Talking to yourself: a good antidote to loneliness – or the sign of a real problem?

During the pandemic, I have gone from uttering a few words of encouragement to myself to full-blown arguments. I'm not the only one. I asked psychologists what purpose this serves

We should probably go out now," I say to Danny as I vegetate in front of the TV. Yeah, we should, but I can't be arsed," Danny replies, sitting in an identical pose. C'mon, we need the exercise; can't sit here all day," I insist. Well, we can 'cause that's what we did yesterday and the day before," he answers. Exactly! That's why we have to go. C'mon!" I yell. God! Fine, then!" he shouts back.

So we get up from our pit and head into the crisp morning air for a much needed dose of fresh air and exercise. Only there is no we. There's only me. I've had a shouting match with myself pretty much every day since Covid came along and changed everything.