Conversations with self have unquestioned benefits

Spinning the News

Folks who drive down the highway or walk through a store aisle talking to themselves may not be crazy after all, according to the Mid-South Psychiatric Association. In fact, talking to one's self could be beneficial, according to an MSPA Journal article published last week.

"It's true that some people who are seen and heard talking to themselves as they stand on the street corner are schizophrenic and are actually talking to imaginary and multiple personalities in their minds," said Dr. Max Lobotomus, head of the research department at the University of Phrenology in South Memphis. "But most people who talk to themselves do not have split personalities and are not talking with other illusionary characters who inhabit their minds; they are truly talking to themselves, and that's OK."

And, according to the recently published MSPA article, talking to one's self could be a positive thing if other people witnessing those self-communicative moments wouldn't assume the self talker is a complete lunatic and make fun of him or her and cause feelings of low self esteem.

According to the article published in the MSPA Jounal entitled, "Talk to yourself when no one else is listening," communication with one's own self may be the only truly positive and self-reinforcing communication some people ever know."

"It's a sad state of affairs in our society that some never hear a single word of encouragement or praise for the things they do," said Lobotomus. "People are so focused on their smart phones and on the latest craze on social media, that they fail to talk to other people and encourage them. So it's a good thing when people talk to themselves and praise themselves for their work, which no one else even seems to notice. Without self talk, a lot of these people would just sink into despair and quit trying to do anything worthwhile," Lobotomus explained.

Of course, it's not only those unappreciated souls who benefit from self talk. Another study, published by the Lonely Truck Drivers Association last August, encouraged truck drivers to carry on lengthy soliloquies while they drive down the Interstate.

"Being a truck driver can be a lonely profession," said Dieseling Joe, a truck driver who would only give us his CB handle and said he doesn't remember anybody calling him by any other name anyway. "Talking to myself and carrying on lengthy conversations keeps me awake on the road at night and keeps me focused and sharp on the issues," he said. "It's amazing how proficient I've become at debating the issues. No one has yet refuted my arguments," he added.

"I used to talk to a lot of other drivers on the CB radio; but now that the radio's pretty much gone quiet, I pass the time talking things over with myself," DJ added.

Self talk is also a positive thing for those completing complicated tasks, according to Raymond Sneed, an assembly-line worker we caught talking to himself while on the job.

"Yeah, I talk to myself," Sneed said. "I repeat out loud each step of my job as the product comes down the line. It keeps me from skipping a step, something that I struggled with until I started telling myself the directions: 'Part B is placed on top of Part A, Bolt C is inserted into Parts A and B and fastened with Nut D,'" he said.

Another group greatly benefited by self talk are men whose wives don't listen to them or who poke fun at everything their husbands say, said Ronald Henfield, a counselor at Stifled Husbands Anonymous.

"We have a lot of men come in who claim they haven't had anyone take their opinions seriously for years," said Henfield. "They say their wives dominate the conversations and don't let them get in a word edgewise. We counsel them to go off by themselves and have a conversation with themselves. It's a conversation which they can totally control as long as their wives don't overhear."

One other group we talked to was the Arkansas Association of Newspaper Editors and, surprisingly, we learned that most newspaper editors talk to themselves -- at least quietly -- as they read and edit news stories.

"I guess you could say it's self talking when we read and reread stories, and sometimes even our own writing, to see how it sounds for our readers," said Randy Moll, editor of the Eagle Observer. "We talk to ourselves so our words sound better and are more concise for others," he added. "And sometimes we read our own stories just to be sure that somebody does," he said.

"And so, it's nothing to laugh about and nothing to ridicule," said Lobotomus. "It's meaningful communication, and we all do it. The only difference is that some self talkers talk a little louder than others."

S.A. Tired covers fictitious news from an unrealistic perspective for the Eagle Observer. He may be contacted by email at [email protected]. News and views in Spinning the News are claimed by no one else but the author.

Editorial on 10/19/2016