The voices.....or lack of, in your head.

Coopaloop

So I just watched a video on lad bible (I know) and it was an interview this student did of his classmates and some of them didn't hear voices in their head! As in, when they read they don't hear their own voice, the words are just filed away in their brain.
They also didn't hear internal monologue, plan things etc....
This has blown my mind, I actually cant get my head around it.
So my question is, do you have a voice in your head or not?

https://www.facebook.com/199098633470668/posts/6614124338634700/

ILoveYourVibes

I have many also a lot of noises and music. I played music for a long time .....so...

I am also slightly synesthesic ...for music the days of the week numbers etc i see colours ...the days of the week are a weird shape too in a holder (yeah i know that sounds mad) ...an odd tie the tone of someone's voice will do it too ..only its not consistent so it could be imagination..

corminators

Mine sounds like Michael Caine.

Not a lot of people know that.

Pops_20

ILoveYourVibes wrote: »

I am also slightly synesthesic ...for music the days of the week numbers etc i see colours ...the days of the week are a weird shape too in a holder (yeah i know that sounds mad) ...

Slightly unrelated to the OP, but when I am visualizing numbers, I see 1-12 in a circle, exactly like a clock face, and then 13 onward is trailing off to infinity in a straight line to the left.

MastiffMrs

Coopaloop wrote: »

So I just watched a video on lad bible (I know) and it was an interview this student did of his classmates and some of them didn't hear voices in their head! As in, when they read they don't hear their own voice, the words are just filed away in their brain.
They also didn't hear internal monologue, plan things etc....
This has blown my mind, I actually cant get my head around it.
So my question is, do you have a voice in your head or not?

https://www.facebook.com/199098633470668/posts/6614124338634700/

Do these people have a vacant look in their eyes?!! I always have my voice in my head, as you say, making plans, making decisions, etc.

If they're students it might make sense as they're so obsessed with social media and what others are doing, they're not thinking for themselves and have less of an internal guide than others. I've noticed that a lot of people who are just out of college don't have much of an opinion of their own. They spout what someone else has said or done.

Coopaloop

MastiffMrs wrote: »

Do these people have a vacant look in their eyes?!! I always have my voice in my head, as you say, making plans, making decisions, etc.

If they're students it might make sense as they're so obsessed with social media and what others are doing, they're not thinking for themselves and have less of an internal guide than others. I've noticed that a lot of people who are just out of college don't have much of an opinion of their own. They spout what someone else has said or done.

They were students, but the girl in the video seemed quite intelligent and logical. The guy interviewing her was fully able to hear internal voices.

I do see where you are coming from tho, I see it with new staff fresh out of school/college, you honestly have to give most of them a step by step breakdown of the day, there doesn't seem to be any 'think for yourself' with most of them. It does eventually come.

Andrew33

Pops_20 wrote: »

Slightly unrelated to the OP, but when I am visualizing numbers, I see 1-12 in a circle, exactly like a clock face, and then 13 onward is trailing off to infinity in a straight line to the left.

To the left? Anti clockwise?

corner of hells

Coopaloop wrote: »

So I just watched a video on lad bible (I know) and it was an interview this student did of his classmates and some of them didn't hear voices in their head! As in, when they read they don't hear their own voice, the words are just filed away in their brain.
They also didn't hear internal monologue, plan things etc....
This has blown my mind, I actually cant get my head around it.
So my question is, do you have a voice in your head or not?

https://www.facebook.com/199098633470668/posts/6614124338634700/

I can hear the colour four and the number green .

Stateofyou

I have a constant internal dialogue going on in my head. When I read it's my own voice I "hear" in my brain and I can imagine the scenes of what I'm reading. I just said 1-10 and a few ABC's and I was picturing the numbers/letters. Interesting!

Nope. No voice in my head. Everything just comes to me without really thinking about it. I acquire knowledge, and when I need it, it becomes available. I might talk to myself a little when making a serious decision, but typically, that takes only a few seconds... and then I'll do it out on paper to make sure I'm seeing all the angles.

I have done personal development work though on improving my memory with mind maps, memory palaces, etc.

But yes, there's no internal dialogue going on for me.

Andrew33

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Nope. No voice in my head. there's no internal dialogue going on for me.

What a lonely world you live in :-)

duvetdayss

I read recently that there are two types of people: people with an internal dialogue who "hear" a voice in their mind and people who think visually, picturing words, colours, concepts. I'm definitely more speech-oriented, I'm not sure what the divide is. It's interesting to think that people carry on, unaware that the other type of thinking exists.

