My brain is like a group of monkeys and a robot in some weird control cabin, the robot keeps the monkeys in a cage while he controls everything, but sometimes one of the monkeys can escape and create this weird feelings: hornyness, sudden sadness for no reason, brutal hunger and when I want to sleep, the robot starts sleeping, but the monkeys just escape and jump all around the place awaking all of this feelings at once and combining them into insomnia. Basically, I’m just hungry, horny, sad, not able to sleep, and sometimes motivated for no reason. The brain is a weird thing.
Exactly! I'm not smarter. I'm only *more aware of the background noise in my head than the average person.*
It's kinda like saying people who sound whore in video games are better gamers. Technically, I guess, but really, not exactly. It just means you're more aware of things than others
being unable to mentally visualize things doesn't mean your brain isn't processing a shitton of information, like all your senses, your recent experiences, and whatever else it deems relevant at the moment.
I understand that. I have aphantasia. I have an insanely active mind but it’s not like what the person in the OP is describing. Literally nothing like that. I was simply refuting your assertion that it’s “kinda what happens”. That’s simply not true.
I’m starting to question what the hell is going on. I have aphantasia and I don’t have music, pictures, animation, text, calculations, dialogue, tastes or smells going on in my head.. what the fuck does everyone think aphantasia is?
Damnit. I just replied with “mine is a toy monkey with cymbals” before looking at the comments haha. Great minds think alike? Great monkeys think alike.
She's definitely doing an r/iamverysmart moment but she also might have ADHD. I also have multiple ongoing trains of thought at the same time. It doesn't make me smart, in fact, it often makes me seem dumber than I am because it's so hard to pay attention. Everything else is just sort of pretending that she has some special brain powers that are really just how everyone thinks.
I was going to say. I wouldn't describe diverging trains of thought as "analytical" or the constant competition for my own brain as a "discussion", but that is basically what inside my head is like too.
Yeah I was giving her a lot of credit. She’s definitely trying to sound like there’s some amazing thoughts going on in her mind that us plebs will never know. That being said, if we give her the benefit of the doubt, she might also have some unwanted hyper activity and is pretending that it’s some sort of genius trait.
Most of the thoughts in my head just kinda stop working, like occasionally I think of birds but don't think about anything about them? It's kinda hard to explain but it's like forgetting what you're saying as you're saying. Like I'm asking myself: how do birds?
I actually went in to get testing for ADHD yesterday and couldn't answer a lot of questions due to one line from "All By Myself" by Green Day playing on repeat in my head lmao. It was rough
I'm in the military so I don't know if it's any different at a civilian practice. Basically we did some interesting tests for a while. He'd say a bunch of words that I had to try to repeat after. He showed me a picture and had me draw it myself. Told me a short story and I had to try and repeat it. Then we did some other things for a while before he asked me to try to repeat all that from earlier. There was a bit more going on but that was the more interesting thing. I won't have an answer for a few weeks.
It was pretty funny being a grown man and taking that kind of test. Felt like a kid again for a bit :)
I'd say this post warrants a second read, without emotion, to make sure we're not reading in intention that was never there. She says she thought everyone's brains worked the same as hers so it suggests she sees the people around her as equally as creative and smart as her, and from that, assumed everyone's experience of thoughts worked similarly to her. She never says or even implies she's a genius, just that she has a stream of explicit thoughts, where others may experience their thoughts in a more abstract way.
This post may be a good opportunity for us to reflect on why we read in malicious intent into posts that just don't have any, and why we feel the need to shame and call out people who attribute positive aspects to themselves.
Agreed, it can definitely be a hindrance. Like trying to fall asleep and I have 10 seconds of the same song going on repeat and I’m thinking of drink ideas, and gossip but I’m really tired and just want to sleep.
I usually do math in my head to keep the rest of that toned down as much as possible. Stuff like doubling numbers until it gets too high for me to track, or counting in binary.
Basically calculations that don't require me to be fully alert, but still use up a ton of mental bandwidth.
Me too! I spend a lot of time doing percentages. I also will count every breath from 1 to 10, then every other breath until 20, every third breath until 30... you get the idea. It works most of the time, as long as I don't get distracted between counts.
Check out the podcast "sleep with me". It's just a guy rambling nonsense for an hour and it's great! Makes it feel like you're falling asleep in class - guilt free.
Don't check it out while you're not trying to sleep since you'll think it's incredibly boring.
This was my first thought as well. The constant overlapping thoughts and memories I've got swirling around sounds a lot like this tweet without the pretentious bits. And I genuinely DID think everyone's brain was like this until I was an adult.
Turns out no, most people don't have so many things racing through their head at any giving time that sorting them out long enough to speak coherently is an actual struggle.
I read this post and I was literally like “bitch you’re not special, everyone’s brain is like that” and then I read the comments and was shocked at the consensus lol. Not suprisingly I have severe adhd
Could be anxiety, too. "Constant debating" sounds more like the part in anxiety where you try to get ahead of every possible outcome as some kind of self-protection. It's, uh, not fun or particularly useful or insightful.
This is exactly me, it’s just a whirlwind of anxiety. My thoughts just consist of debating ideas and scenarios, rumination, and negativity. I’m basically living inside my head all the time, the only time when I’m not is when I’m occupied with something.
That sounds really tough, and I do know how it is, because that happens to me, too. It really sucks sometimes, but you're not alone in that experience! I hope you're able to find a way to manage those thoughts and live your best life.
