Your internal monologue is part of your interoception: the sensations, emotions, and sounds make up the internal processes of your mind&body.

Many people have an internal monologue, but interestingly some don’t. Russell Hurlburt discovered that we have inner speech for an average of 20% of the time. For some that’s up to 75% of the time, and some people don’t have an internal voice at all. It turns out we have 5 different kinds of internal murmurings:

• internal voice or monologue
• visual streams (inner seeing?)
• sensorial awareness
• emotions
• unsymbolised thought. (ideas without words, or music )

Your inner voice

For many of us, our inner voice is a daily stream of advice, criticism, feedback from inside our heads. A running commentary from the inside: on our actions, inactions, thoughts, and experiences. 

Like everything else, most of us have habits here too, formed over years, decades.

When our inner monologue has a balance of good and bad thoughts, it can be useful. It keeps us safe in moments of danger, or pushes us towards our goals. But often, I hear from those of you with anxiety that your inner monologue habits are pretty negative. Is that true for you?

If you only have an Inner Critic, it’s going to be difficult to move towards what you want, and fulfil your dreams.

When Fear gets put in the driving seat, it can paralyse, making decision making difficult. It can get to the point of finding it hard to even leave your house. If we do push past the internal fear into action, it can as if we were in constant conflict with our selves.

Many people who have anxiety have both of these voices together, drowning out more positive ideas in your mind. With both these “horsemen of doom” driving the chariot of your mind and action, anything and everything can become challenging.

Beliefs are simply thoughts that we keep thinking.

When we hear something enough, we think it’s true. When we have habits of thinking, it can feel as if the negative self talk is the Truth. Broken down, beliefs are simply thoughts that we keep thinking.

Your internal voices have a positive function: they keep you safe. They maintain the status quo. But if that’s all you’re hearing inside your mind, they’re probably also holding you back in some way.

I’ve written before about the Four Parts of Action: Movement, Sensation, Thought, Emotion. You can go through the first two doors of our actions to reach the others, and improve them.

“Health is your ability to realise your avowed and unavowed dreams. ” If your self talk is holding you back, it might be time to have a look at it.

If you’re interested to explore your self talk with me, it will be part of my upcoming course: Improving Anxiety.

I’m really pleased to let you know we’ll be starting on the 10th of October, and the sessions will run for 10 weeks.

Improving Anxiety Course

• Session times are 8-9.30pm (UK time): they’ll be between an hour and an hour and half each week.
• You’ll leave each session with practical tools to explore during the week
• Sessions will be recorded in case you can’t make each week, or wish to revisit the session.
• It will be a closed group once we start the course, so that we can create a safe space for learning and exploring.
• Fee: £97.00. Tickets are available here. If finances mean you need to pay in instalments, please let me know during our consultation. 

If you would more information, or you would like to join this course, please email me before the 8th October. 

We’ll arrange a short consulation to chat, and make sure it’s a good fit for your needs.

If you’d like to join, but the timings don’t suit, let me know, and I’ll add you to the waiting list.