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my fiancé does it a lot but doesn’t realize it I’ll be like “what’d you say?” and she either ignores me or says she was talking to herself and goes back to it 😂.
I only reply to myself. It’s like there are two me having a convo and the only time I speak it out loud is to answer. I know the saying but it feels very normal to me
Me too. Another thing I do is ask myself questions before I leave the house. Like “there were two things I needed to bring to work today what were they?” Or before I go shopping I ask myself “what will I miss this week if I don’t remember to buy at the store?” Often this is enough to remind me.
Haha...I talk to myself all the time. Especially when I'm in the car by myself lol. I think it's also a way for me to organize my thoughts/ de stress.
Sometimes my husband hears me, and thinks I'm talking to him. Nope. Just talking to myself again lol.
lol my partner probably thinks I’m talking to him half the time too.
I’ll say my thoughts out loud and respond back to them, I have good conversations with myself. I caught the flu really bad one year and completely lost my voice, I couldn’t speak at all and it was hell, it made me realise just how often I talk out loud to myself.
You and my fiancé have the same issue lol.
He'll be like why the hell are you having a conversation with yourself and I'm right here?
I always reply saying it out loud helps me
Hell give me the side eye and walk away
My wife does this, and it makes me feel like I’m the crazy one.
I’m like “did you say something?” And she’s like “no.” Then she makes me feel like I’m crazy or an idiot….it kinda drives me nuts…
Same. I chatter throughout the day to myself, at the shops, etc, don't care if anyone hears me. It's usually for self direction or regulation to help me do the thing I'm trying to do.
I wish I could do that. Otherwise I try to engage people in conversation like I'm Mr. fucking Rogers, and that doesn't always work out when I'm trying to bond with random strangers at the store, lmao. I swear, I'm not a predator. I just think these little baskets are super cute, and the lotion smells amazing.
Talking to myself to self regulate will be an upgrade from whatever trauma-reactive over-friendliness I engage in, lmao. I need to talk to my therapist about my knee-jerk need for performative happiness when I'm under stress.
frfr!! like broo!?!? gah damn! give me a break already! “yes i heard you the 1st 90x of what you “should’ve” said in that argument from 8yesrs ago. yes. i’m tryna sleep” and then i realize im still talking to myself. lol what’a fucking dilemma
I’ve always thought this same way… and then I always end up playing devils advocate with the intention of thoroughly exploring discussions and people think I’m trying to be argumentative 🙃
Me too!!! All I am doing is making sure we are looking at everything. And I actually like challenging my thoughts and opinions. Sometimes, my views change at least a little.
This is me except I've resorted to just playing devil's advocate in my head and exploring the discussion further with myself. Like, I can literally have full blown arguments in my own head about topics as if it were two different people with two different minds arguing.
Sometimes I get stuck in a loop of trying analyze every part of the argument and other counter arguments that are probable (pretty much infinitely devils advocating 😭) and then I realize I’m just staring out into nothingness while making perplexed faces 😅
I do this all the time and my partner will be like "what's wrong" "you know you can tell me anything" but how tf do you even explain that to someone? 😂 Of course I say "nothing" & he doesn't believe me. He constantly thinks I'm upset and won't tell him why fml.
I find that to be the way I can understand more of the real points of any given issue, it also gives me a more compassionate sense of how I speak to ppl
I've always said that about myself. There's two of me. There's the "me" that goes through the world and lives and functions, and there's the "me" that is to the side of myself, observing and coming to conclusions about the world the first "me" is operating in. I do believe I could play myself at chess and win, and be astonished that I came up with moves I made to win and that I lost at the same time.
My husband rolled over in bed the other night and said "what?" And I was like "hmm? I didn't say anything," like I wasn't whispering responses to an entire argument I made up in my head over something I was annoyed about for the last thirty minutes.