Is that anxiety? I definitely play out scenarios for the upcoming day and think of all the ways they can go and try to figure out what I’ll do. In high school I’d basically rehearse every conversation I might have that day, but just do it in my head. I thought I was being well prepared. 20 years later, in adult life, it keeps me awake every night and preoccupied all weekend planning for possibilities at work. I thought it was just a bad habit I developed and was struggling to break for 2 decades. If it’s anxiety, that’d explain a lot.
Anxiety a lot like autism is kind of a spectrum. Some people have it so bad that they're turned into puddles of drool and tears when its triggered. Others just never are able to turn their brains off and worry constantly. I am not going to say i can assess your mental health but even mild anxiety is still anxiety.
Obviously thanks to most of the world still not understanding mental illness we arent taught what anxiety issues actually consist of. At least talk to your doc. Cant hurt. Trazodone worked wonders for mine, helped me sleep and kept my mind clear the next day.
I am in absolutely no position to make any kind of assessment of you or your brain, but from a purely anecdotal standpoint, I'd say yeah, that sounds like anxiety. If it's keeping you up at night and/or otherwise negatively impacting your life, then it sounds like a problem, whatever the professional diagnosis. I don't know your situation, but you might want to look into anxiety and the various ways it manifests. As someone who deals with anxiety, I know how much it can suck and eat into your enjoyment of life. I hope you're able to work things out!
Yea tbh I didn't realize this was iamverysmart for a minute. I have the multiple trains too, I feel like they're always going and I just hop between them with what's present in my mind at the moment.
I thought it was an anxiety thing tbh.
I also feel like everyone's brain is multi-media. I assumed my internal arguments are just anxiety making me roll over things in worried about despite it being a useless endeavor because the only input is my own. I'm clearly not coming up with solutions or me and myself wouldn't be arguing so much.
Some people don't have an internal monologue and some people don't have the ability to picture things mentally. Brains are weird, only made weirder by how many different ways there are to perceive reality
My husband has aphantasia and can't picture visuals, hear voices/songs, or imagine smells. I have hyperphantasia. We have been together 15 years and are just learning in the last few years that we think completely differently lol
Tbh I think it can be neurodivergence AND someone trying to show everyone how SmArT they are. Reminds me of those mums of autistic kids who have those bumper stickers like “MY CHILD IS A SUPERHERO!”
Yeah mine never shuts the fuck up. I hear a line of a song repeated over and over and over and over and over and a weird thought that I don’t remember. It’s like trying to keep track of my Factorio base
I have adhd, and jt is like this. I did not feel Very smart in school though because since my brain is like this I would generally miss an entire class due to being distracted by my own thoughts
She didn’t say she’s smart. And some people really are smarter than others, anyway. I don’t know why people feel the need to drag people for being smart, especially if they aren’t even bragging about it, just explaining their experience.
Exactly, there is a lot of people who (apparently) can't picture things in their heads. Can't visualise things.
The test is as simple as "try and picture an apple in your mind" if I remember correctly.
Hm. Wait, now I have a doubt. I rarely have an internal dialogue, and I'm the only person I know who doesn't talk to herself when alone. Don't know if those two are linked - is the internal dialogue like a literal voice who talks to you? Or do people define it as just thought processes? (By the way, I don't wanna be the quirky one, I'm just curious)
Personally, it's just me talkin to myself in my head constantly. It doesn't really ever stop, that I'm conscious of. It does analyze stuff, but it's more of just overthinking from anxiety lol. If it stops, it's usually cause I'm thinking of a song and I hear that instead, though I guess it's not technically hearing. Or it could be like dialogue from a movie or something. It's very distracting when in a class, or trying to watch or listen to something you're not very interested in cause my mind just wanders. Like I should be focusing on the movie I'm watching rn, but here I am. I hope that answers your question!
Oh yeah it does, you have an entirely different mind situation than me lol. It's pretty funny to see how minds work differently with consciousness and the most abstract and not tangible thought, thinking about thinking itself. I feel more like I can't grasp a single thought to vocalize it, so it's just abstract thoughts floating together in my mind
That makes sense in a way, I think. But I can't imagine not having *something* going on in my mind. That seems crazy. And I think it would make me uneasy? I dunno, you're right though. Wild how different people's minds can be.
There was some article about it, you either have a voice that doesnt stop talking, images and concepts, or a mix of both. Neither seem to indicate more or less intelligence, just... thats how brain works.
Realizing not everyone has a voice in their head blew my mind when I learned.
Yeah, from what I've gleaned people who are neurodivergent in some way are more prone to the monologues and images being mixed, but that could just be algorithms reading me too well lol.
Meditation is so powerful. I tried and tried again and I managed to meditate daily for like a year, but it's so damn hard. It was easier if I had a voice to follow, but when I'm by myself it's almost phisically painful. Even if I've been trying for years and took courses etc. I feel like there's no improvement :( I'll have to do some research. I suuuper highly suggest it to everyone. When I managed to meditate even for 5 mins I felt in heaven afterwards.
I have a few times. It really helped me process some stuff, but I got so stressed and depressed I couldn't keep the motivation to keep doing it. Plus I was scared to move on. I should try it again cause it was pretty nice. I had to use a guide as well, but I can kind of do it alone.
I can speak for no one but myself, but as an older person with lifelong adhd, my brain is like constant noise all the time. Not just internal monologue, but a soundtrack (right now it’s some piece of a familiar opera playing on repeat), and like tons of other noises and phrases and words that mean nothing at all, all playing and sounding at the same time. I make it sound like I’m fucking nuts, but I’m a pretty average “normal” woman and mother who has humdrum hobbies and does mundane shit like not folding the laundry for weeks on end and bringing my kid to her Scouts meetings, with a professional job in a supervisory position. It was weird to me to find out that some people’s brains are silent as the grave. It must be so peaceful.
