cuddly avatar
cuddly
36
4 days ago

Silent Reading

Do you hear the words in your head? Or something else? Interested.

Silent Reading
Luwae avatar
Luwae
1d

I noticed that since some years, the way my brain reads has changed completely. Before it used to be like it was unsynced, like i read the words with my eyes and the voice in my head was clear and loud, like really present. But now when i'm reading it's like it's synced and my brain is processing the words at the same time my eyes see them, i don't hear anything anymore. I can still make it a conscious thinking, but there's no more loud voices coming with it. And i've noticed the feelings words create are only there when i read out loud.

cuddly avatar
cuddly
21h

Very enlightening 🤩 thank you for sharing your experience! I’m glad meditation works well for you. I have recently started again before bed but should attempt more. 🙂

Luwae avatar
Luwae
1d

@cuddly I think it might be when i started to do mindfulness meditation. As i was before, it was like i had a constant torrent of thoughts screaming in my mind. I learned to take a break sitting somewhere (at first), taking the time to breathe plenty and focus on my senses, then what i did was saying out which emotion was flashing in the front seat, and then identifying still out loud why i was feeling this specific emotion (not loud enough to be heard by others, i precise). It was as if there a big traffic jam in my head because of one untreated emotion blocking it all, making a huge waiting line of emotions trying to express themselves. And doing all of this felt as if making the treating process out loud was helping my brain do it on the same time, suddenly restoring normal traffic. After a few times, i started doing it while walking, then the breathing became like an automatism. And now, it's like i'm not even conscious of the emotions passing by, the whole head is completely silent and if i wasn't perfectly remembering how it was before, i wouldn't believe myself that it had been crowded 24/7 before my 25. I still get the urge to do something about it when an idea comes in, courtesy of having ADHD (started meds yesterday, it's life changing), but it manifests a lot more like a feeling, an itching sensation, and not like an actual voice telling me to do something like it used to be

cuddly avatar
cuddly
1d

@Luwae oh wow! 😮 Did something specific change? For example I have been on an anti anxiety medication that has helped focus, but I have not noticed any dramatic differences in my processing…

cuddly avatar
cuddly
4d

Oh that is helpful. Did you learn to “scan” in school or from your parents?

cuddly avatar
cuddly
1d

@sonnek this is awesome! I think I also am comparatively fast when it comes to people around me, but I haven’t gotten into reading in this focus since high school and college I believe. After getting burnt out I noticed difficulty with reading. But I have not managed the extent to which it sounds you are able to scan things 🤩 I love it! I think my father was able to do this but he told me his dad taught him.

sonnek avatar
sonnek
1d

@cuddly guess I never really learned it but just did it somehow. I’m a very fast reader when it comes to books. My parents never believed me that I really read a book in that time even when I had just learned to read 😅. But my visual approach is faster than spoken words so I don’t hear them when I’m deep into reading.

sonnek avatar
sonnek
4d

I have 2 modi: scanning the text or hearing the words in my head. Scanning is what I mostly do, the „loud“ version appears when I’m reading difficult words or instructions.

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