Is it normal to talk to yourself?

Translator: Laura Nogueiras Gómez Reviewer: Mario Cal

As your morning alarm blares, you mutter to yourself,

Soa a alarma pola mañá e murmuras para ti mesmo:

“Why did I set it so early?”

«Para que a puxen tan cedo?»

While brushing your teeth, you think,

Estás a cepilla-los dentes e pensas:

“I need a haircut... unless?”

«Debería corta-lo pelo... Non?»

Rushing out the front door, you reach for your keys

Saes correndo pola porta, vas colle-las chaves

and realize they’re not there.

e resulta que non as colliches.

Frustrated you shout, “I can’t do anything right!”

Acabas berrando da frustración: «Todo o fago mal!»

just in time to notice your neighbor.

e xusto ves o veciño.

Being caught talking to yourself can feel embarrassing,

Pode dar vergoña que te vexan falando só

and some people even stigmatize this behavior as a sign of mental instability.

e mesmo hai xente que cre que é mostra de problemas mentais.

But decades of psychology research show that talking to yourself

Décadas de estudos psicolóxicos demostran que falar cun mesmo

is completely normal.

é totalmente normal.

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

De feito, todo o mundo ou case todo fala consigo mesmo

every single day.

tódolos días.

So why do we talk to ourselves?

Pero por que falamos con nós mesmos?

And does what we say matter?

Importa o que digamos?

Self-talk refers to the narration inside your head,

O diálogo interno é a narración que hai na túa cabeza,

sometimes called inner speech.

tamén chamada discurso interior.

It differs from mental imagery or recalling facts and figures.

Non é o mesmo que as imaxes mentais ou recordar feitos ou cifras.

Specifically, psychologists define self-talk

Os psicólogos definen o diálogo interno

as verbalized thoughts directed toward yourself or some facet of your life.

coma pensamentos dirixidos a un mesmo ou a algún aspecto da vida propia.

This includes personal conversations like “I need to work on my free throw.”

Inclúe conversacións persoais coma: «Teño que practica-lo meu tiro libre»,

But it also includes reflections you have throughout the day,

pero tamén reflexións que ocorren durante o día,

like “The gym is crowded tonight. I’ll come back tomorrow.”

coma: «O ximnasio está a rebentar, mellor volvo mañá».

And while most self-talk in adults tends to be silent,

Este diálogo interno adoita ser silencioso en adultos,

speaking to yourself out loud also falls into this category.

pero falar en alto cun mesmo tamén entra nesta categoría.

In fact, psychologists believe our first experiences with self-talk

Os psicólogos cren que as nosas primeiras experiencias co diálogo interno

are mostly vocal,

son vocais,

as children often speak to themselves out loud as they play.

xa que os nenos adoitan falar en voz alta consigo mesmos ó xogar.

In the 1930s, Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky hypothesized

Na década dos 30, o psicólogo ruso Lev Vigotski formulou a hipótese

that this kind of speech was actually key to development.

de que este diálogo era esencial para o crecemento.

By repeating conversations they’ve had with adults,

Coa repetición das conversacións que tiveron con adultos,

children practice managing their behaviors and emotions on their own.

as crianzas practican a xestión dos seus comportamentos e emocións.

Then, as they grow older, this outward self-talk tends to become internalized,

Así, ó crecer, este diálogo externo adoita volverse interno

morphing into a private inner dialogue.

e convértese nun discurso privado.

We know this internal self-talk is important,

Sabemos que este diálogo interno é importante

and can help you plan, work through difficult situations,

e pode axudar a planificar e superar situacións difíciles,

and even motivate you throughout the day.

ou mesmo motivarte durante o día,

But studying self-talk can be difficult.

pero o estudo do diálogo interno é difícil.

It relies on study subjects clearly tracking a behavior that’s spontaneous

Necesita que os suxeitos do estudo fagan o seguimento dun comportamento

and often done without conscious control.

que é espontáneo, que se fai sen pensar.