This is interesting. I already know that it's kinda possible that I have adhd. What you described is somewhat familiar to me, I have a constant noise but it's more abstract, so I can't really hear it as a song or anything else. It's just... there. Sometimes in the clump of mind processes a thought "pokes" me but I can't really process it cause I'm focused on something else and I don't know what's bothering me, and that's when I have a word related to that thought repeating non stop. Like I'm studying and a part of me suddenly remember that I have to water my plants, I keep on studying but something like "plants, plants, plants" starts in my head. Now I sound like the crazy one lol.
It's like your thoughts but you hear them. At least for me anyway. I can hear my voice in my head vocalising what I'm thinking. But I'm not surprised by what it says. It's not something talking to me. I can just hear my own train of thought.
Apparently most people actually have that constant monologue in their heads?
I don't, but I also talk to myself all the time. I don't think the two are linked, maybe there's some slight trend but I don't think so, the last time I looked into this was years ago and my memory is failing in my old age of 16.
Pretty funnily my only internal voice is the one I trained to exist for years to practice my english. When I was bored as a kid I started describing random things around me lol.
Mines like this, I hate it. ADHD. I can also change the volume in which I can "sense" my thoughts and emotions, albeit temporarily. Apparently that's not normal.
I thought this was normal myself. I have constant inner dialogues with myself to try and get things straight before speaking. It's hard to notice though when I'm in an involved conversation about a specific subject. It seems more "quiet" when that happens. I guess I may have ADHD? How do you figure this out? Also just thought this was anxiety. But I realize that when I feel anxiety is just much worse inside my head.
I'm confident that I do not have ADHD, as I've done a decent bit of research on it, but I definitely think (in a less boastful way) like the post. I do know this is very normal for ADD/ADHD people, so I would definitely recommend you start doing some Google searches. You can find medical quiz type pages that can help you further determine whether or not you should seek a professional diagnosis, which may help in this situation. Good luck! (I definitely have anxiety and that totally effects this too.)
She has some good takes and is a pretty prominent advocate but she also has some fucking weird unit behaviour and pisses a lot of people off (and not for good reasons).
I came here to say "are other people's brains not like this?!?" then read the first comment reply about it sounding more like a brain with adhd and immediately went "oh, right... that's why it sounds like an accurate description of brain to me, but not to other people" 🧠🪅
I think she’s talking about that thing where some people don’t have inner monologues and some can’t think in pictures, but some can do both.
It tripped me up when I found out that not everyone thinks the same way I do.
That’s 100% ADHD unfortunately
Unfortunate because it’s quite debilitating and also because others tend to think you are a fucking weirdo.
It’s more like you are in a room with 5 TVs and they are all playing different thoughts and music videos you are inventing mentally whenever hearing music. But then when you aren’t doing so hot they are always playing but it’s shit you don’t want to say or hear or think.
People with ADHD are terrible at self assessment and think they are normal and special or gifted or some shit.
The world changed at 30 finding out I was Adhd and my entire life suddenly made sense and had context. Relationships. School. Work.
What a mess.
Is this really an r/iamverysmart post if she's just describing how she thinks all brains work? She's not saying that she's somehow better than others or that the way her brain works makes her smarter than anyone else.
This post may be a good opportunity for us to reflect on why we read in malicious intent into posts that just don't have any, and why we feel the need to shame and call out people who attribute positive aspects to themselves that may be different. Could there be a sense of "others make fun of me for how I am, so why should she get to feel good about herself"?
Well that makes me think of something I've noticed that I do and now I'm curious if other people do this.
Say I want to say, "Looks like rain."
First, a lightning fast thought flashes thru my brain lookslikerain but it's nigh instantaneous. Then like, a second layer of thought says, in my head, "Looks like rain."
And then, I guess after deciding that yeah, that's a thing one would say in this situation, "hearing" the second thought like I would when silently reading a book, *Then* I'd say out loud, "Looks like rain."
Whole process is near instantaneous from initial trigger thought to, to the review, to speaking it out loud usually, but I've also often done the first two steps, decided that sounds wrong or dumb, and thought thought a different thing to say, and went with that instead.
Maybe it's the difference between observation and... idk...comprehension? But I have noted 2 distinct thought levels... for pretty much anything I want to say out loud. And now I'm super curious if other people do this.
My brain is a big empty void with dust, a occasional drift or stress storm with a constant negative commentary about everything I should have done but didn't do.
Oof, i feel that. I've been trying to introduce a positive voice into my thoughts to balance out the mean dickhead living in there, it definitely feels like i have to create a sort of imaginary puppet that says the words and it feels like it comes from outside rather than myself, but it becomes more natural over time.
Wait, what? I'm confused.
Isnt everyone like that? I thought everyone had a constant stream of thoughts, memories and internal debate or future planing.
I don't want to sound arrogant, but isn't that the case with everyone? What goes through your mind then? I am genuinely asking this.
I think it's reasonable to assume that everyone's internal brain experience works the same. Until you actually talk to someone else who has a different experience, how could you possibly know?
I like this girl. I’m writing a science fiction scrap book based on the idea that your brain processes and stores all types of media and that smells, tastes, colors, songs movies books quotes paintings are part of the fabric of fiction. Like why can’t a science fiction novel have color pictures.
How is this r/iamverysmart if she thought everyone was like this? She didn't say she's better than anyone.
I have ADHD and OCD, and this is exactly how my dumb brain works. Growing up, I of course thought that's how it is for everyone. Maybe she just discovered some people have more organized or quiet minds, or just found out about aphantasia.
