internal monologue
Thoughts narrating themselves
Internal monologue is the voice inside your head—the running stream of thoughts, observations, and self-talk that accompanies conscious experience.
My internal monologue wouldn't shut up during the meeting.
The term appears in psychology and literary criticism, where it describes a narrative technique rendering a character's unspoken thoughts.
Some people report having a constant internal monologue; others think primarily in images or abstract impressions.
Thinking deeply about something
- musingReflective contemplation
- deliberationCareful weighing of choices
- meditationFocused attention practice
- reflectionReturned light or thought
reverie · daydreaming · wondering · philosophical · soliloquy · thoughtfulness · mindfulness
Examining one's own mind
- self-examinationScrutiny of one's thoughts
- soul-searchingProbing one's innermost feelings
- self-analysisScrutinizing one's own psyche
- self-scrutinyCritical examination of oneself
self-awareness · self-observation · self-questioning · self-inquiry · self-discovery · self-understanding · self-assessment · navel-gazing
Dwelling excessively on thoughts
- broodingAnxiously dwelling on something
- dwellingPlace of residence
- obsessingThinking about compulsively
- replayingViewing recorded content again
worrying · fixation · preoccupation · second-guessing · regret · what-ifs · anxiety · spiraling
Recounting one's own experience
- affirmationsPositive self-directed statements
- mantraRepeated focus phrase
- self-criticismJudging one's own failings
- self-doubtUncertainty about oneself
reassurance · self-questioning · self-instruction · self-motivation
"I" as narrator
- protagonistStory's central figure
- storylineSequence of fictional events
- play-by-playReal-time event narration
- voiceoverOff-screen recorded speech
pondering
Thinking deeply about something
- musingReflective contemplation
- deliberationCareful weighing of choices
- meditationFocused attention practice
reflection · reverie · daydreaming · wondering · philosophical · soliloquy · thoughtfulness · mindfulness
self-reflection
Examining one's own mind
- self-examinationScrutiny of one's thoughts
- soul-searchingProbing one's innermost feelings
- self-analysisScrutinizing one's own psyche
self-scrutiny · self-awareness · self-observation · self-questioning · self-inquiry · self-discovery · self-understanding · self-assessment · navel-gazing · self-knowledge
overthinking
Dwelling excessively on thoughts
- broodingAnxiously dwelling on something
- dwellingPlace of residence
- obsessingThinking about compulsively
replaying · worrying · fixation · preoccupation · second-guessing · regret · what-ifs · anxiety · spiraling · perseveration
self-narration
Recounting one's own experience
- affirmationsPositive self-directed statements
- mantraRepeated focus phrase
- self-criticismJudging one's own failings
self-doubt · reassurance · self-questioning · self-instruction · self-motivation
first-person
"I" as narrator
- protagonistStory's central figure
- storylineSequence of fictional events
- play-by-playReal-time event narration
- storytellingstorytelling, story, tale, narrative, narrator
- literary elementsplot, character, setting, theme, narrator
- inner thoughtsinner voice, self-talk, thoughts, thinking, thought
- personal writingdiary, journal, autobiographical essay, memoir, memoirs
- charactersprotagonist, antagonist, hero, character, characters
- first personI, me, my, mine, myself
internal monologuespoken word
Poetry delivered aloud
speech · vocalization · verbal communication · proclamation · verbal expression
internal monologuedialogue
Spoken exchange between parties
conversation · internal dialogue · exchange · discussion · back-and-forth
internal monologuemental imagery
Pictures formed in mind
visual thinking · intuition · gut feeling · blank mind · spatial reasoning
internal, monologue, internally, internalize, internalizes, internalized, internalizing