is going to give you some information on why we talk to ourselves, and how to decipher when your mumbles to yourself have gone too far and you need to get some help.
We all do it every once in a while. We’re rushing out of the house, or just too overwhelmed and just start talking to ourselves under our breath. But what causes us to do this? There are four main reasons we do this, according to Smart Living Network:
1) Problem-solving: When we are trying to figure something out — like how to get somewhere, where we misplaced something or how the heck something happened, we may talk to ourselves. It can be about trivial things, but it can also be about complex issues.
2) Goal-setting: When we feel overwhelmed with life and the tasks we need to complete, we tend to talk to ourselves to keep sane and set out a plan of how to achieve things.
3) Expression: “When we’re watching a scary movie and the stupid actress hears a scary sound and decides to investigate, we may shout at her. When we spill a drink we might call ourselves or even the drink a name,” says Smart Living Network.
4) Practice: When we have to give an important presentation, or have a hard conversation, we may practice what we want to say to ourselves before we actually have to say it to others.
So you talk to yourself every once in a while? It’s no biggie, really. In fact, it could be a sign of intelligence. It can actually help your brain work more effectively, help you keep yourself in check and help you achieve your goals, according to Elite Daily.
Additionally, science is there to back this up. There are multiple studies on this, such as one conducted by Dr. Mari-Beffa. “In the small study, she asked 28 participants to either read a list of instructions silently or out loud to themselves and then complete the task described to them. While the participants worked on the task, she analyzed their concentration levels and and overall performance — and ultimately, she found that both were improved in those participants who had read the directions out loud,” reported Doctor Oz.
So even though you may think you sound “crazy” talking to yourself, you’re actually helping yourself out. So keep it up!
However, we need to be aware of how much we are talking to ourselves. Too much could be signs of mental health disorder. One of the most common mental health disorders where people talk to themselves is Schizophrenia.
“Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder in which people interpret reality abnormally. Schizophrenia may result in some combination of hallucinations, delusions and extremely disordered thinking and behavior that impairs daily functioning, and can be disabling,” according to Mayo Clinic.
Mental Health America has composed an article on different types of personality disorders that may deal with talking to yourself if you want more information.
So we’ve established that talking to yourself is okay, to a certain extent. But what if you are answering yourself? This is a little more iffy, but still seems to be acceptable in certain situations.
“The self-talk of many patients with emotional problems often takes the form of negative messages they have internalized from important figures in their lives, from Mom, Dad, teachers and well-meaning but misguided friends” reports Psychology Today. This can be treated with therapy sessions and will be solved over time.
However, this could also be a more serious mental illness. This again could be signs of Schizophrenia or other mental health disorders, and we recommend you seek professional help if you experience any of these symptoms.
Overall, we just need to be conscious about when we talk to ourselves. A little mumble to ourself every now and again isn’t necessarily a bad thing — it can actually help us be more productive.
But remember to be aware of how much you are talking to yourself, and if it seems to be getting out of hand, seek professional help.
If you want more information on mental health, read this ENTITY article on why mental health is still taboo. And if you or a loved one is struggling with a mental illness, visit the National Alliance on Mental Illness for help.
