As your morning alarm blares, you mutter to yourself, “Why did I set it so early?” While brushing your teeth, you think, “I need a haircut... unless?” Rushing out the front door, you reach for your keys and realize they’re not there. Frustrated you shout, “I can’t do anything right!” just in time to notice your neighbor.
Soa a alarma pola mañá e murmuras para ti mesmo: «Para que a puxen tan cedo?» Estás a cepilla-los dentes e pensas: «Debería corta-lo pelo... Non?» Saes correndo pola porta, vas colle-las chaves e resulta que non as colliches. Acabas berrando da frustración: «Todo o fago mal!» e xusto ves o veciño.
Being caught talking to yourself can feel embarrassing, and some people even stigmatize this behavior as a sign of mental instability. But decades of psychology 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?
Pode dar vergoña que te vexan falando só e mesmo hai xente que cre que é mostra de problemas mentais. Décadas de estudos psicolóxicos demostran que falar cun mesmo é totalmente normal. De feito, todo o mundo ou case todo fala consigo mesmo tódolos días. Pero por que falamos con nós mesmos? Importa o que digamos?
Self-talk refers to the narration inside your head, sometimes called inner speech. It differs from mental imagery or recalling facts and figures. Specifically, psychologists define self-talk as verbalized thoughts directed toward yourself or some 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’ll come back tomorrow.” And while most self-talk in adults tends to be silent, speaking to yourself out loud also falls into this category.
O diálogo interno é a narración que hai na túa cabeza, tamén chamada discurso interior. Non é o mesmo que as imaxes mentais ou recordar feitos ou cifras. Os psicólogos definen o diálogo interno coma pensamentos dirixidos a un mesmo ou a algún aspecto da vida propia. Inclúe conversacións persoais coma: «Teño que practica-lo meu tiro libre», pero tamén reflexións que ocorren durante o día, coma: «O ximnasio está a rebentar, mellor volvo mañá». Este diálogo interno adoita ser silencioso en adultos, pero falar en alto cun mesmo tamén entra nesta categoría.
In fact, psychologists believe our first experiences with self-talk are mostly vocal, as children often speak to themselves out loud as they play. In the 1930s, Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky hypothesized that this kind of speech was actually key to development. By repeating conversations they’ve had with adults, children practice managing their behaviors and emotions on their own. Then, as they grow older, this outward self-talk tends to become internalized, morphing into a private inner dialogue.
Os psicólogos cren que as nosas primeiras experiencias co diálogo interno son vocais, xa que os nenos adoitan falar en voz alta consigo mesmos ó xogar. Na década dos 30, o psicólogo ruso Lev Vigotski formulou a hipótese de que este diálogo era esencial para o crecemento. Coa repetición das conversacións que tiveron con adultos, as crianzas practican a xestión dos seus comportamentos e emocións. Así, ó crecer, este diálogo externo adoita volverse interno e convértese nun discurso privado.
We know this internal self-talk is important, and can help you plan, work through difficult situations, and even motivate you throughout the day. But studying self-talk can be difficult. It relies on study subjects clearly tracking a behavior that’s 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? One thing we know for certain, however, is that what you say in these conversations can have real impacts on your attitude and performance.
Sabemos que este diálogo interno é importante e pode axudar a planificar e superar situacións difíciles, ou mesmo motivarte durante o día, pero o estudo do diálogo interno é difícil. Necesita que os suxeitos do estudo fagan o seguimento dun comportamento que é espontáneo, que se fai sen pensar. Debido a isto, os científicos aínda traballan as cuestións básicas: Por que hai xente que fala máis consigo mesma ca outra? Que áreas do cerebro se activan durante o diálogo interno? En que se diferencia esa activación coa dunha conversación normal? Hai algo que sabemos seguro, que o que digas nestas conversacións pode ter un impacto real na túa actitude e rendemento.
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 concentration and accuracy.
Está demostrado que un diálogo interno instrutivo ou motivador aumenta a autoestima e a capacidade de atención, ademais de axudar coas tarefas diarias. Por exemplo, un estudo con xogadores de tenis universitarios descubriu que un diálogo interno instrutivo durante os adestramentos melloraba a súa concentración e precisión.
And just as chatting to a friend can help decrease stress, speaking directly to yourself may also help you regulate your emotions. Distanced self-talk is when you talk to yourself, as if in conversation with another person. So, rather than “I’m going to 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 in anxiety-inducing tasks, such as meeting new people or public speaking.
Igual que falar cun amigo axuda a que te relaxes, falar contigo mesmo pode axudar á xestión das túas emocións. Un diálogo interno distanciado é falar cun mesmo, mais coma se falases con outra persoa. Por exemplo, no canto de dicir: «neste exame vou arrasar», podes pensar: «Caleb, levas xenial o exame!» Un estudo descubriu que este diálogo interno é beneficioso para reduci-lo estrés ó afrontar tarefas angustiosas, coma coñecer xente nova ou falar en público.
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 in children and adults. And those who constantly blame themselves for their problems and ruminate on those situations typically experience more intense feelings of depression.
Pero igual que un diálogo positivo axuda, un negativo pode facer moito dano. A xente adoita ter momentos críticos de cando en vez, pero cando se converten nun comportamento continuado ou demasiado negativo, vólvese prexudicial. Un diálogo interno negativo adoita ser síntoma de ansiedade tanto en nenos coma en adultos. Aqueles que se botan as culpas por tódolos seus problemas e rumian esas situacións adoitan ter sentimentos depresivos moito máis pronunciados.
Today, there’s a field of psychological treatment called cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, which is partially focused on regulating the tone of self-talk. Cognitive behavioral therapists often teach strategies to identify cycles of negative thoughts and replace them with neutral or more compassionate reflections. Over time, these tools can improve one's mental health.
Hoxe en día, hai un ámbito do tratamento psicolóxico chamado terapia cognitivo-condutual, que se centra, en parte, na regulación do ton do diálogo interno. Os terapeutas cognitivo-condutuais ensinan estratexias para identificar os ciclos de pensamentos negativos e substituílos con reflexións neutras ou máis compasivas. Co paso do tempo, estas ferramentas poden axudar á mellora da saúde mental.
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 for many years to come.
Para a próxima que te caches falando contigo mesmo, non te esquezas de ser bo. Esa voz interna acompañarate durante o resto da túa vida.