For this reason, scientists are still working to answer basic questions,

Debido a isto, os científicos aínda traballan as cuestións básicas:

like, why do some people self-talk more than others?

Por que hai xente que fala máis consigo mesma ca outra?

What areas of the brain are activated during self-talk?

Que áreas do cerebro se activan durante o diálogo interno?

And how does this activation differ from normal conversation?

En que se diferencia esa activación coa dunha conversación normal?

One thing we know for certain, however,

Hai algo que sabemos seguro,

is that what you say in these conversations can have real impacts

que o que digas nestas conversacións pode ter un impacto real

on your attitude and performance.

na túa actitude e rendemento.

Engaging in self-talk that’s instructional or motivational

Está demostrado que un diálogo interno instrutivo ou motivador

has been shown to increase focus, boost self-esteem,

aumenta a autoestima e a capacidade de atención,

and help tackle everyday tasks.

ademais de axudar coas tarefas diarias.

For example, one study of collegiate tennis players

Por exemplo, un estudo con xogadores de tenis universitarios

found that incorporating instructional self-talk into practice

descubriu que un diálogo interno instrutivo durante os adestramentos

increased their concentration and accuracy.

melloraba a súa concentración e precisión.

And just as chatting to a friend can help decrease stress,

Igual que falar cun amigo axuda a que te relaxes,

speaking directly to yourself may also help you regulate your emotions.

falar contigo mesmo pode axudar á xestión das túas emocións.

Distanced self-talk is when you talk to yourself,

Un diálogo interno distanciado é falar cun mesmo,

as if in conversation with another person.

mais coma se falases con outra persoa.

So, rather than “I’m going to crush this exam,”

Por exemplo, no canto de dicir: «neste exame vou arrasar»,

you might think, “Caleb, you are prepared for this test!”

podes pensar: «Caleb, levas xenial o exame!»

One study found that this kind of self-talk was especially beneficial

Un estudo descubriu que este diálogo interno

é beneficioso para reduci-lo estrés ó afrontar tarefas angustiosas,

for reducing stress when engaging in anxiety-inducing tasks,

such as meeting new people or public speaking.

coma coñecer xente nova ou falar en público.

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

Pero igual que un diálogo positivo axuda, un negativo pode facer moito dano.

Most people are critical of themselves occasionally,

A xente adoita ter momentos críticos de cando en vez,

but when this behavior gets too frequent or excessively negative,

pero cando se converten nun comportamento continuado ou demasiado negativo,

it can become toxic.

vólvese prexudicial.

High levels of negative self-talk are often predictive

Un diálogo interno negativo adoita ser síntoma de ansiedade

of anxiety in children and adults.

tanto en nenos coma en adultos.

And those who constantly blame themselves for their problems

Aqueles que se botan as culpas por tódolos seus problemas

and ruminate on those situations

e rumian esas situacións

typically experience more intense feelings of depression.

adoitan ter sentimentos depresivos moito máis pronunciados.

Today, there’s a field of psychological treatment

Hoxe en día, hai un ámbito do tratamento psicolóxico

called cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT,

chamado terapia cognitivo-condutual,

which is partially focused on regulating the tone of self-talk.

que se centra, en parte, na regulación do ton do diálogo interno.

Cognitive behavioral therapists often teach strategies

Os terapeutas cognitivo-condutuais ensinan estratexias

to identify cycles of negative thoughts

para identificar os ciclos de pensamentos negativos

and replace them with neutral or more compassionate reflections.

e substituílos con reflexións neutras ou máis compasivas.

Over time, these tools can improve one's mental health.

Co paso do tempo, estas ferramentas poden axudar á mellora da saúde mental.

So the next time you find yourself chatting with yourself,

Para a próxima que te caches falando contigo mesmo,

remember to be kind.

non te esquezas de ser bo.

That inner voice is a partner you’ll be talking to for many years to come.

Esa voz interna acompañarate durante o resto da túa vida.