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.
朝頭早鬧鐘嚮嘅時候 你會問自己 「點解要 set 到咁早噃?」 當擦緊牙你會諗: 「我要剪一吓頭髮…… 除非?」 衝出門口 你喺到摷鎖匙 然之後發覺唔喺度 激到你噉嗌:「我咩都做唔啱!」 啱啱發現你鄰居喺隔離
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?
被人睇到自己同自己講嘢係好醜 仲有人將呢啲嘢生安白造 話係精神唔正常喎﹗ 但係幾十年嘅心理學研究話 自己同自己講嘢 係好正常 事實上每日唔係所有 都大多數人用唔同嘅方式 嚟進行自我對話 噉點解我哋會自言自語嘅呢? 仲有我哋所講嘅嘢 係重唔重要㗎?
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.
自我對話指嘅係 你腦入邊嘅旁白 有時亦講話係內在嘅言語 與想像或者回憶嘅 事實同人物有唔同 準確啲嚟講,心理學家 將自我對話解釋為 將啲個人或者生活某方面諗法語言化 包括好似個人對話: 「要畀啲心機鍛鍊自由球。」 亦都包括整日會有嘅自我反省 好似「今晚做gym好擠迫 都係聽日先返嚟做啦。」 大部分成人嘅自言自語都趨向冇聲 大聲同自己講嘢亦都係同一類
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.
心理學家相信最先嘅人類自我對話 其實係講出聲㗎 好似細路噉經常喺玩嘢嗰陣 好大聲噉自言自語 上世紀30年代 俄國心理學家 Lev Vygotsky 假設 呢種對話其實係成長嘅關鍵 通過重複佢地同大人有過嘅對話 小朋友學習到點樣 處理自己嘅情緒同行為 之後,當佢哋大個啲 呢啲外向型嘅自言自語就趨於內在發展 演變成私人嘅內心對話
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.
我哋知道內在嘅自我對話好重要 可以幫助你渡過艱難嘅境況 甚至可提供你整日嘅動力 但係研究自言自語可能有困難 需要透過追蹤研究對像 一啲明確、即時發生嘅 同時經常冇意識嘅行為 因此,科學家仲喺啲 基本問題度掙扎 好似點解有啲人畀其他人 更多自言自語? 我哋究竟用緊腦嘅邊部分嚟自言自語? 同平常溝通, 呢個部分又有咩唔同? 但係,有一樣嘢我哋會好肯定 就係你所講嘅嘢 對你嘅個人態度同埋表現 都會有實際嘅效用
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.
進行富有指導性 同鼓勵性嘅自我溝通 有證據顯示能夠提升注意力 同埋自我肯定 嚟幫助處理日常嘅工作 舉個例,一個對大學網球員嘅研究 將指導性嘅自言自語擺喺實習度 提高咗佢哋嘅專注力同準確度
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.
就好似同朋友傾計可以減少壓力噉 直接同自己講嘢可以調節情緒 疏離嘅自言自語就係 你同自己講嗰陣 好似同其他人講嘢噉 與其講話:「我要考到呢個試。」 而係你諗:「Caleb, 你已準備好呢個考試。」 一份研究發現呢類型嘅自言自語 喺面對焦慮嘅工作時 會有明顯嘅減壓效果 就好似要會見唔識嘅人 或係當眾發言
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.
但係積極嘅自言自語係幫到你 而消極嘅自言自語就害到你啦! 大部分人偶然都會自我批評 但係當呢種行為經常出現 又或者過份消極 就變成咗一種傷害 頻密消極嘅自言自語 通常都會預示兒童同大人嘅焦慮 而嗰啲當遇到問題就經常怪責自己 同埋反復內耗嘅人 通常會經歷更加強勁嘅壓抑心理
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.
而家有一種心理治療 叫做認知行為治療或者簡稱 CBT 有一部分嘅 CBT 專注喺 調教自言自語嘅語氣 認知行為治療師經常會教嘅策略係 分辨不斷重複嘅消極想法 代入為中性或者富有同情心嘅回應 久而久之,呢啲工具 會改善一個人嘅心理健康
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.
所以當下次發現自己喺度 自己同自己講嘢嗰時 記得要友善啲 嗰把內在嘅聲音係會喺 未來好多年同你對話嘅好搭檔