Chatter: The Voice in Our Head, Why It Matters, and How to Harness It

The voice in our had is regularly chattering with us. Sometimes it is telling us how good we are. Other times it is making us worry. It may rehash past events or do many things. Often this chatter can negatively impact us. An example is given of a promising baseball pitcher who mentally fell apart and could not pitch on target any more. The mental "chatter" did him in. Being able to harness the inner voice can help us to better control our experiences.

Interestingly, the ability to rapidly make public that inner voice through digital technologies tends to make matters worse. Social media can be an especially bad trap for wellbeing. Scrolling through it, we get highlights of the "good parts" of other's lives. Posting our struggles can also cause them to remain longer and be rehashed in our mind longer. Even sharing traumatic situations with others can lengthen the time it takes to heal.

The brain is very complex. It can act in ways that we are only beginning to understand. The placebo effect can be very real. In on study, the researchers explained to patients that they were getting a placebo. Even with that knowledge, those in the placebo group still had improved outcomes.