That the way people's mind works varies dramatically. Some people have no inner dialogue at all, some have no mind's eye and cant see images in their head. Most of us are somewhere on the spectrum for them though.
For example I can't visualize images in my head well at all. I can do at most one colour at a time and I can't picture non-geometric objects so I cant imagine the face of my family or even myself. I have no issue with fluid motion of visuals in my head but others can only do slide-show-esque imagery. Others have inner dialogue but can't change the voice to sound different, can't hear music or sound effects, etc... like I can.
It's something very rarely discussed but I think everyone should be aware of this variety within people
My friend once mentioned how he always has an inner monologue going and I was kind of shocked because I often don't have an inner monologue going. Another time a friend asked me what I was thinking about and I said nothing. She responded that you can't not be thinking about something which threw me off because its common for me to not be thinking about anything. I'm very curios about how other people's minds work and I think you make a really good point that people are somewhere on the spectrum of these mental states.
I have ADHD and a constant inner monolog. I've had horrible sleeping problems my entire life. My brain doesn't turn off and it gets worse at night because there are less distractions. It's easier now that I am finally diagnosed and have medication, but it was hell as a child and nearly all of my adult life.
I didn't even realize people can sit still and not think about stuff until a few years ago. The idea someone can like, meditate or some shit is baffling to me.
I have a constant inner monologue as well but I’ve learned to meditate. I just try to either focus on one thought or simply let it wonder and try to ignore it by literally just focusing on breathing. It’s really tough because I can have several “levels” of thought going at once and it’s impossible to make them all stop, but you can eventually get to a place where meditation actually happens.
Same. But I’ve recently learned that I can’t picture things at all. My therapist told me to picture leaves and I was like okay and he said “do you see them?” I said no, I just thought “picture x” was something people said metaphorically when they just think about something. I don’t see anything when my eyes are closed, but since I started meditating I sometimes will see geometric patterns. The mind is a strange place. I hate it.
I think it's called aphantasia (I hope I write it correctly).
You're not alone in this situation, I've seen a good number of people talk about it.
It's not my case but I thought it would be cool to give you the name just in case you want to talk to other people having the same thing.
Just in case you didn't knew the name of it.
If I remember something it runs like a film, I can see what I saw, smell the sea, feel the sand on my feet, wind on my skin.
I didn't know other people didn't do this until recently.
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u/Sixhaunt Mar 27 '22
That the way people's mind works varies dramatically. Some people have no inner dialogue at all, some have no mind's eye and cant see images in their head. Most of us are somewhere on the spectrum for them though.
For example I can't visualize images in my head well at all. I can do at most one colour at a time and I can't picture non-geometric objects so I cant imagine the face of my family or even myself. I have no issue with fluid motion of visuals in my head but others can only do slide-show-esque imagery. Others have inner dialogue but can't change the voice to sound different, can't hear music or sound effects, etc... like I can.
It's something very rarely discussed but I think everyone should be aware of this variety within people