Not Everyone Has An Internal Dialogue

5-10% of the population lacks a consistent inner voice

I read a statistic this morning: 30-50% of people do not have an internal dialogue. Of course I went bonkers. *Spoiler alert*: this number turned out to be way off—but stick with me, because my wild theorizing led somewhere interesting, AND I’ll tell you the real number. :-)

People without an internal dialogue—a condition researchers call anendophasia—often experience thoughts through images, feelings, sensations, or just an abstract sense of knowing. They’re not necessarily missing anything; they just think differently.

I imagine: I am one of these people who has no internal dialogue. I am taking a walk through a neighbourhood. I was told earlier to take a different route. I am coming to a corner, my options are to go straight or right. Does my body tingle when I look right to tell me to go that way? Is there a movie in my head that runs either scenario telling me what might be?

I don’t really know how any of that would work. Though it’s a very interesting mental exercise and it got me wondering: if 30-50% were true, it would mean I know at least a handful of people with no internal dialogue and have taken for granted, my entire life, that they have had an internal dialogue. And do these dialogue-less people know that not everyone else experiences the world like they do? My guess is that very few are aware that anyone else experiences life internally in such vastly different ways. This has huge implications!

I have so many questions about how people with anendophasia experience the world. I think possibly a lot of them may not know their experience is different. It reminds me of the time I didn’t realize my chronic condition was common until I started talking about it with other women. Suddenly I wasn’t alone! Suddenly there was a whole hidden network of shared experiences, medical trauma, and mutual support I never knew existed! Wild.

This feels similar: There’s a group of people navigating the world differently, and most of us have no idea. I can’t help but think: what if we just... asked? What if we got curious about how our friends and neighbors actually think? Awareness breeds compassion. Understanding builds connection! We’re going after community here!

Okay, the anticipated plot twist: After all that spiraling, I did more digging and found out the actual number is 5-10% of the population who have anendophasia—a near-absence of inner speech. So, not quite as dramatic as I initially thought, but still significant. That’s roughly 1 in 20 people. I almost certainly know several anendophasiacs and have been completely oblivious to how differently they experience the world.

My crazy speculation [and internal dialogue] journey got me contemplating a series of questions that might be fun to bring up in conversation. Say, in the context of two friends having a cup of coffee or taking a walk. I’d love to know your thoughts and experiences in the comments!

Decision-Making Questions

“Hey, weird question—when you’re standing in front of your closet deciding what to wear, what’s happening in your head? Like, are you having a conversation with yourself about it, or is it more of a feeling?”

“When you’re scrolling through Netflix trying to pick something, how do you know when you’ve found the one? Do you talk yourself through it?”

“If I asked you to pick a restaurant right now for dinner, what happens in your mind between me asking and you answering?”

Memory & Planning Questions

“When you’re trying to remember where you parked your car, what does that process feel like for you? Are you retracing your steps in words, or pictures, or something else?”

“Do you make mental to-do lists? And if so, what form do they take—like, can you ‘hear’ them?”

“When you wake up and think about your day ahead, is it like watching a movie, hearing a rundown, or something totally different?”

Problem-Solving Questions

“When you’re trying to work through a problem—like, say, figuring out why your wifi isn’t working—do you literally talk yourself through the troubleshooting steps?”

“If you’re mad at someone and replaying a conversation in your head, can you actually ‘hear’ their voice and your voice? Or is it more abstract than that?”

“When you’re doing mental math—like splitting a bill—are you saying the numbers to yourself, or is something else happening?”

Reading & Language Questions

“This might sound strange, but when you read a text message, do you ‘hear’ it in a voice? Your own voice, their voice, or no voice at all?”

“When you’re reading a novel, do the characters have voices in your head, or are you experiencing the story some other way?”

“If you’re writing an email, are you ‘speaking’ it in your head as you type, or does it just appear?”

Emotional & Reflective Questions

“When you’re anxious about something, does your brain feel noisy with words, or is the anxiety more of a physical sensation or images?”

“Do you ever have arguments with yourself? Like, one part of you saying one thing and another part disagreeing?”

“When you’re trying to psych yourself up for something hard, what does that look like inside your head?”

Sensory & Imagination Questions

“If I say ‘imagine a beach,’ what shows up for you first—pictures, sounds, a feeling, words describing it?”

“When a song gets stuck in your head, can you actually ‘hear’ it playing, or is it more like you just know the song?”

“If you’re trying to remember what someone told you yesterday, does it come back as their words, or as more of a concept or feeling?”