KathleenGrant

All the time, I discuss things with myself, argue with myself, try and work out my problems in my head, all with voices. When I really get thick with myself over something I have a different tone of voice for the argument.
I hear music all the time too and rhythms, drumming sounds.
I'm so weird.....:(

Andrew33

Andrew33 wrote: »

What a lonely world you live in :-)

I don't live inside my own head... got past that during my teenage years.

duvetdayss

duvetdayss wrote: »

I read recently that there are two types of people: people with an internal dialogue who "hear" a voice in their mind and people who think visually, picturing words, colours, concepts. I'm definitely more speech-oriented, I'm not sure what the divide is. It's interesting to think that people carry on, unaware that the other type of thinking exists.

There are many "types" of people. Psychology likes to box individuals into categories, but the truth is that most people have their own unique internal processes.

Coopaloop

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Nope. No voice in my head. Everything just comes to me without really thinking about it. I acquire knowledge, and when I need it, it becomes available. I might talk to myself a little when making a serious decision, but typically, that takes only a few seconds... and then I'll do it out on paper to make sure I'm seeing all the angles.

I have done personal development work though on improving my memory with mind maps, memory palaces, etc.

But yes, there's no internal dialogue going on for me.

Wow, that's so interesting. That's exactly how the girl in the video explained it, and that she sometimes talks to herself.

Just wondering if you noticed that difference or when did you realise that about yourself?

I feel 'different' isnt the right word to use there, as it's obviously not different, just something I never came across before. For all I know it could be entirely common....

Coopaloop

Coopaloop wrote: »

Wow, that's so interesting. That's exactly how the girl in the video explained it, and that she sometimes talks to herself.

I never really talk to myself because there's no answering voice, as such. It's a vacuum. I will emphasize the words I want to say or the thoughts I intentionally want to process in my mind, but there's no conversation. It's simply firing them into the void and deciding whether the form is right.

Just wondering if you noticed that difference or when did you realise that about yourself?

I'm a stoner, and stoners ramble a lot in conversations. I noticed the difference when I was a teenager, although it was something that adults talked about before that. Still, when you're a kid, adults have all kinds of boring conversations, so it was easy to ignore.

I feel 'different' isnt the right word to use there, as it's obviously not different, just something I never came across before. For all I know it could be entirely common....

Ahh well, I have a shaking disorder, so feeling different is something I've had since I was 13... My mind being different was something I picked up when I was in primary school. The way that my mind recognized patterns of logic, and the better ways for me to learn/memorize were different to the majority of classmates (or what teachers told me).

My parents are teachers, so it was something that was identified and worked around from a relatively early age. My mother was a special needs teacher, so she knew that the problems I had learning from the traditional system wasn't due to intelligence or any similar inability, but rather a different way to process information. I tend to be more instinctual in my thinking than other people, with less need to have a definite process to follow.

ILoveYourVibes

Pops_20 wrote: »

Slightly unrelated to the OP, but when I am visualizing numbers, I see 1-12 in a circle, exactly like a clock face, and then 13 onward is trailing off to infinity in a straight line to the left.

I see the days of the week ...as transparent rectangles with one corner cut off ..all incased in something that looks like a cd holder.

Sunday is light Yellow. Monday is a darker Yellow ...Tuesday is a disgusting orange colour.Wed is light purple ...thurs is a more blue purple. Friday is a dark blue. Sat is a light blue.

I've always had this experience with days of the week. Never seen anything like this object /objects in real life.

Music is harder to describe it almost always fluid ..but the higher you go in tone ..the whiter it gets ...

Numbers have no shape ..i just see colour. For example with 6 i see black ...7 i see yellow ...5 i see blue and 8 i see orange.

My friend is a neuroscientist ...and he has it but just for some words. He is able to explain why it happens.

Some people have smells etc.

I had a seizure and for a while ...sounds went weird like a few hrs after my seizure then it went back to normal.

Gynoid

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I never really talk to myself because there's no answering voice, as such. It's a vacuum. I will emphasize the words I want to say or the thoughts I intentionally want to process in my mind, but there's no conversation. It's simply firing them into the void and deciding whether the form is right.



I'm a stoner, and stoners ramble a lot in conversations. I noticed the difference when I was a teenager, although it was something that adults talked about before that. Still, when you're a kid, adults have all kinds of boring conversations, so it was easy to ignore.