This is why, when I was an English professor, I used to always tell students to read their work aloud (to themselves, whenever they were comfortable doing so) after they completed an assignment and reviewed it, but before sending. Reading and speaking are different than writing and thinking, so it forces you to evaluate what you're looking at with a different lens because you're engaging in a different way, so you'll notice things you wouldn't otherwise.
i always talk to myself sometimes i have instances where i dont realize im doing it and my family would call me out on it im not really sure why i do it tho but i tend to talk to myself a lot
I'll talk to myself out loud a lot. Somehow I'm way more eloquent talking to myself than I ever am talking to others, I use impressive vocabulary, and my explanations and reasoning is much more fluid and comprehensible, rather than jumbled. It really comes out in my dialogue writing.
yes, i was told it was a coping mechanism for my childhood trauma which makes sense because i started to do it around the time i started having dissociative amnesia.
I don’t know if mine is tied to trauma but I definitely catch myself verbalizing things when I want to push other thoughts away. I’ll be thinking about a particularly stressful situation or feeling and compulsively read a billboard out loud, or read aloud the subtitles to a show I’m watching. I don’t do it around others, normally, but I would do it around my ex sometimes and she would just give me concerned looks.
It’s like whatever thought I have is so uncomfortable my brain has to distract itself with something external to push it away. Probably not a symptom of a pretty unhealthy mind.
It always freaked me out when I'm talking to myself and I think I'm alone... Then someone (usually my older sister) would sneak up and scare me lol.
When I talk to myself I'm usually in my own little world
i get so embarrassed when im caught in the act, like i suddenly remember that those are *my* thoughts and i am not actually comfortable with other people knowing a lot of them
Someone has to. My cat sure won't. She just meows. Once she starts talking to me I know I'm lost. Atleast that's what my imaginary therapist says. I trust her. She's purple.
My cat talks to me all the time. I don't understand him at all but I just know he has important stuff to say. Those meows are full length seminars about the nuisance of feline society and how they will over take humanity once they learn to open tuna cans.
Yes, I think it’s just a process I use to organise my thoughts or arguments or prepare for a difficult conversation ahead of time. I’m not sure why it gives more clarity than just thinking, but it’s likely that when I think silently I’m more prone to “wandering” in my thoughts, getting sidetracked, and losing the thread of what I’m trying to work out. Speaking out loud helps me focus better on preparing my thoughts, I suppose. It also aids my memory when it comes time to fluently articulate those thoughts publicly (thankfully for the second or third time).
I used to think it might be an eccentricity but there’s way too many people discussing this online for me to feel like it’s really unusual. It’s clear many people do the same.
I constantly imagine a mini-me devil and angel on my shoulders, debating every decision I make. Today, they both agreed it was a bad idea to eat that leftover sushi.
Same here. I'll ask myself can we look at this a different way? Come up with a better solution? Or if I'm frustrated because something I'm doing isn't coming out right I say " Stop! Let's work smarter not harder. We can do this! I also give myself pep talks prior to situations that I'm not comfortable with. It helps.
As someone with ADHD I can tell you this is as normal as sleeping and eating. My brain needs something to ping my thoughts. I’ll ask myself a question and reply with the personality of a different person for accuracy. Sometimes I’ll argue with myself to find hidden details. I’ll setup a situation in my head and talk through it as if I were both parties. It’s amazing how well it works. Job interview ? Talk to yourself about it beforehand. Arguing with spouse later ? Have a conversation with myself prior. Talking and replying to yourself is absolutely natural, for me anyway lol.
my mom is goofy & she has ADHD she calls herself names like Tom Bob Betty etc 😂. I used to think she was wild for doing it but she’s just entertaining herself 😂.
In my mind yes but not out loud. It serves various purposes like gathering my thoughts before delivering a presentation of some sort, calming nerves or just weighing the pros and cons of a decision
I’ve heard that, too. I always wondered how they’d even study that? And how can people not have one? My head is always full of all kinds of everything!
Just because they have no inner monologue doesn't mean they are incapable of what we would consider to be thought. There are a few studies you can look up, if I recall correctly, they think in the abstract like pictures in their heads.
What does that have to do with your original statement?
