Often revealed via Cutting Back to Reality. They could make weird gestures or say weird things, and the people around them can’t help but wonder what is wrong. This is definitely Truth in Television a lot of the time, because when someone is having their own thoughts and is not paying attention to reality, it can be a little confusing for the people around them. Often played as a form of Bathos, especially if Alice was thinking about something serious and it draws a comedic reaction. While Alice is mentally taking a time out, everyone else can see the prolonged silence, distraction, or strange behavior, (especially if Alice is in the middle of talking to people who aren't there, like an Imaginary Friend, the Good Angel, Bad Angel, or figures from her past) and then they react or comment to the situation. In this trope, however, the other characters around do notice. Normally these tropes are shown taking place almost instantly with other characters around either not noticing or barely noticing that the character temporarily zoned out, so it's pretty rare for Alice to end an internal monologue, flashback, or Aside Comment to the audience only to see Bob standing there staring at her and wondering what the heck Alice was doing and why her mind was off in another world. The Inner Monologue, Flashback, Imagine Spot, and other such tropes are great ways of illustrating character, showing inner conflict, etc.

Quotes about inner conflict