Do you have an internal monologue?

[moody]

(I've been meaning to ask this question for some time, but kept forgetting).

Do you go about your day with verbal thoughts, or do you not think in words? I'm wondering what is more common.

I tend to go back and forth depending on how I'm feeling. When if comes to my schedule, I'm more on top of things when I think in words (ie, thinking what exactly I'm going to do and when and other planning). However, I'm much more calm and understanding when I'm not thinking in words, and allow thoughts to come to me in bursts of instantaneous understanding.

What form does your thinking usually take?

 

[peoplesuck]

When im doing a physical task, my mind sort of runs three programs at once. One program is dedicated to the physical aspect, and the other is talking me through it.
(completely subconscious) The last program is predicting and troubleshooting.
I think in a mixture of words and pictures, more like a film? I was just watching a video on generators, and for some reason an image popped into my mind, of a raincatcher, attached to a long string of generators, with a person walking up stairs wrapping around a house, to pour water into the raincatcher, to generate electricity. Its completely unintentional, and requires no effort. When I see inventions and how they work, my mind naturally starts sporadically connecting them to other things, and making uses. I would have to guess im gifted in this regard, because its effortless. I sort of came to the conclusion of a turbocharger and a magnetic braking system, before they were a thing I knew about.
This morning I was learning to make pants, and I fucked up the crotch, and this was a talk I had with myself XD

"I think that works"
"it just works"
"todd howard would be so proud of me"

So not only does my brain come up with little inventions, but its always making jokes.

when I think in an extremely focused manor its essentially like a voice over, of a film.
My thoughts depend on how focused I am, the less focused, the more words, more focused= more images. I can essentially play movies in my head if I sit still and close my eyes, and focus.

Btw there was a thread on this somewhere...

 

[Happy]

Words mostly.

When imaginationing, a bit of everything.

 

[Niclmaki]

Most of my thoughts are incomplete gibberish that is only partially understood initially. It is enough for me to act on it. (Make a move in chess, type a text, respond to someone I’m conversing with) But if I really want to ruminate, I have to ‘trace’ out the thought in words. This is fairly slower, but I don’t have to go through the complete thought.

It’s like a second voice races through an entire book of words, then a primary ‘explainer’ voice has to go through and organize the words. Typically not needed unless I have to express myself.

If I must focus on something, or remember it well. I will just loop it several times internally verbally. I know I’m nearly done when my tongue starts mouthing the words as if I was actually speaking it.

Deep thought or focus is nearly all consuming. I see nearly nothing with my eyes. I hear nothing in my surroundings, and I forget about any physical discomforts. Everything is channeled into imagination as far as I can tell. My nose always seems to be on alert though, so there is that.This can be somewhat concerning because I can slip into deep thought without realizing it. Even if I’m talking to someone and they ask me something that really makes me think. It shuts down everything and just has me go, hmmm.

 

[Rebis]

I don't have an internal monologue. I primarily think in images/objects i.e. not words. The only time I have a monologue is if I'm typing as I'm actively thinking how I'd express my point.

 

[Elen]

I think in a similar way to peoplesuck with first, second, and third thoughts. But I have to actively work at the images in my mind a bit. I am not gifted or a genius. Words describing spontaneous solutions to problems pop into my head unbidden sometimes.

I spend so much of my day troubleshooting that the actual dialogue of it has all but faded into intuition and visual diagrams in my head so that I don't have to waste time "talking" it out.

Except for when I read. I can become so completely engrossed in what I'm reading my mind fills with images of what I'm reading and I forget I'm actually reading. It is part of why I can easily lose 5 hours to reading without noticing.

Does anybody daydream or relive past events really vividly? I can drop into a daydream and be lost for an hour in what feels like an extremely realistic experience.

 

[Minuend]

Only if I'm thinking of how to explain or address something to someone. I'm mostly a visual thinker or whatever it's called these days. Vague or concrete imagery and "knowing" what I'm thinking of even if there's nothing there. My brain's cup is half full.

 

[Black Rose]

I do not think in words, I do not think in images. I think in concepts.

 

[Grayman]

Virtual feelings mostly, some images. When I start talking dialog to myself I do so having created entire concepts of people with their own minds feelings and even looks. Although their images are blurry.

When having internal conversations with these concepts of people I lose almost all focus to the present. In the past when I would spend whole days in and out of these conversations I would have huge gaps of memory of what I did that day how I got place to place and would suffer mentally as I began to withdraw from the real world. These internal concepts became more of my reality than the real one.

When reading stories and such, this sort of focus is great as it allows me to fully envolope all my senses and thoughts into the reality of that story. But it is not meant to be the constant mode of being. For this reason, I have tried to drown out that internal voice via external audio and trying to focus more on the present visually and sensually so that I do not lose time and be a little more functional with day to day activities.