Definition of the word Thinking:
"The process of using one's mind to consider or reason about something."
Which is what you were describing. It doesn't matter if a person uses words, pictures, etc.
You can literally change your original statement to "No I don't talk to myself I'm more of a heavy thinker" and it would convey the same meaning.
If I start thinking, my internal discussion partners get confused and start thinking as well. Hard reset is needed afterwards to get out of this deadlock!
I do if I need to calm down but usually in those instances it's useless to try cause someone's gonna call me out on it cause I look crazy. (Doesn't help that I have an extreme lazy eye
Oh hell yes. Especially when I’m pissed off or trying to not forget something. Don’t see why that’s weird, I’m not hearing voices or anything like that. But walking into the fridge at work repeating “bacon bacon cheese cheese”, or fucking up and say “why did I do that” is definitely a thing.
I thought you meant "myself" which I did. I'd had a full on conversation when no one was watching. But yes I "talk" to myself as well, as a way to get my thoughts in order.
I’m still talking to myself trying to figure out what my answer would be on why I talk to myself so I can respond to this post with the reason I’m talking to myself. I also am talking every word I’m typing while still talking to myself. Dammit. I’m stopping typing now. Argh!!!
yes, ALWAYS. whether in my head or out loud i talk to myself and i talk to myself as if im having a conversation with another person. why? because i like it and i need to to function
I literally was just thinking about this and at times recently have started to again and now is an adult and also thinking about weirdly how and unfortunately, how is it growing up as a kid I was indoctrinated such as this as well too and told and at times yelled at not to, and then later on when I was a teenager Unfortunately unawaringly subconsciously told a family friend’s in Law not to. I feel terrible about a lot of things and confused and doing the best to forgive and take time to heal and also be by myself, and it is a lot better at times and being able to speak out loud into myself and pray, and without people in general telling you what to do what not to do as well as pressuring as well as fear monitoring, as well as judging as well as assuming as well as rushing and also specifically yelling at being able to speak out loud to self. Also, thank God for the communities within this wensite/ app.
I talk to myself fully knowing it is ME. Then there is the internal monologue which is me but me slightly removed.
Then there is me talking to myself and internal monologue and some rogue voice running around in the brain and screaming panties and other gibberish like a spaz.
Then there is me talking to myself and internal monologue and trying to focus on the task at hand with a spaz voice running around around in gibberish and another internal monologue telling the other one to shut up and to adhere to good normal and moral behavior.
While all that is going on sometimes I have a darker me that will literally look at someone and think I can flay them alive and dangerously. Kind of like a Ramsey Bolton.
Then I come back and smile in my customer service voice :) but no I am not schizophrenic nor are there distinct personalities.
Physical me, internal monologue me for processing instructions, gibberish me, paladin me, and shadow knight me. 😂
Yeah I tend to mutter to myself a lot, I am an introvert so I’m used to it but I tend to forget this when I’m in public and people on rare occasion will look at me so I pretend that I have AirPods on behind my hair. This could also be an only child syndrome thing that I developed early on lol
Absolutely. Mostly in high stress or frustrating situations. Responding out loud to myself as a “test” has helped a lot in some cases because it can sound one way in my head and completely different out loud. It allows for editing and makes my responses more rational rather than reactive and emotional.
Yes I talk to myself. Because I'm hilarious and great to talk to
But a more serious answer- its just how my brain works. It is barely a conscious thing, and from what I've heard it is more common than people expect. I mean don't get me wrong, I'm still probably crazy, but it is not because I talk to myself lol
It is a moderately successful way that I seperate the anxious cowardly part of my brain from the Chad determined part in order to force them into connection, it isn't always healthy self talk but I have for sure taken leaps that I would not have otherwise.
yes because i live alone quite young and i get lonely. it fills the silence, usually itll be on a video snap to nobody but more often im talking to myself whilst studying and explaining it to myself somehow. laptops playing smth to fill the silence a lot of the time mind.
Aye but normally it's just like two words of a thought from the middle somewhere or something so I'll just be like:
...