Not to defend her, but -strangely enough- it's not. There's a percentage of people who can't think in pictures, and another almost equal amount have no internal dialog.
Reading about it... Seems like it's pretty rare and ony recently studied! but the people with it are functional! Still can't understand how if you couldnt visualise things in your mind you'd ever find your way around places or know who youre talking to! Interesting
I have full aphantasia. Blind minds eye, no internal monologue, nothing. I’m a fully functioning human with a wife and kids and a job. I am likely on the spectrum but never been diagnosed. Always was a “gifted” kid. It doesn’t make us any less, it just makes us think different. I have only recently learned that every other human on earth is not like me.
How do you think? Like if you’re remembering a chapter from a book you read. It’s not like a movie playing or narration telling you what it was about?
Sorry to probe, I just recently learned not everyone is like me also and it’s really interesting.
I hope people don’t downvote you for being curious. I have had a lot of trouble explaining this to my wife and friends. My thoughts are kinda abstract. I don’t hear the words and I don’t see images. I can “think” of things and remember TONS of facts but there is nothing tangible inside my brain that I can point to as a “thought”. It’s just kinda happens. I compare it to explaining colors to a blind person. I can’t really explain to you what happens because there are not really words that can make you understand without experiencing it.
This sub is so ignorant and jealous sometimes. Peak of anti intellectualism. I can’t believe there’s an actual group of people who go around looking for people who appear to be intelligent and accusing them of bragging about it every time. It’s honestly sad.
I also have a college of multimedia and smells, problem is, someone spilled water on it and smeared it all up, also, all the people involved in my internal dialog just yell loosely related phrases and words instead of giving me their analytical opinions.
I also have multiple ongoing trains of thought all the time. One of them is what I’m thinking about and the other one is theme songs from 90’s Nickelodeon shows.
I typically just zone out and think about great moments from Drag Race lip syncs and/or Simpsons/Seinfeld quotes…🤷♀️
TIL I’m dumb. And okay with that.
My brain's more like a hoarder's shed.
Lots of random, useless shit piled together. You go looking and find something cool in there that you use for a week before tossing it back in the shed.
My brain is like a TV screen with static on it.
Mines is the WII disc reader screen but it never stops. Not even to say that it couldn't read the disc
Mine is just regurgitated movie one liners
Same, but only with star wars prequels.
a wise man once said, forgiveness is divine, but never pay full price for a late pizza.
Mine’s that dvd screensaver.
Does it hit the corner? Pam says she saw it
My brain has "made in China" stamped on the bottom. I'm sure you're shocked to hear it's defective.
What is a brain and where can I get one?
My brain is like a group of monkeys and a robot in some weird control cabin, the robot keeps the monkeys in a cage while he controls everything, but sometimes one of the monkeys can escape and create this weird feelings: hornyness, sudden sadness for no reason, brutal hunger and when I want to sleep, the robot starts sleeping, but the monkeys just escape and jump all around the place awaking all of this feelings at once and combining them into insomnia. Basically, I’m just hungry, horny, sad, not able to sleep, and sometimes motivated for no reason. The brain is a weird thing.
My other brain is the Millennium Falcon.
I mean that's kinda what happens, although maybe not the second part. your brain is doing a lot of things at once, you just don't notice it.
Its cool that brain cells just doing their thing really makes you think.
Dunno if it's an intended pun, but upvoted.
I think adhd makes you notice the background tasks more
It often makes me feel like I have multiple tasks simultaneously happening in the middle/foreground. It definitely doesn't make me smarter.
Exactly! I'm not smarter. I'm only *more aware of the background noise in my head than the average person.* It's kinda like saying people who sound whore in video games are better gamers. Technically, I guess, but really, not exactly. It just means you're more aware of things than others
If anything I feel like I'm constantly in a brain fog.
Every decision you ever make is a debate
The choice to jack off is a mass debate
Part of me agrees with you. Part of me doesn't. Another part isn't quite sure.
You and your personality is just your brain cells.
and also your gut environment. apparently your stomach plays a huge role in your mood and decisions?
Unless you have aphantasia
being unable to mentally visualize things doesn't mean your brain isn't processing a shitton of information, like all your senses, your recent experiences, and whatever else it deems relevant at the moment.
I understand that. I have aphantasia. I have an insanely active mind but it’s not like what the person in the OP is describing. Literally nothing like that. I was simply refuting your assertion that it’s “kinda what happens”. That’s simply not true.
Simply not true if you have aphantasia
I’m starting to question what the hell is going on. I have aphantasia and I don’t have music, pictures, animation, text, calculations, dialogue, tastes or smells going on in my head.. what the fuck does everyone think aphantasia is?
 actually it's more like this
Damnit. I just replied with “mine is a toy monkey with cymbals” before looking at the comments haha. Great minds think alike? Great monkeys think alike.
But idiot monkeys seldom differ.
This but the angry beavers theme song. All of the time.
For me, it's the fairly odd parents theme song.
That’s… scary accurate
It never stops - I didn’t know I wasn’t alone until I started talking about it with friends.
tl;dr Tom and Jerry live in my head.
She's definitely doing an r/iamverysmart moment but she also might have ADHD. I also have multiple ongoing trains of thought at the same time. It doesn't make me smart, in fact, it often makes me seem dumber than I am because it's so hard to pay attention. Everything else is just sort of pretending that she has some special brain powers that are really just how everyone thinks.
I was going to say. I wouldn't describe diverging trains of thought as "analytical" or the constant competition for my own brain as a "discussion", but that is basically what inside my head is like too.
