A new research discovered that what you might have considered insane could actually help you cope with stress. Talking to yourself in third person could really be helpful for your mental health, and you don’t have to worry that you might look weird. You don’t have to do it out loud.
- Talking to yourself in third person is not a weird habit.
- Researchers discovered it’s an effective mechanism to cope with stress.
- By doing this, you can view the situation from outside and make better decisions.
Researchers from the University of Michigan and Michigan State University suggest talking to yourself in third person helps you relieve emotions and combat stress when facing tough situations. They developed a study which was published in the journal Scientific Reports.
For this study, researchers had people perform a series of experiments. During the first one, participants had to look at either disturbing or neutral images. The second one had them talk about tough experiences they had lived. Then, they had to recount both of them either in first or third person, while researchers monitored their brain activity.
In both experiments, researchers saw how the participants’ brain activity suddenly decreased when they used the third person to talk about themselves. This meant they felt less stressed and had it easier to address themselves like that.
Researchers noticed that many people tended to do that quite often and, after analyzing this phenomenon, decided it wasn’t only a weird habit. They believed the brain automatically switches from first person to third person when people had to face an incredibly stressful situation.
Thinking about yourself in third person helps you distance yourself a bit from the situation, and viewing it from outside. This helps you make better decisions, and be neutral even when it comes to your own person.
Researchers can’t tell when this habit kicks in, but many people suddenly start doing it when facing extreme stress. Therefore, if you find yourself talking in third person, you shouldn’t think there’s something wrong with you. It means you are good at coping with stress.
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