Talk like no one is listening.

Do you talk to yourself? Good news! When children in the 3 to 5 age range talk to themselves, it's referred to as "self-talk", which I think sounds much less crazy than "talking to yourself". It is something that psychologists have observed in children who are in the beginning stages of developing their language skills, and apparently it's really beneficial. Self-talk helps kids form connections with others and connections between words and thoughts, in their minds. There's a lot more to it, but all I heard when I read this was "It is fine to talk to yourself, Alexis".

I talk to myself at home, SO MUCH. Sometimes I'm just explaining, out loud, how to follow a recipe, while cooking. It helps me. Sometimes, it is giving a very thorough and hilarious interview on "Ellen" discussing all of the amazing ways that I'm helping underprivileged children, and then I'm really cool and calm when she's all "hey, Ryan Gosling and the President are here to tell you how much they admire your work" and I'm all "wow, that's great, I'm honored". That is something that happens. Or an Oscar acceptance speech. Or a killer interview. Is it weird that I'm doing, crazed one-woman monologues in my kitchen while I make coffee? Or pretending that I'm making Morgan Freeman laugh super hard at my great jokes while I paint my nails?

Instead of feeling like a craze-o about this, I think it's good for me. Talking ideas out with someone is wonderful, but there's always a little hesitation, right? You inadvertanly will monitor yourself to some degree. Writing your feelings and thoughts down is great too, but for me, I can say what I'm thinking with more clarity than I can write it. So, perhaps self-talk is good for little kids in developing their communication skills, and it  helps us grown-ups sort out all of the conversations that are running around in our heads. Additionally, if you have really great responses to celebrity interviews that will probably never happen, this is a great opportunity.

Pro-tip: Need to talk to yourself, but don't live alone, and don't think your roommate/mate/dog cares to hear you ramble on? Fake phone convos, my friend. I have 'em all the time. Hold phone up to ear, and proceed to rant to yourself on the go. At the grocery store? Tell your ex why he sucks. On the train? Great time to practice telling the Academy how much you appreciate their support.

Note: Talking to other people is really good too. If you're sad and lonely, and talking to yourself feels sad and lonely, call someone who loves you. Or even someone who is moderately fond of you. Selfishly blather on, knowing that they have done the same thing at one point or another. Moral of the story is, you have things rattling around in that head of yours, and you've got to get them out there. So have a heart to heart with yourself. You're pretty fun to talk to.

xo