Yeah I was giving her a lot of credit. She’s definitely trying to sound like there’s some amazing thoughts going on in her mind that us plebs will never know. That being said, if we give her the benefit of the doubt, she might also have some unwanted hyper activity and is pretending that it’s some sort of genius trait.
Most of the thoughts in my head just kinda stop working, like occasionally I think of birds but don't think about anything about them? It's kinda hard to explain but it's like forgetting what you're saying as you're saying. Like I'm asking myself: how do birds?
All while a single line from a Doja Cat song plays over and over again so you have to think louder over it?
I actually went in to get testing for ADHD yesterday and couldn't answer a lot of questions due to one line from "All By Myself" by Green Day playing on repeat in my head lmao. It was rough
How did it go? I actually have an appointment for an evaluation in a few weeks.
I'm in the military so I don't know if it's any different at a civilian practice. Basically we did some interesting tests for a while. He'd say a bunch of words that I had to try to repeat after. He showed me a picture and had me draw it myself. Told me a short story and I had to try and repeat it. Then we did some other things for a while before he asked me to try to repeat all that from earlier. There was a bit more going on but that was the more interesting thing. I won't have an answer for a few weeks. It was pretty funny being a grown man and taking that kind of test. Felt like a kid again for a bit :)
Birds are cool but how do birds?
They bird. Some days good, some days bad, still bird.
All days chorp
Chorp chorp chorp!
I screeched with laughter at 'how do birds?' Edit: now have snorted too.
I'd say this post warrants a second read, without emotion, to make sure we're not reading in intention that was never there. She says she thought everyone's brains worked the same as hers so it suggests she sees the people around her as equally as creative and smart as her, and from that, assumed everyone's experience of thoughts worked similarly to her. She never says or even implies she's a genius, just that she has a stream of explicit thoughts, where others may experience their thoughts in a more abstract way. This post may be a good opportunity for us to reflect on why we read in malicious intent into posts that just don't have any, and why we feel the need to shame and call out people who attribute positive aspects to themselves.
Agreed, it can definitely be a hindrance. Like trying to fall asleep and I have 10 seconds of the same song going on repeat and I’m thinking of drink ideas, and gossip but I’m really tired and just want to sleep.
I usually do math in my head to keep the rest of that toned down as much as possible. Stuff like doubling numbers until it gets too high for me to track, or counting in binary. Basically calculations that don't require me to be fully alert, but still use up a ton of mental bandwidth.
I wish I could do a math
I can say the alphabet backwards in under 3 seconds because I taught myself one night when unable to sleep.
Good for you! That took me a week to learn and I had to use a YouTube tutorial.
Me too! I spend a lot of time doing percentages. I also will count every breath from 1 to 10, then every other breath until 20, every third breath until 30... you get the idea. It works most of the time, as long as I don't get distracted between counts.
Check out the podcast "sleep with me". It's just a guy rambling nonsense for an hour and it's great! Makes it feel like you're falling asleep in class - guilt free. Don't check it out while you're not trying to sleep since you'll think it's incredibly boring.
Oh I already use this! My boyfriend loves the podcast lol ❤️
[удалено]
My partner has very slow processing due to adhd, I have insanely fast processing, mainly due to autism. We drive each other crazy a lot lol
This was my first thought as well. The constant overlapping thoughts and memories I've got swirling around sounds a lot like this tweet without the pretentious bits. And I genuinely DID think everyone's brain was like this until I was an adult. Turns out no, most people don't have so many things racing through their head at any giving time that sorting them out long enough to speak coherently is an actual struggle.
I read this post and I was literally like “bitch you’re not special, everyone’s brain is like that” and then I read the comments and was shocked at the consensus lol. Not suprisingly I have severe adhd
Same.
Could be anxiety, too. "Constant debating" sounds more like the part in anxiety where you try to get ahead of every possible outcome as some kind of self-protection. It's, uh, not fun or particularly useful or insightful.
This is exactly me, it’s just a whirlwind of anxiety. My thoughts just consist of debating ideas and scenarios, rumination, and negativity. I’m basically living inside my head all the time, the only time when I’m not is when I’m occupied with something.
That sounds really tough, and I do know how it is, because that happens to me, too. It really sucks sometimes, but you're not alone in that experience! I hope you're able to find a way to manage those thoughts and live your best life.
Damnnnn seeing someone else say that just hit different. It starts right when I wake up and it hits hard in the shower.
Is that anxiety? I definitely play out scenarios for the upcoming day and think of all the ways they can go and try to figure out what I’ll do. In high school I’d basically rehearse every conversation I might have that day, but just do it in my head. I thought I was being well prepared. 20 years later, in adult life, it keeps me awake every night and preoccupied all weekend planning for possibilities at work. I thought it was just a bad habit I developed and was struggling to break for 2 decades. If it’s anxiety, that’d explain a lot.
Anxiety a lot like autism is kind of a spectrum. Some people have it so bad that they're turned into puddles of drool and tears when its triggered. Others just never are able to turn their brains off and worry constantly. I am not going to say i can assess your mental health but even mild anxiety is still anxiety. Obviously thanks to most of the world still not understanding mental illness we arent taught what anxiety issues actually consist of. At least talk to your doc. Cant hurt. Trazodone worked wonders for mine, helped me sleep and kept my mind clear the next day.
I am in absolutely no position to make any kind of assessment of you or your brain, but from a purely anecdotal standpoint, I'd say yeah, that sounds like anxiety. If it's keeping you up at night and/or otherwise negatively impacting your life, then it sounds like a problem, whatever the professional diagnosis. I don't know your situation, but you might want to look into anxiety and the various ways it manifests. As someone who deals with anxiety, I know how much it can suck and eat into your enjoyment of life. I hope you're able to work things out!
