Silent Minds: Exploring the Absence of Inner Speech

Psychology Today | 02.04.2026 00:39
For many people, thinking comes with a voice. An internal stream of words narrates our day: planning dinner, rehearsing conversations, reflecting on decisions. This phenomenon (commonly referred to as inner speech) feels so natural that it is often assumed to be universal. It is typically described as a kind of internalized language, experienced through auditory imagery, often resembling one’s own voice, as if we are silently speaking to ourselves.