Ahh well, I have a shaking disorder, so feeling different is something I've had since I was 13... My mind being different was something I picked up when I was in primary school. The way that my mind recognized patterns of logic, and the better ways for me to learn/memorize were different to the majority of classmates (or what teachers told me).

My parents are teachers, so it was something that was identified and worked around from a relatively early age. My mother was a special needs teacher, so she knew that the problems I had learning from the traditional system wasn't due to intelligence or any similar inability, but rather a different way to process information. I tend to be more instinctual in my thinking than other people, with less need to have a definite process to follow.

If you sit, close your eyes, concentrate on the experience of simply sitting and awareness of breathing, will it go on indefinitely that there are zero fluctuations in this inner mental void?

ILoveYourVibes

Gynoid wrote: »

If you sit, close your eyes, concentrate on the experience of simply sitting and awareness of breathing, will it go on indefinitely that there are zero fluctuations in this inner mental void?

For some people ..there are way less maybe none.

Its actually tough it can be over stimulating ...

I heard somewhere that extroverts need distraction ..they have quiet heads.

Whereas introverts ...have noisy heads ...and are over stimulated so they need more space and quiet.

It can make it hard to sleep.

Gynoid

Gynoid wrote: »

If you sit, close your eyes, concentrate on the experience of simply sitting and awareness of breathing, will it go on indefinitely that there are zero fluctuations in this inner mental void?

Not really. I've done various forms of meditation for years (to reduce my shakes). Thoughts, concepts, images do float across my consciousness, although they're without form or weight.

But yes, I can zone out my mind pretty well these days. When I was younger, it was harder. Not due to voices, but rather due to emotions. I'd get.. not panic attacks as such, but waves of strong emotions (anger, hate, fear, anxiety) when I was meditating that were usually connected to experiences I'd had recently. It's one of the reasons I've spent so much time working of emotional/state balance.

But I would imagine that fluctuations exist for everyone simply because being alive introduces distractions within our own states. The mind adapts.

Gynoid

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Not really. I've done various forms of meditation for years (to reduce my shakes). Thoughts, concepts, images do float across my consciousness, although they're without form or weight.

But yes, I can zone out my mind pretty well these days. When I was younger, it was harder. Not due to voices, but rather due to emotions. I'd get.. not panic attacks as such, but waves of strong emotions (anger, hate, fear, anxiety) when I was meditating that were usually connected to experiences I'd had recently. It's one of the reasons I've spent so much time working of emotional/state balance.

But I would imagine that fluctuations exist for everyone simply because being alive introduces distractions within our own states. The mind adapts.

Even without weight or form they are still mental oscillations. Some people call everything that happens inside their head "thoughts" and may categorise them as voices, but states of emotion, kinetic perception, instinct, feelings, etc., they are also different varieties of mind modifications, and would thus fall in the same broad category. What I am saying really is that it would be very rare to have a state of no mental activity. Perhaps impossible . Just different types occur.
Nothing wrong with it. Unless one can never experience detached observation of it.
Stoners often do not dream. Perhaps they do not experience as much mental oscillation when awake either. I know I did not in the long ago when I was one. More of a floating vagueness. More instinctual stuff, more detachment, more serenity but more illusion. Stoners often experience intense dreaming cycles if they take a break, as if the inner mental fluctuations were temporarily suppressed by the ganja. I think dreaming is beneficial.

Gynoid

Gynoid wrote: »

Even without weight or form they are still mental oscillations. Some people call everything that happens inside their head "thoughts" and may categorise them as voices, but states of emotion, kinetic perception, instinct, feelings, etc., they are also different varieties of mind modifications, and would thus fall in the same broad category. What I am saying really is that it would be very rare to have a state of no mental activity. Perhaps impossible . Just different types occur.

However, I didn't say that there was no mental activity. I'm always thinking. I said, for me, that there was no internal dialogue. That there is more of a focus on instinct, rather than following a process.

Stoners often do not dream.

I do. I've always had very vivid dreams (during my time as a smoker, or when I'm not smoking). I also used to sleep walk, and i do talk in my sleep, even holding conversations with other people (real people who speak to me while I'm asleep) in languages I never learned. I suspect sleeping brings me closer to the point where hypnosis kicks in.

Perhaps they do not experience as much mental oscillation when awake either. I know I did not in the long ago when I was one. More of a floating vagueness. More instinctual stuff, more detachment, more serenity but more illusion. Stoners often experience intense dreaming cycles if they take a break, as if the inner mental fluctuations were temporarily suppressed by the ganja. I think dreaming is beneficial.

