Is it normal to talk to yourself?

Translator: Fiona Ma Reviewer: Thomas Tam

As your morning alarm blares, you mutter to yourself,

朝頭早鬧鐘嚮嘅時候 你會問自己

“Why did I set it so early?”

「點解要 set 到咁早噃？」

While brushing your teeth, you think,

當擦緊牙你會諗：

“I need a haircut... unless?”

「我要剪一吓頭髮…… 除非？」

Rushing out the front door, you reach for your keys

衝出門口 你喺到摷鎖匙

and realize they’re not there.

然之後發覺唔喺度

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

激到你噉嗌：「我咩都做唔啱！」

just in time to notice your neighbor.

啱啱發現你鄰居喺隔離

Being caught talking to yourself can feel embarrassing,

被人睇到自己同自己講嘢係好醜

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

仲有人將呢啲嘢生安白造 話係精神唔正常喎﹗

But decades of psychology research show that talking to yourself

但係幾十年嘅心理學研究話 自己同自己講嘢

is completely normal.

係好正常

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

事實上每日唔係所有 都大多數人用唔同嘅方式

every single day.

嚟進行自我對話

So why do we talk to ourselves?

噉點解我哋會自言自語嘅呢？

And does what we say matter?

仲有我哋所講嘅嘢 係重唔重要㗎？

Self-talk refers to the narration inside your head,

自我對話指嘅係 你腦入邊嘅旁白

sometimes called inner speech.

有時亦講話係內在嘅言語

It differs from mental imagery or recalling facts and figures.

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

Specifically, psychologists define self-talk

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

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。」

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

But it also includes reflections you have throughout the day,

亦都包括整日會有嘅自我反省

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

好似「今晚做gym好擠迫 都係聽日先返嚟做啦。」

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

大部分成人嘅自言自語都趨向冇聲

speaking to yourself out loud also falls into this category.

大聲同自己講嘢亦都係同一類

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

心理學家相信最先嘅人類自我對話

are mostly vocal,

其實係講出聲㗎

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

好似細路噉經常喺玩嘢嗰陣 好大聲噉自言自語

In the 1930s, Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky hypothesized

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

that this kind of speech was actually key to development.

By repeating conversations they’ve had with adults,

通過重複佢地同大人有過嘅對話

children practice managing their behaviors and emotions on their own.

小朋友學習到點樣 處理自己嘅情緒同行為

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

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

morphing into a private inner dialogue.

演變成私人嘅內心對話

We know this internal self-talk is important,

我哋知道內在嘅自我對話好重要

and can help you plan, work through difficult situations,

可以幫助你渡過艱難嘅境況

and even motivate you throughout the day.

甚至可提供你整日嘅動力

But studying self-talk can be difficult.

但係研究自言自語可能有困難

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

需要透過追蹤研究對像 一啲明確、即時發生嘅

and often done without conscious control.

同時經常冇意識嘅行為

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

因此，科學家仲喺啲 基本問題度掙扎

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

好似點解有啲人畀其他人 更多自言自語？

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

我哋究竟用緊腦嘅邊部分嚟自言自語？

And how does this activation differ from normal conversation?

同平常溝通， 呢個部分又有咩唔同？

One thing we know for certain, however,

但係，有一樣嘢我哋會好肯定

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

就係你所講嘅嘢 對你嘅個人態度同埋表現

on your attitude and performance.

都會有實際嘅效用

Engaging in self-talk that’s instructional or motivational

進行富有指導性 同鼓勵性嘅自我溝通

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

有證據顯示能夠提升注意力 同埋自我肯定

and help tackle everyday tasks.

嚟幫助處理日常嘅工作

For example, one study of collegiate tennis players

舉個例，一個對大學網球員嘅研究

found that incorporating instructional self-talk into practice

將指導性嘅自言自語擺喺實習度

increased their concentration and accuracy.

提高咗佢哋嘅專注力同準確度

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

就好似同朋友傾計可以減少壓力噉

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

直接同自己講嘢可以調節情緒

Distanced self-talk is when you talk to yourself,

疏離嘅自言自語就係 你同自己講嗰陣

as if in conversation with another person.

好似同其他人講嘢噉

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

與其講話：「我要考到呢個試。」

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

而係你諗：「Caleb， 你已準備好呢個考試。」

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

一份研究發現呢類型嘅自言自語

for reducing stress when engaging in anxiety-inducing tasks,

喺面對焦慮嘅工作時 會有明顯嘅減壓效果

such as meeting new people or public speaking.

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.

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！

Most people are critical of themselves occasionally,

大部分人偶然都會自我批評

but when this behavior gets too frequent or excessively negative,

但係當呢種行為經常出現 又或者過份消極

it can become toxic.

就變成咗一種傷害

High levels of negative self-talk are often predictive

頻密消極嘅自言自語

通常都會預示兒童同大人嘅焦慮

of anxiety in children and adults.

And those who constantly blame themselves for their problems

而嗰啲當遇到問題就經常怪責自己

and ruminate on those situations

同埋反復內耗嘅人

typically experience more intense feelings of depression.

通常會經歷更加強勁嘅壓抑心理

Today, there’s a field of psychological treatment

而家有一種心理治療

called cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT,

叫做認知行為治療或者簡稱 CBT

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

有一部分嘅 CBT 專注喺 調教自言自語嘅語氣

Cognitive behavioral therapists often teach strategies

認知行為治療師經常會教嘅策略係

to identify cycles of negative thoughts

分辨不斷重複嘅消極想法

and replace them with neutral or more compassionate reflections.

代入為中性或者富有同情心嘅回應

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

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,

所以當下次發現自己喺度 自己同自己講嘢嗰時

remember to be kind.

記得要友善啲

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

嗰把內在嘅聲音係會喺 未來好多年同你對話嘅好搭檔