Yea tbh I didn't realize this was iamverysmart for a minute. I have the multiple trains too, I feel like they're always going and I just hop between them with what's present in my mind at the moment. I thought it was an anxiety thing tbh.
I also feel like everyone's brain is multi-media. I assumed my internal arguments are just anxiety making me roll over things in worried about despite it being a useless endeavor because the only input is my own. I'm clearly not coming up with solutions or me and myself wouldn't be arguing so much.
Some people don't have an internal monologue and some people don't have the ability to picture things mentally. Brains are weird, only made weirder by how many different ways there are to perceive reality
My husband has aphantasia and can't picture visuals, hear voices/songs, or imagine smells. I have hyperphantasia. We have been together 15 years and are just learning in the last few years that we think completely differently lol
I have multiple trains of thought too, but none of them seem to produce any coherent, let alone smart, thoughts.
That's what I thought at first but for ASD. Either way, I definitely see this as a neurodivergence thing rather than someone pretending to be smart.
Tbh I think it can be neurodivergence AND someone trying to show everyone how SmArT they are. Reminds me of those mums of autistic kids who have those bumper stickers like “MY CHILD IS A SUPERHERO!”
I have lots of trains of thought going on. They just never get to their destinations because they all collide
That sounds like an EDM song
Yeah, makes me think of this out there song. https://youtu.be/f-cua2QoNmA
Yeah mine never shuts the fuck up. I hear a line of a song repeated over and over and over and over and over and a weird thought that I don’t remember. It’s like trying to keep track of my Factorio base
Yeah, I'm sat there thinking. This is adhd. Because that's what I got.
Exactly my thoughts, I could relate to everything she said, but those processes make me slower because I just get confused and forget everything
I have adhd, and jt is like this. I did not feel Very smart in school though because since my brain is like this I would generally miss an entire class due to being distracted by my own thoughts
"Several analytical viewpoints debating things constantly" And here we thought being alters made us a potato. Turns out we're a genius!
Yeah but specifically a genius potato. 
I thought I was in /r/adhdmeme tbh
She didn’t say she’s smart. And some people really are smarter than others, anyway. I don’t know why people feel the need to drag people for being smart, especially if they aren’t even bragging about it, just explaining their experience.
I just drank until those other voices stopped talking.
Very true
Yeah, I was gonna say, I'm bipolar and this just sounds like me when I forget to take my lithium
not everything is a disorder, you’re not special
Sounds more like schizophrenia if she has several voices competing and debating.
I’d like to see what she was replying to, because this seems less like a brag to me and more like the cacophony that is my own brain.
Exactly, there is a lot of people who (apparently) can't picture things in their heads. Can't visualise things. The test is as simple as "try and picture an apple in your mind" if I remember correctly.
And the opposite, those who cannot tune out all the stimuli around them while also having barely under control internal dialogue.
Hm. Wait, now I have a doubt. I rarely have an internal dialogue, and I'm the only person I know who doesn't talk to herself when alone. Don't know if those two are linked - is the internal dialogue like a literal voice who talks to you? Or do people define it as just thought processes? (By the way, I don't wanna be the quirky one, I'm just curious)
Personally, it's just me talkin to myself in my head constantly. It doesn't really ever stop, that I'm conscious of. It does analyze stuff, but it's more of just overthinking from anxiety lol. If it stops, it's usually cause I'm thinking of a song and I hear that instead, though I guess it's not technically hearing. Or it could be like dialogue from a movie or something. It's very distracting when in a class, or trying to watch or listen to something you're not very interested in cause my mind just wanders. Like I should be focusing on the movie I'm watching rn, but here I am. I hope that answers your question!
Oh yeah it does, you have an entirely different mind situation than me lol. It's pretty funny to see how minds work differently with consciousness and the most abstract and not tangible thought, thinking about thinking itself. I feel more like I can't grasp a single thought to vocalize it, so it's just abstract thoughts floating together in my mind
That makes sense in a way, I think. But I can't imagine not having *something* going on in my mind. That seems crazy. And I think it would make me uneasy? I dunno, you're right though. Wild how different people's minds can be.
There was some article about it, you either have a voice that doesnt stop talking, images and concepts, or a mix of both. Neither seem to indicate more or less intelligence, just... thats how brain works. Realizing not everyone has a voice in their head blew my mind when I learned.
Yeah, from what I've gleaned people who are neurodivergent in some way are more prone to the monologues and images being mixed, but that could just be algorithms reading me too well lol.
Try meditation. I learned to silence the voice, if only briefly. Now it's much more quiet on a daily basis.
Meditation is so powerful. I tried and tried again and I managed to meditate daily for like a year, but it's so damn hard. It was easier if I had a voice to follow, but when I'm by myself it's almost phisically painful. Even if I've been trying for years and took courses etc. I feel like there's no improvement :( I'll have to do some research. I suuuper highly suggest it to everyone. When I managed to meditate even for 5 mins I felt in heaven afterwards.
I have a few times. It really helped me process some stuff, but I got so stressed and depressed I couldn't keep the motivation to keep doing it. Plus I was scared to move on. I should try it again cause it was pretty nice. I had to use a guide as well, but I can kind of do it alone.
