Simple self-talk lowers the stress level and helps our psyche

Now and then talk to yourself

Only crazy people talk to themselves? Not at all! In thought, more than 90 percent of people talk to themselves. And that's good, because self-talk has a big impact on our well-being and satisfaction.

contents

• Now and then talk to yourself
• Consider problems with distance
• Self-talk calms us down
• Talk to yourself like a friend
• How to use self-talk for yourself

Studies show that it is good for us to speak to ourselves in the third person. Why this is and how to do it best without attracting unpleasant attention, more on that in the following.

Self-talk helps us to see problems with distance. (Image: andrys lukowski / fotolia.com)

Self-talk in the third person helps us to cope better with our emotions. This is the result of scientific experiments in which the subjects were exposed to different, critical situations and at the same time a measurement of the brain waves took place.

Consider problems with distance

Crisis situations quickly lead to emotional chaos. We are overwhelmed, paralyzed and overwhelmed. At this point we can no longer reflect and are thus unable to make thoughtful decisions.

However, those who talk aloud to themselves - and about themselves - automatically consider their own situation with a little more distance.

A research team from Michigan State University recorded subjects' brain activity as they viewed highly charged images. Some of the participants dealt with their own reactions in soliloquy while the remaining participants processed them silently. The results of the study were published in the journal Scientific Reports.

"We assume that self-talk in the third person causes us to think about ourselves as about another person - we see evidence of this in brain activity," says psychology professor Jason Moser. If you talk to yourself, you have to change your perspective. Looking from the outside, he can then solve the problems like those of another, keeping control over his feelings and thus structured action.

Self-talk calms us down

When a subject looks at a photograph of a person being gunned to his temple, his brain reacts to it as if he were experiencing it himself, due to the mirror neurons.

When he speaks with himself in the third person, he perceives feelings such as fear or helplessness more conscious and can calm down. This works almost as well as if someone else told him that there is no danger here.

The measurements made by the scientists show that the brain activity immediately normalizes during self-talk.

Self-talk has a calming effect in crisis situations. (Image: StockPhotoPro / fotolia.com)

Talk to yourself like a friend

In another experiment, the research team compared the difference between self-talk in the first and in the third person.

At first, it seems obvious to lead his monologues in the first-person form. However, self-talk, in which one speaks about and to oneself, as if one were a stranger, even better. Brain activity in areas of the brain responsible for sensation of pain declined significantly further when the subjects spoke to themselves in the third instead of the first person.

So if you say "He does not need to be afraid" in a crisis situation, it will calm you down more than formulating the statement, "I do not need to be afraid".

Ethan Kross, co-author of the study, describes these self-talk as "a particularly uncomplicated way to regulate one's own feelings". However, the method needs to be examined more closely. "If this is indeed the case - and we need to explore it more closely - then it has a great impact on our understanding of how self-regulation works and how people can better cope with their emotions in their everyday lives," said psychology professor Jason Moser to the study results.

How to use self-talk for yourself

In order to use the positive power of soliloquy, you do not have to wait for the results of further studies.

While getting ready to work on public transport is not advisable to deal with the frustration of delays or crowds with never-ending mumbling, but if you prepare for a stressful day in the morning, you can give yourself some encouraging and reassuring words to be on the way.

Before your next important meeting, find a quiet place to encourage yourself like a coach! Then you go more relaxed and focused in the appointment.

If you suffer from a fragile self-confidence, you can convince yourself of your merits and go through the day strengthened. (Fs)