Daily Conversations... and the ranting that follows.

Pet Peeve #147: the expression "it's all in your head"

Sure, I've used the expression. Maybe I only have a problem with certain expressions as a result of having a problem with the people (other than me) who use them. Regardless...

Of course it's "all in your head." This expression does nothing but state the obvious. Everything in existence is "all in your head." That's where thoughts come from. How could a single occurrence in this world be one thing or another if there were no 'heads' to characterize them as such.

I just heard someone say, "I'm hungry," to which another person smugly responded, "it's all in your head," as if that assessment of the situation was rocket science. You're hungry? Well sure, that is in fact "all in your head," because certain biological reactions are sending chemical messages to your brain, telling your brain that it should be experiencing hunger. Couldn't you say that if a person didn't have functionality of the brain, then they'd never be hungry? One's comprehension of any situation is "all in your head." Such an expression, which does nothing but identify a basic understanding, is simply redundant.

So I'm thoroughly unimpressed when one person rudely says to another, "it's all in your head," as though the statement provides some deeply enlightened perspective from which to view a situation (unless, of course, I'm the one saying it) - no shit, thoughts and feelings are "all in your head".

Daily Conversations

Pet Peeve # 57:

When people say 'pacific' instead of 'specific'. Jesus, there's not a single vocab flub that could make a person sound stupider.