No idea. Honestly, it's not something that we (my friends) tend to discuss... but I'd suggest that everyone dreams, it's just that their recollection is faulty. It takes work to remember dreams properly. Few people bother keeping a dream journal, or meditating to trace dream memories to expand the previous memory.

Gynoid

[Deleted User] wrote: »

. It takes work to remember dreams properly. Few people bother keeping a dream journal, or meditating to trace dream memories to expand the previous memory.

I don't keep dream diaries as I am essentially lazy. But upon recall on waking I often trace the dream elements to their sources in real life from the previous few days, eg unexpressed emotions, nubs of undeveloped thoughts, glimpses caught in passing of imagery from which the mind then builds the dreams. It is interesting to see the brains poetic and creative editing powers as it has built the movies from supplied clips. Some but very rare dreams are different.

Gynoid

Gynoid wrote: »

I don't keep dream diaries as I am essentially lazy. But upon recall on waking I often trace the dream elements to their sources in real life from the previous few days, eg unexpressed emotions, nubs of undeveloped thoughts, glimpses caught in passing of imagery from which the mind then builds the dreams. It is interesting to see the brains poetic and creative editing powers as it has built the movies from supplied clips. Some but very rare dreams are different.

I played around with dream diaries about two decades ago, and find I can still remember most of my dreams because of that work done previously.

I see it as laying down pathways for the process, and then forgetting about it all... but the results are still being received.

Capt'n Midnight

corminators wrote: »

Mine sounds like Michael Caine.

Not a lot of people know that.

I'd blame my cocaine.

Capt'n Midnight

"I hear strange voices in my head too.

But I've learnt to ignore them and carry on killing."

The Tetrarch

This is what I hear

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXx0pWpszKg

auspicious

No voice thankfully. Though if I'm reading I hear the words.

I had a voice in my head when I was in my early twenties for about 2 months and it was bad. I couldn't shut it out and everything it said was about myself and negative. I went to doctor and he prescribed a 6 week course of antidepressants. Right as rain ever since but I'll never forget it. NEVER hesitate to ask for help.

I can't visualise moving images...I think...

Randle P. McMurphy

Are people saying they hear an actual audible voice when they read or think about something. How could you process thoughts and ideas adequately if you have to do it at the same pace as someones speech. What about internal thoughts, do people hear those thoughts as a voice too. Seriously?

auspicious

auspicious wrote: »

No voice thankfully. Though if I'm reading I hear the words.

Ah this isn't quite right. What I'm describing is probably the brain processing the word and understanding, not quite 'hearing'.

Widdershins

duvetdayss wrote: »

I read recently that there are two types of people: people with an internal dialogue who "hear" a voice in their mind and people who think visually, picturing words, colours, concepts. I'm definitely more speech-oriented, I'm not sure what the divide is. It's interesting to think that people carry on, unaware that the other type of thinking exists.

Interesting. Im in the latter group. Posts before yours sort of give the impression you're an inner talker or theres nothing going on at all. I need to visualise things in detail, I sometimes stop people to ask for furtber description of something or to confirm whether my mental imagery is accurate. Like the OP with their own thinking process, I didn't realise not everyone did this all along.

I dont absorb dry facts at all. Historical names and dates to memorise at school, just wouldn't go in. I can find items/images/words in a picture or list in a second or two, and spot behaviour patterns and inconsistencies in a story. I've watched people systematically look down and across, to find something in a picture or list..its almost painful to watch until they find whatever it is. Its very hard to think about how you think!

Randle P. McMurphy

Randle P. McMurphy wrote: »

Are people saying they hear an actual audible voice when they read or think about something.

This is the main problem with the subject I think - how we describe it. The internal monologue most of us have is one I am not sure can be really described as "hearing" a voice - but it is the description we use all the same.

So while I suspect there are people who this monologue - I think if anyone actually studied it they would have to be _really_ careful how they phrase the questions. We risk thinking people do not have it when in fact they just to not recognize the description.

Analogous to the "Blind Spot" - most people do not know they have it. Even if you tell people they have it - most will never see it. I have seen people refuse to believe there is one even.

Perhaps they are so accustomed to it that they simply are not even aware it is there even when you name it. Like that old joke where the old fish asks the kids "Hows the water for you today" and the kids ask "what's water?".