How “normal” is that we often talk to ourselves alone?
Too often we see people around us who make external monologue, even dialogue with themselves. This is quite normal when they realise that they talk to themselves and not to someone else who isn’t actually present. In this way we differentiate between what we call “normal” and “abnormal”: the realization that they talk only to themselves and that they get answers only from themselves.
What need do we meet?
Initially, it is a way to organize our thoughts and our unresolved issues. As some people are visual types and they need to write down something in order to realize it, there are also those who have to put it into words and express it so that they can understand it. At a deeper level we can say that it happens when we feel lonely. When we don’t have friends to express our feelings, our questions, anxieties, we often end up talking to ourselves. It’s like coping with our loneliness.
When does this habit becomes more intense?
Usually when preceded by a bereavement or a loss. Through external monologue or dialogue, we exorcize somehow the loss of our beloved ones. It has to do with the circumstances that shape our lives, rather than with age, as many believe – as it isn’t scientifically proved. Therefore it is good to see the entire frame of one’s life, before we jump to conclusions.