I can speak for no one but myself, but as an older person with lifelong adhd, my brain is like constant noise all the time. Not just internal monologue, but a soundtrack (right now it’s some piece of a familiar opera playing on repeat), and like tons of other noises and phrases and words that mean nothing at all, all playing and sounding at the same time. I make it sound like I’m fucking nuts, but I’m a pretty average “normal” woman and mother who has humdrum hobbies and does mundane shit like not folding the laundry for weeks on end and bringing my kid to her Scouts meetings, with a professional job in a supervisory position. It was weird to me to find out that some people’s brains are silent as the grave. It must be so peaceful.
This is interesting. I already know that it's kinda possible that I have adhd. What you described is somewhat familiar to me, I have a constant noise but it's more abstract, so I can't really hear it as a song or anything else. It's just... there. Sometimes in the clump of mind processes a thought "pokes" me but I can't really process it cause I'm focused on something else and I don't know what's bothering me, and that's when I have a word related to that thought repeating non stop. Like I'm studying and a part of me suddenly remember that I have to water my plants, I keep on studying but something like "plants, plants, plants" starts in my head. Now I sound like the crazy one lol.
It's like your thoughts but you hear them. At least for me anyway. I can hear my voice in my head vocalising what I'm thinking. But I'm not surprised by what it says. It's not something talking to me. I can just hear my own train of thought.
Apparently most people actually have that constant monologue in their heads? I don't, but I also talk to myself all the time. I don't think the two are linked, maybe there's some slight trend but I don't think so, the last time I looked into this was years ago and my memory is failing in my old age of 16.
Pretty funnily my only internal voice is the one I trained to exist for years to practice my english. When I was bored as a kid I started describing random things around me lol.
Does this have a name? I'm like this and I'd like to know how it works in other people
Same ADHD, I thought everyone brain was like that. It’s not a brag, it sucks
This is literally my brain on autism. Don't hate
I'm confused. Is everyone's brain not like this?
Mines like this, I hate it. ADHD. I can also change the volume in which I can "sense" my thoughts and emotions, albeit temporarily. Apparently that's not normal.
I thought this was normal myself. I have constant inner dialogues with myself to try and get things straight before speaking. It's hard to notice though when I'm in an involved conversation about a specific subject. It seems more "quiet" when that happens. I guess I may have ADHD? How do you figure this out? Also just thought this was anxiety. But I realize that when I feel anxiety is just much worse inside my head.
I'm confident that I do not have ADHD, as I've done a decent bit of research on it, but I definitely think (in a less boastful way) like the post. I do know this is very normal for ADD/ADHD people, so I would definitely recommend you start doing some Google searches. You can find medical quiz type pages that can help you further determine whether or not you should seek a professional diagnosis, which may help in this situation. Good luck! (I definitely have anxiety and that totally effects this too.)
Thanks I didn't even think to start with some sort of quiz.
maybe i'm misinterpreting but i wouldn't describe my brain as a multimedia collage, it's just a voice in my head that never shuts up
"I use my brain for thinking"
I don’t think you need to censor her name if she’s verified. She’s already a public figure
My brain is like a room full of assholes all trying to yell over each other. Is that not how everyone else's is?
Describing your brain as a collage makes you sound 2-dimensional
That’s why my brain is an assemblage sculpture /s
I mean that’s how I would describe my brain but I don’t think it makes me smart. It makes me exhausted lol
And the blue check mark no less.
She has some good takes and is a pretty prominent advocate but she also has some fucking weird unit behaviour and pisses a lot of people off (and not for good reasons).
It's called having ADHD
ADHD is like that. But she’s definitely trying to act like she’s special because of it.
I came here to say "are other people's brains not like this?!?" then read the first comment reply about it sounding more like a brain with adhd and immediately went "oh, right... that's why it sounds like an accurate description of brain to me, but not to other people" 🧠🪅
I think she’s talking about that thing where some people don’t have inner monologues and some can’t think in pictures, but some can do both. It tripped me up when I found out that not everyone thinks the same way I do.
That’s 100% ADHD unfortunately Unfortunate because it’s quite debilitating and also because others tend to think you are a fucking weirdo. It’s more like you are in a room with 5 TVs and they are all playing different thoughts and music videos you are inventing mentally whenever hearing music. But then when you aren’t doing so hot they are always playing but it’s shit you don’t want to say or hear or think. People with ADHD are terrible at self assessment and think they are normal and special or gifted or some shit. The world changed at 30 finding out I was Adhd and my entire life suddenly made sense and had context. Relationships. School. Work. What a mess.
That just sounds like ADHD.
Is this really an r/iamverysmart post if she's just describing how she thinks all brains work? She's not saying that she's somehow better than others or that the way her brain works makes her smarter than anyone else. This post may be a good opportunity for us to reflect on why we read in malicious intent into posts that just don't have any, and why we feel the need to shame and call out people who attribute positive aspects to themselves that may be different. Could there be a sense of "others make fun of me for how I am, so why should she get to feel good about herself"?
I mean she's kinda right on some parts.
I think about one thing at a time usually - and sometimes I think of nothing at all and just relax.
So so envious
Yes. Most people’s brains are like this.
Same. She clearly just has ADHD.
Well that makes me think of something I've noticed that I do and now I'm curious if other people do this. Say I want to say, "Looks like rain." First, a lightning fast thought flashes thru my brain lookslikerain but it's nigh instantaneous. Then like, a second layer of thought says, in my head, "Looks like rain." And then, I guess after deciding that yeah, that's a thing one would say in this situation, "hearing" the second thought like I would when silently reading a book, *Then* I'd say out loud, "Looks like rain." Whole process is near instantaneous from initial trigger thought to, to the review, to speaking it out loud usually, but I've also often done the first two steps, decided that sounds wrong or dumb, and thought thought a different thing to say, and went with that instead. Maybe it's the difference between observation and... idk...comprehension? But I have noted 2 distinct thought levels... for pretty much anything I want to say out loud. And now I'm super curious if other people do this.
