What is intrapersonal communication?

Communication allows us to connect with people. There is a lot of talk about how we relate, how we express ourselves, how we listen. However, little is said about intrapersonal communication, a type of communication directed at ourselves.

We understand by intrapersonal communication the speech we address to ourselves, whether spoken aloud or not. Also called internal or internal dialogue can have a large number of functions, which we will see throughout the article. Among them, we highlight: self-reflection or introspection, two very important psychological processes to know oneself.

What is intrapersonal communication?

It is a way of communicating with yourself. This dialogue leads to a single person being, at the same time, transmitter and receiver of information.

It usually encompasses those analysis that we do privately, in relation to things already oneself. It also usually refers to internal dialogue, and includes everything we listen to, read or repeat to ourselves.

Characteristics of intrapersonal communication

To better understand what this type of communication is about, below we present its main characteristics:

It is one-sided. It is one-sided because there is no interaction with anyone else. Since there is no other receiver, we cannot speak of two sides (bilateral), but only one. The person speaks and listens to himself.It is inevitable and spontaneous. This means that it arises without any planning. It is something that manifests itself and that, many times, is not easy to manage. For example, ruminative thoughts are usually an example of intrapersonal communication that escapes personal control if one does not know how to deal with them effectively.They serve as a filter. Intrapersonal communication can help us behave in socially accepted ways. Since, thanks to it, we can self-censor certain gestures, comments or behaviors that would be frowned upon by others.They are not necessarily literal. There are many interpretations of the messages we tell ourselves.A single person is not always used. This type of communication is usually developed using the first person (“I”), but the third person also tends to be used. According to a study, the use of pronouns that are not first person improves personal distancing. They also positively influence the ability to regulate thoughts, feelings and behavior under social stress. In addition, this technique can improve rational thinking and calm worry, as other research indicates.It can be positive or negative. At times it can be motivating and optimistic, but at other times it can be critical and negative. Its content can vary from one situation to another and with it its affective valence.It is varied. From our own experience we know that its themes can vary and cover multiple aspects of our lives.

What is intrapersonal communication for?

Now, it is pertinent to mention that positive intrapersonal communication allows us to connect with ourselves and know the deepest layers of our being. In other words, it allows us reflect about our emotional states, listen to us, encourage us, accompany us in painful moments, analyze ourselves, etc.

Next, we delve into the main functions, when communication is positive.

Allows self-reflection

Intrapersonal communication allows us to reflect on the environment and ourselves. It is a conversation with oneself that can lead us to explore areas of our lives that perhaps are not going so well, or identify personal aspects of which we were not fully aware.

For example, a form of self-reflection would be to question why we have been developing certain discomfort in our work or in our relationship. In this case, it is very likely that the daily hustle and bustle does not allow us to delve into these feelings until they begin to cause greater suffering.

So, when we stop to reflect on the causes of our emotionslooking for answers in ourselves, is when we start intrapersonal communication.

Connect with our essence

In a world where we spend a lot of energy and time on others, on doing things outward, Finding moments to talk to ourselves can help us reconnect with our essence.

These moments are ideal to identify what really defines us and is the basis of our growth. What does this mean? Connect with our emotional world, with our memories and our experiences. In a sense, this means getting closer to them and “turning off” the noise of the outside world.

Promotes self-listening

Listening to ourselves means silencing everything outside and focusing our attention within ourselves. In other words, Intrapersonal communication involves thinking inwardly and speaking to ourselves from there.. Let us remember that this type of communication not only includes the issuance and reception of a message orally (speaking), but also through thought.

Allows introspection

Associated with all of the above, introspection is another of the functions or possibilities that intrapersonal communication allows. Introspection is defined as observation that a person makes of his own conscienceor their moods, in order to reflect on them.

This is related to other elements already mentioned: listening, self-reflection and even self-care. In psychology, introspection is a key element that allows people to “stop” and focus on themselvesin order to resolve conflicts, to accompany each other, to understand, to integrate experiences.

Regulate our emotions

We all want to manage our emotions and use them to our advantage. However, we don’t know how and our attempt to achieve it sometimes ends up making things worse. Well, it seems that intrapersonal communication can be an excellent strategy to achieve this.

Internal dialogue not only serves to listen to ourselves and reflect on our lives, it can also help us regulate our emotions, we just have to make a small linguistic adjustment when speaking to ourselves: use the second person singular, as indicated in an article published in Current Directions in Psychological Science.

Facilitates self-control

In addition to the previous function, self-control is crucial for good management of emotions, because thanks to it we can suppress or activate certain behaviors. But how to have self-control? With intrapersonal communication.

A study published in Scientific reports indicates that Third-person self-talk can facilitate self-control. Researchers hypothesize that this is possible due to the psychological distance that people generate by speaking to each other in this way.

Examples of intrapersonal communication

There are different ways to exercise this type of communication. Let’s look at the most important ones:

Speaking out loud

This is what is classically known as “talking to yourself.” It also includes reading something aloud to yourself.

It can be a useful calming practice., pay attention to something specific, organize ideas, encourage concentration. Many times, talking to yourself out loud occurs unconsciously.

negative thoughts

Negative thoughts are ideas that appear, often intrusively, in our minds. They generate anguish and can affect our mood and other aspects such as self-esteem..

In this sense, it refers to a type of dysfunctional or negative intrapersonal communication. With therapy, this way of directing ourselves, through thought, can be combated.

between body parts

Is about a little more particular communication, and not so psychological. In this case, we are talking about some organ in the body sending a message to the central nervous system.

Imagine, for example, the sensations of heat, hunger, itching. This is also intrapersonal communication, although at other levels.

Difficulties of intrapersonal communication

When self-talk is negative, it can cause problems in a person’s life. Let’s imagine a person who constantly says to himself: “I’m stupid. “I’m of no use.” Over time, this way of talking to yourself will affect the way you act and feel.

Psychology tells us that our thoughts influence our feelings. What we think generates emotions associated with the content of our narratives. This is so, in part, because our mind seeks coherence as a way to avoid the discomfort of cognitive dissonance.

If a person calls themselves stupid or useless all the time, in the long run they end up behaving as such. If he believes that she will not achieve what she sets out to do, he might not achieve it. Predictions can become a reality, this is what is known as a self-fulfilling prophecy.

As we can see, The content of the dialogue and its level of negativity can generate great difficulties for a person. Although, if we go to the other extreme, excessively positive dialogue can also cause problems, a clear example of this is people in manic episodes.

An individual with mania has exaggerated self-confidence and his internal dialogue may suggest that he is capable of achieving anything he undertakes. This can lead him, for example, to spend a lot of money to achieve what he wants or start ventures that generate more expenses than profits.

With these small examples, it is a little clearer how intrapersonal communication can be problematic. However, there is no need to be so alarmed because it also has its great benefits, as positive psychology has been pointing out to us.

Final thoughts

And you, do you talk to yourself? Do you use this type of communication throughout the day? To what end? Taking care of our internal language, everything we tell ourselves, is essential to enjoy good mental health.

As in everything in life, talking to yourself is also “learned”, and therefore it is important to review this internal dialogue so that it is adaptive, useful and a good life companion. If you feel that your internal speech makes you uncomfortable, listen to yourself and ask for help if you feel you need it.

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