Inner speech is the experience of thinking in words, such as silently rehearsing a conversation, giving yourself instructions or commenting on what is happening.
Sometimes it helps. Sometimes the commentary becomes more exhausting than the event.
Would you speak to a friend like that?
You make a mistake. Before you can correct it, a sentence arrives: "Of course you did. You always ruin things."
The error needs attention. The running character assassination is an optional extra, however familiar it feels.
I AWAKE’s reflective writing gives inner language somewhere visible to go. Once a sentence is on the page, you can notice its claim, its tone and whether it helps you respond to the actual situation.
You don’t need to replace every difficult thought with a cheerful one. A more precise sentence might simply be, "This part needs correcting."
Self-criticism examines the judging voice. Cognitive defusion explains changing your relationship to a thought without having to win an argument with it first.
Noba’s Attention offers background on how mental resources are selected and occupied. It can help you consider the attention a running internal commentary uses alongside the task itself.