Inner Speech: Why does it exist?

You keep speaking to yourself. In your head. All the time.

Have you ever wondered why?

What is the biological or evolutionary benefit of speaking to yourself?

You hear people asking you to tame, slow down, or even stop the thoughts.

That’s all well and good, but it begs the question: why am I even receiving these in the first place?

Lev Vygotsky was a Russian professor of psychology who worked on child development. He developed a sociocultural theory of child development.

According to him, social interactions helped in the development of a child.

He theorised that inner voice was a tool for children to internalize and build upon their knowledge.

So, for example, asking yourself in your head, will this child play with me or like me?

Your inner voice was self-directed speech to learn and grow.

Another theory was its association with memory.

Each day, as you experience life, you are forming patterns. These patterns become the basis for you to react and respond to the world.

This is a table, this is a wall, or this food is good for me.

The voice in your head acts as a bridge between your learning and your memory, storing temporarily what you learn until it becomes long-term memory.

But what then of people who may be unable to hear or see. Do they have no inner speech? Does their mind not wonder with thoughts or anxieties?

Why does the inner voice not slow down or stop once you grow up? The learning has happened, the memories we need to form are not as frequent.

So, why doesnt my inner voice just slow down on its own?

In fact, doesn't the mind just become more filled with thoughts the more time passes?

It is the ability to regulate this process, that becomes the ultimate challenge for human beings to surmount. To unlearn in some sense, a skill that served us well growing up.

To regulate how much and what your brain thinks.

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