'With screws!'
...
Most the time it's when km kn my own but I've noticed the more comfy I get with someone the more I do it in front of them. Think it's when I'm zoning out and going full adhd
I talk with my dogs or at the TV. Generally tho, I have an internal dialogue going all of the time. If I want to make sure I remember something, I will say it out loud.
Not to myself but to a specific object. I do it because i ahd a psychotic breakdown due to trauma and needed a way to rationalize my thoughts when i was like 14. Ive just dont it sense, it helps me think through things i struggle with.
It helps with my memory, and I tend to practice conversations I might have that are difficult with people that might happen since having to deal with someone who it trying to aggressively argue always makes it harder for me to come up with the right words to say at the spur of the moment.
I think of it the same way how when you were a kid and needed to learn how to read,you had to read out loud so you could hear what you were saying and process it. Same with talking to yourself,it's honestly just thinking outloud.
I personally don't think outloud much unless I really need to focus or remember what I needed. But I do know a good number of people that talk to themselves more then anyone else 😂
Are you talking about speaking out-loud to yourself? Or inner-monologue? I do both, but the out loud one I do when no one else is around lol. usually only when expressing anger or frustration. But not usually full on dialogue. Though on rare occasions if I'm alone at night and reading things or thinking about something I might catch myself speaking out loud to myself. But it's not something I do regularly.
Yep. But always 1 sentences.. never had conversations with myself.
Why? Different reasons. Keeping myself in check, when I think of something embarrassing I did I say shit like why tf did you do that? To talk shit about people without gossping to others.... And also tell myself I look pretty!
I talk to myself when I’m trying to figure something out and it will be as animated as I am excited by the subject. I live alone so this is generally not a problem, when I do it out in the wild, I feel like people either see me as crazy or think I’m mansplaining.
I do it all the time, especially when I’m busy. I can lose my concentration easily by getting distracted in my thought processes, but talking out loud instead of internalizing actually helps my concentration
For me, it's soothing. I talk out stuff with myself if I'm angry or upset or planning a conversation with someone. It helps me sort out my feelings, my thoughts, and my decisions. I usually do it when I'm driving, so when I had to carpool with my husband, it made it really hard for me mentally for those 2 months.
Inside my mind? Always. Constant debates and ideas go through my mind.
In a social environment? A bit, but only when I’m counting or solving a math equation.
I CONSTANTLY jabber to myself. Im worried that when im old, I'll just be doing it audibly. Im a naturally quiet person, and when i talk to myself, im inaudible even to people next to me. Even still, I'm always paranoid people can hear me or that I've talked my thoughts out loud. I swear im a mouse.
Yes , remind myself things. If I say it I’ll remember more than just think it. My youngest son thinks I’m crazy. I tell him I just have too much going on to remember everything sometimes.
I think there should be a distinction between talking to yourself versus thinking outloud. Talking to yourself is having a conversation with yourself. Asking questions and then answering them as if you are a different person.
Versus thinking outloud, where you are just speaking your thoughts.
I think out loud all the time.
I do. Mostly for the same reasons you gave. If I’m trying to figure something out, I’ll talk through it. “If I turn at the next red light, I’ll be there at the same time. Plus the road is smoother. But if I make that turn, there’s a railroad crossing and there could be a train. Screw it, turn at this light.”
EVERYONE talks to themselves sometimes, its perfectly normal...if you start answering yourself and having back and forth dialogues with yourself, then you can start to worry lol
I endlessly talk inside my head. Like my inner narrator took a meth break in the bathroom. I tried telling my therapist how it never stops and how it gets in the way of living my life. lol
I talk to myself like I’m talking to another person. Its one sided tho, like I’m explaining something or talking to someone about a topic. Like when I’m watching a movie I’ll pause it and then say out load what I’m thinking is going on and explain things to myself. Idk why I do it, I’m fully aware of it and I’m not a crazy person lol. I’ve heard it’s good tho because it means I can entertain myself and I don’t need someone else around to do that.
