For much of your life, you've probably been taught that talking to yourself is either a sign of insanity or done by a villain in a movie who conveniently has asides to himself about his evil plan while the hero is listening. It's not for not for normal people like you or me, right? Wrong! I am here to dispel that misconception.There are many little-known benefits to talking to yourself, which is why I think we should try to rid it of the stigma. I do it all the time, and I am not crazy probably.

1. You're the best listener.

You know when you're trying to tell your friend a story about how that hot guy in your lit class winked at you when he sneezed (okay maybe it was a blink, but you could tell he was trying to wink), and then she suddenly interrupts you with a story about how SHE sneezed the other day and it was just soooo crazy? Because people like talking about themselves, and sometimes they can't help but turn the conversation back around to whatever mundane thing happened in their day. But if you simply talk to yourself, that won't happen, as it's impossible to interrupt yourself. That is unless you get distracted. But that never happens because you are always LASER BEAM FOCUSED.

2. You know yourself better than anyone else.

Sometimes when talking about your problems, there's a lot of backstory that you have to include, which is time consuming and boring for you to explain. But if you are just talking through your problems by yourself, there is no explaining to be done because you already know it all. You can just focus on all the relevant details. And no one besides you really knows how you feel. You can't lie to yourself, at least not as easily, so you can have a frank discussion about what that dream you had in which your professor made a cameo in a diaper really meant.

3. You won't judge yourself.

As great as your friends can be, you know that once in a while, they will judge you for what you're thinking, so you have to filter things out occasionally. Because if you told everyone about every time you ate a three-day-old taco you found in your fridge at 2 a.m., you probably wouldn't have any friends left. But if you just talk about these kinds of incidents with yourself, you can laugh it off and tell yourself that these little quirks are what make you a charming individual.

4. You'll always laugh at your own jokes.

Not everybody has the same sense of humor. But yours is objectively funny, you're sure of it. Unfortunately, not everyone in your life appreciates your wit, which is their loss. But not you. You will always be able to get a good chuckle out of your puns, no matter how terrible or irrelevant. They say that one of the greatest gifts in life is to be able to laugh at yourself, but really "they" (whoever "they" are) should should say WITH yourself.

5. You're never really alone.

I live in a single, and I don't have any pets, which means that I have to keep myself company. When I'm up at 4 a.m. finishing my essay and I'm beginning to feel like I'm the only one alive in the whole world, it can be comforting to hear a voice, even if it's your own. Sometimes a simple, "You can do it champ!" offered to your reflection in the mirror is all you need to finish you paper, kill your exam, or text the sexy winking sneezer from your class. Because you CAN do it! You are great! And nobody knows that better than yourself.