It’s the classic symptom of “craziness.” We’ve all stood in line behind the guy muttering to himself for 10 minutes. We cross the street to avoid the lady having a conversation with no one nearby.
Am I one of these crazy people?
I don’t think so – but I do talk out loud to myself.
I’d like to say that it never happens in public, but sometimes I probably lose track and it turns out that there are some real, live other people around. Whoops.
But let me make a quick argument for talking out loud to yourself: It is a very helpful method of processing information.
I don’t talk out loud to myself thinking that an invisible friend will answer. And sometimes it probably looks like I’m talking to myself, when I’m really praying out loud to God. But in reality, all I’m doing is processing information.
Some people are visual learners – they absorb and process information best by seeing it visually laid out before them. Others are auditory learners, while others are kinetic learners. (Of course, we all do our best with a combination of multiple learning styles.)
I am a combination of visual and auditory. Seeing information helps me remember it, but thinking it through – either in a journal (more normal) or by thinking out loud (perhaps less normal) is my best way of processing information.
So if you find that you sometimes talk to yourself, it’s probably okay. Just consider why. And try not to frighten the people standing in line behind you.