Question!

[conuly]

Why do people define "speaking to oneself" as crazy? If you're speaking to yourself, you're just thinking. I mean, that's all thoughts are, right, a way of communicating with yourself? Especially if your thoughts are in words, that's speaking silently to yourself.

It's when you're speaking to people who aren't there that we should worry, but that's not what anybody says. They say "speaking to himself", like that's something strange.

Oh, and what about hearing/seeing things? What else is one expected to hear and see other than things??? Why not just say "hallucinating", which is the actual word, or, if you MUST use a convoluted expression, try "hearing/seeing things which aren't there". Unless, of course, they are there, and we're the crazy ones who don't know that....

Comments

[thaumaturge.livejournal.com]

Most children speak to themselves quite frequently. It's really part of their development process as they gain an internal monologue. Nobody calls kids crazy when they do that, but normally it becomes internalized.

People probably perceive an adult who is "talking to themself" as crazy because that's what actual "crazy people" do. In many ways, "crazy" is defined as being detached from reality and talking to yourself--maybe even talking to people that aren't there--is a sign of being that way.

Natural language is not and never has been straightforward. Often it only makes sense within a specific social and cultural context. People understand perfectly well what you mean when you say "I see things." It's a statement that was never meant to be taken literally.