Ever feel like you're going mad because you talk to yourself while caught up in life's everyday routine?
According to clinical social worker and psychotherapist Lisa Ferentz, talking to yourself is far from a sign of you going mad - and is actually a show of force.
She in fact goes all the way to describe it as what "guides" you through your daily hurdles.
Ferentz, author of 'Finding Your Ruby Slippers: Transformative Life Lessons from the Therapist's Couch', said she uses the technique in order to help patients build a positive perception of themselves.
"There’s nothing more important than the way we talk to ourselves because that inner monologue informs in subtle and not-so-subtle ways all our subsequent thoughts, emotional states, and behavioral choices,” Ferentz said, according to Reader's Digest.
She said the way to have a better and healthier outlook on life is by writing down all your thankful for, as well as your strengths and achievements.
You should then stand in front of the mirror and start repeating them to yourself out loud.
“Like anything else, once you practice and approach it from a positive place, you discover it’s quite easy to do. It guides our life whether we’re conscious of it or not,” Ferentz said.
Her theory has been backed by an academic study at the University of Lethbridge, which found that students who are taught how to engage in positive rather than negative self-talk are able to change their perspective on things.
That in turn makes them go about their everyday lives with more confidence and positivity.
The author pushes her clients to give themselves a pep talk just ahead of challenging situations, just as athletes are often seen doing to auto-convince themselves of their capacity so it may give them the kick they need to perform, or if they're lucky, outperform.
Having said that, however, Ferentz said that voicing out frustations is also a constructive element towards getting to know one's perturbations and whether it's worth dwelling on them or not.
She said there is "definitely a value" to saying negative words out louds as they can be "very validating".
Her theory has also been backed by a previous study by Bangor University, which found that
Dr Paloma Mari-Beffa, senior lecturer in neuropsychology and cognitive psychology, said: “Our results demonstrated that, even if we talk to ourselves to gain control during challenging tasks, performance substantially improves when we do it out loud.
“Talking out loud, when the mind is not wandering, could actually be a sign of high cognitive functioning."
