[TED-Ed] Is it normal to talk to yourself?

소링 - 소리 잉글리쉬

 

 

<Intro>

As your morning alarm blares, you mutter to yourself, "Why did I set it so early?!"

While brusing your teeth you think "I need a haircut, unless?"

Rushing out the front door, you reach for your keys and realize they are not there.

Frustrated, you shout "I can't do anything right!"

Just in time notice your neighbor.

 

<What is SelfTalk>

Being caught talking to yourself can feel embarrassing. And some people even stigmatize this behavior as a sign of a mental instability. 

But decades of psycology research show that talking to yourself is completely normal.

In fact, most, if not all of us, engage in some form of self-talk every single day. 

So, why do we talk to ourselves?

And does what we say matter? Self-talk refers to the narration inside your head, sometimes called inner speech. It differs from the mental imagery or recalling fact, figures.

 

Specifically, psycologist define self-talk as a verbalized thought, directed towards yourself or facet of your life. 

This includes personal conversations like "I need to work on my free throw." but it also includes reflections you have throughout the day like, "The gym is crowded tonight. I will come back tomorrow." 

and while most self-talk in adult tends to be silent, speaking to yourself out loud also falls into this category. 

 

<Early SelfTalk>

Infact, psycologists believe our first experiences with self-talk are mostly vocal. As children often speak to them out loud as they play. In the 1930s, a Russian psycologist Lev Vygotsky, hypothesized that this kind of speech was actually key to development. by repeating conversation they've had with adults, children practice managing behaviors and emotions on their own.

 

<Internal SelfTalk>

Then as they grow older this outward self-talk tends to become internalized. Morphing into a private inner dialogue. We know this internal self-talk is important and can help you plan work through difficult situations or even motivate you throughout the day. 

But, studying self-talk can be difficult. It relies on study subjects clearly tracking a behavior that spontaneous and often done without conscious control. 

For this reason, scientists are still working to answer basic questions like "Why do some people self-talk more than others?", "What areas of the brain are activated during self-talk", and "How does this activation differ from normal conversation" 

 

<Benefits of SelfTalk>

One thins we know for certain, however, is that what you say in these conversations can have real impact on your attitude and performance. Engaging in self-talk that's instructional or motivational has been shown to increase focus, boost self-esteem, and help tackle everyday tasks. 

For example, one study of collegiate tennis players found that incorporating instructional self-talk into practice increased their consentration and accuracy. And just as chatting to a friend can help decrease stress, speaking directly to yourself may also help you regulate your emotions.

 

<Distanced SelfTalk>

Distanced self-talk is when you talk to yourself as if in conversation with another person. So rather than "I am gonna crush this exam", you might think, "Caleb, you are prepared for this test." 

One study found that this kind of self-talk was especially beneficial for reducing stress when engaging anxiety, inducing tasks. Such as meeting new people, or public speeches. 

But where positive self-talk can help you, negative self-talk can harm you. 

Most people are critical of themselves, occasionally. But when this behavior gets too frequent or excessively negative, it can become toxic. High levels of negative self-talk are often predictive of anxiety of children and adults. And those who constantly blame themselves for their problems and ruminate on those situations typically experience more intense feelings of depression. 

 

Today, there's a field of psycological treatment called 'Cognitive Behavioral Therapy' or 'CBT', which is partially focused on regulating the tone of self-talk. Cognitive behavioral therapist often teach strategies to identify cycles of negative thoughts and replace them with a neutral and more compassionate reflections. Over time, these tools improve one's mental health. So the next time you find yourself chatting with yourself remember to be kind. That inner voice is a partner you'll be talking to many years to come.