 

[moody]

When im doing a physical task, my mind sort of runs three programs at once. One program is dedicated to the physical aspect, and the other is talking me through it.
(completely subconscious) The last program is predicting and troubleshooting.
I think in a mixture of words and pictures, more like a film? I was just watching a video on generators, and for some reason an image popped into my mind, of a raincatcher, attached to a long string of generators, with a person walking up stairs wrapping around a house, to pour water into the raincatcher, to generate electricity. Its completely unintentional, and requires no effort. When I see inventions and how they work, my mind naturally starts sporadically connecting them to other things, and making uses. I would have to guess im gifted in this regard, because its effortless. I sort of came to the conclusion of a turbocharger and a magnetic braking system, before they were a thing I knew about.
This morning I was learning to make pants, and I fucked up the crotch, and this was a talk I had with myself XD

"I think that works"
"it just works"
"todd howard would be so proud of me"

So not only does my brain come up with little inventions, but its always making jokes.

when I think in an extremely focused manor its essentially like a voice over, of a film.
My thoughts depend on how focused I am, the less focused, the more words, more focused= more images. I can essentially play movies in my head if I sit still and close my eyes, and focus.

Btw there was a thread on this somewhere...

You know I wondered about that...sorry for being redundant. But hey, it's an INTP forum, we're bound to have the same types of threads created when we have similar interests.

I make jokes to myself sometimes, but I'm not sure how often. Recently, I've noticed how completely listless I'm becoming, as though I'm not really there. Everything feels very abstract.

But I have periods of times where images will flash before my eyes at a rapid rate, just as you've mentioned. It's when I'm tired, and I think my brain is already started to dream a bit. (Normally I'm more of a touch and auditory perceptive thinker).

 

[moody]

It’s like a second voice races through an entire book of words, then a primary ‘explainer’ voice has to go through and organize the words. Typically not needed unless I have to express myself.

I experience the same thing. I have a hard time verbalizing when I haven't finished thing I haven't finished forming my thoughts on because of that; do you experience a similar problem?

If I must focus on something, or remember it well. I will just loop it several times internally verbally. I know I’m nearly done when my tongue starts mouthing the words as if I was actually speaking it.

I'm a very kinesthetic thinking, so I learn things the same way. When learning foreign languages, I have to feel the way something sounds inside my mouth before I can consolidate it to memory.
For raw, straight-up memorization, a technique I use is thinking of an outrageous imagery you associate with the words. It's helped me fabulously in medical terminology courses, where I've had 10 minutes to study before a test.

Deep thought or focus is nearly all consuming. I see nearly nothing with my eyes. I hear nothing in my surroundings, and I forget about any physical discomforts. Everything is channeled into imagination as far as I can tell. My nose always seems to be on alert though, so there is that.This can be somewhat concerning because I can slip into deep thought without realizing it. Even if I’m talking to someone and they ask me something that really makes me think. It shuts down everything and just has me go, hmmm.

Ditto. The frustrating thing is that this makes me appear as though I'm not thinking at all, or that I've shut down. That, and many people think I don't like them due to the way my face looks when this happens.

 

[moody]

Does anybody daydream or relive past events really vividly? I can drop into a daydream and be lost for an hour in what feels like an extremely realistic experience.

Yes, I've experienced this before. It happens with sounds. If I have a song stuck in my head, I will think I'm actually hearing it, when my brain is actually bending the sounds around me to form the song that I've been thinking about. Except there often won't be a the right pitches around me for some of the parts, so I'll start thinking that whomever is playing the song I "hear" is horrendously out of tune.

 

[moody]

I do not think in words, I do not think in images. I think in concepts.

Do you think empathetically or kinesthetically?

 

[moody]

But it is not meant to be the constant mode of being. For this reason, I have tried to drown out that internal voice via external audio and trying to focus more on the present visually and sensually so that I do not lose time and be a little more functional with day to day activities.

Oof, I have this problem as well...I have a similar way to try and re-route myself by pushing my thoughts aside and filling my mind with sensory details. It's a struggle.

 

[peoplesuck]

You know I wondered about that...sorry for being redundant. But hey, it's an INTP forum, we're bound to have the same types of threads created when we have similar interests.

Yeah, the search feature is practically broken too
-shrug-
kewl thread imo
Hopefully what I said didnt come off as negative.

I make jokes to myself sometimes, but I'm not sure how often. Recently, I've noticed how completely listless I'm becoming, as though I'm not really there. Everything feels very abstract.

damn, yeah I can relate, mostly when driving.
My mind is always joking, not sure why, or how to explain that.
I think humor comes from pain, somehow?

But I have periods of times where images will flash before my eyes at a rapid rate, just as you've mentioned. It's when I'm tired, and I think my brain is already started to dream a bit. (Normally I'm more of a touch and auditory perceptive thinker).

I experience this sort of thing before bed too.
does the thinking in thoughts vs words have anything to do with brain hemisphere dominance?

 

[Black Rose]

Do you think empathetically or kinesthetically?

empathetic yes.

The best description is that I think from the unconscious.

Carl Jung calls is a lead with a hunch. I just know the answer.

 

[Rebis]

Given our intuition function I think INTPs should naturally have less of an inner monologue. We don't translate a lot of our thoughts into words, we can keep our understanding at the level of intuition.