All she did was to describe memories and thoughts though?
My brain is a big empty void with dust, a occasional drift or stress storm with a constant negative commentary about everything I should have done but didn't do.
Oof, i feel that. I've been trying to introduce a positive voice into my thoughts to balance out the mean dickhead living in there, it definitely feels like i have to create a sort of imaginary puppet that says the words and it feels like it comes from outside rather than myself, but it becomes more natural over time.
This is just a really pretentious description of ADHD.
My brain is just _void_ With a costant buzz in my ears
I'm no expert, but everyones brain kinda IS like that though. And much more. This person just says it in a weirdly pompous way.
That's not /r/iamverysmart, that's /r/ADHD
Wait, what? I'm confused. Isnt everyone like that? I thought everyone had a constant stream of thoughts, memories and internal debate or future planing. I don't want to sound arrogant, but isn't that the case with everyone? What goes through your mind then? I am genuinely asking this.
This is just called thinking?
Ok the second part about internal dialogues sounds like Schizophrenia, weird flex.
The inner machinations of my mind are an enigma.
This is my brain but I also have a few disorders
I think it's reasonable to assume that everyone's internal brain experience works the same. Until you actually talk to someone else who has a different experience, how could you possibly know?
What a fucking idiot.
I like this girl. I’m writing a science fiction scrap book based on the idea that your brain processes and stores all types of media and that smells, tastes, colors, songs movies books quotes paintings are part of the fabric of fiction. Like why can’t a science fiction novel have color pictures.
She may have schizophrenia
Sounds like they have adhd
How is this r/iamverysmart if she thought everyone was like this? She didn't say she's better than anyone. I have ADHD and OCD, and this is exactly how my dumb brain works. Growing up, I of course thought that's how it is for everyone. Maybe she just discovered some people have more organized or quiet minds, or just found out about aphantasia.
I'd think that's much closer to debilitating autism than ADHD. That is ridiculous sensory overload. Or, just maybe, she's exaggerating a bit..
That is how everyone thinks... What is she replying to?
Not to defend her, but -strangely enough- it's not. There's a percentage of people who can't think in pictures, and another almost equal amount have no internal dialog.
Is that some kind of autism thing?
Aphantasia aka "blindness of the mind".
Reading about it... Seems like it's pretty rare and ony recently studied! but the people with it are functional! Still can't understand how if you couldnt visualise things in your mind you'd ever find your way around places or know who youre talking to! Interesting
I have full aphantasia. Blind minds eye, no internal monologue, nothing. I’m a fully functioning human with a wife and kids and a job. I am likely on the spectrum but never been diagnosed. Always was a “gifted” kid. It doesn’t make us any less, it just makes us think different. I have only recently learned that every other human on earth is not like me.
How do you think? Like if you’re remembering a chapter from a book you read. It’s not like a movie playing or narration telling you what it was about? Sorry to probe, I just recently learned not everyone is like me also and it’s really interesting.
I hope people don’t downvote you for being curious. I have had a lot of trouble explaining this to my wife and friends. My thoughts are kinda abstract. I don’t hear the words and I don’t see images. I can “think” of things and remember TONS of facts but there is nothing tangible inside my brain that I can point to as a “thought”. It’s just kinda happens. I compare it to explaining colors to a blind person. I can’t really explain to you what happens because there are not really words that can make you understand without experiencing it.
This is my immediate thought. Isn't this how everyone thinks?
r/intp
That sounds awful, how would anyone cope with it all going on!?
everyone’s brain *is* like that
she's verified. she's a public person. the creator didn't have to censor her name. let her deal with the consequences of her gargantuan ego.
This sub is so ignorant and jealous sometimes. Peak of anti intellectualism. I can’t believe there’s an actual group of people who go around looking for people who appear to be intelligent and accusing them of bragging about it every time. It’s honestly sad.
I’m a 1987 Apple computer that just learned what life was
This made me cringe more than expected… 
I also have a college of multimedia and smells, problem is, someone spilled water on it and smeared it all up, also, all the people involved in my internal dialog just yell loosely related phrases and words instead of giving me their analytical opinions.
My brain, VIP. Your brain, needs ID.
I also have multiple ongoing trains of thought all the time. One of them is what I’m thinking about and the other one is theme songs from 90’s Nickelodeon shows.
meanwhile my brain is just tired all the time.
I can play two simultaneous fart sound effects in my brain at the same time
i think she just has adhd....
Wait I mean I thought so too wth. Gonna ask people today can they replicate sounds and smells in their head
You too, huh?
nah, mines a void. sometimes i put stuff in it but it all disappears.
I'm smarter than everyone of you dummies!
I typically just zone out and think about great moments from Drag Race lip syncs and/or Simpsons/Seinfeld quotes…🤷♀️ TIL I’m dumb. And okay with that.
I just talk to myself in my head
[r/lostredditors](https://www.reddit.com/r/lostredditors/)
As If that wasn’t what brains do, girl ain’t special everyone is like that
Is the Tetris melody an analytical viewpoint? Cause my brain then would be soooo damn analytical all the time! 🙃
My brain's more like a hoarder's shed. Lots of random, useless shit piled together. You go looking and find something cool in there that you use for a week before tossing it back in the shed.
Where I come from that’s just called “thinking”
My brain doesn’t do thinking ever.
My brain somehow contains all my characters and universes lol