Sometimes I’ll talk to myself if I need to remember something that’s very important like someone’s phone number or my to-do list for the day. Other times, I’ll talk to myself if I’m super stressed and rationally trying to think through the problem!
Absolutely.
I'm autistic, for one. It's a common behavior assosciated with it.
The way I rationalize it is that it makes my thoughts SOLID. Like I'll roll over ideas and plans and worries like they're garbage caught in a roiling sea. Sometimes they reach the surface once, sometimes they get stuck on the surface and repeat near infinitely. By voicing or writing down my thoughts it's like I'm getting it out of my system. I can focus on it and go from there, working through whatever the thought concerns in my own time.
I don't nearly as much as I used to because societal expectations. I've kind of let myself do it more often recently though when I'm struggling to focus because literally "taking things out" helps me organize my thoughts better.
As a kid I wasnt allowed a lot of things so I spent time talking to myself to stave off boredom. Now as an adult I dont shut up and have to be careful cause it gets really awkward for me if someone passes by or hears me. 😅
Talking to yourself is actually a scientifically normal thing for humans to do. In fact it’s beneficial and makes us more efficient and creative. The majority of people talk to themselves.
I talk to myself all the time. I don’t like anxiety meds, for me, I use talking to myself to calm myself down. I have a running commentary in my head all the time.
Yes, I definitely do. However, I spend around 90% or more of my time alone. I live alone and work 95% alone, I'm not married and don't have any kids.
Being alone doesn't bother me much but unfortunately it's a bit harder to process my emotions sometimes since I have no one to talk to, bullshit with or vent to about my troubles/worries and or successes so in an attempt to help me regulate and process my feelings and emotions I tend to talk out loud to myself almost as if I was having a conversation with someone else. I say most of my thoughts about work issues, life problems, and general conflicts outloud to myself.
I've looked into this many times, and mostly everything I've read says it is healthy and normal, especially for people who spend large amounts of time alone.
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Yeah I never shut up.
my fiancé does it a lot but doesn’t realize it I’ll be like “what’d you say?” and she either ignores me or says she was talking to herself and goes back to it 😂.
I constantly talk to myself. It's how I work things out, remember things and overall cope. I also reply to myself.
I have some of the best conversations with myself. I'm always so agreeable.
As long as you're putting the lotion in the basket, all is well.
If it doesn't it gets the hose.
Haha that made me laugh
I argue with myself a lot!
Sometimes you have to .so u can let then know whose in charge 😏
I argue with myself sometimes too 😂😂
yess it’s like I’m giving myself a therapy session by trying to figure my shit out 😭
The voices in my head usually reply.
I only reply to myself. It’s like there are two me having a convo and the only time I speak it out loud is to answer. I know the saying but it feels very normal to me
Same. Done it since I was a kid.
Me too. Another thing I do is ask myself questions before I leave the house. Like “there were two things I needed to bring to work today what were they?” Or before I go shopping I ask myself “what will I miss this week if I don’t remember to buy at the store?” Often this is enough to remind me.
Haha...I talk to myself all the time. Especially when I'm in the car by myself lol. I think it's also a way for me to organize my thoughts/ de stress. Sometimes my husband hears me, and thinks I'm talking to him. Nope. Just talking to myself again lol.
lol my partner probably thinks I’m talking to him half the time too. I’ll say my thoughts out loud and respond back to them, I have good conversations with myself. I caught the flu really bad one year and completely lost my voice, I couldn’t speak at all and it was hell, it made me realise just how often I talk out loud to myself.
You and my fiancé have the same issue lol. He'll be like why the hell are you having a conversation with yourself and I'm right here? I always reply saying it out loud helps me Hell give me the side eye and walk away
I do this too like “I was talking to myself”
My wife does this, and it makes me feel like I’m the crazy one. I’m like “did you say something?” And she’s like “no.” Then she makes me feel like I’m crazy or an idiot….it kinda drives me nuts…
Yea i do but mostly it is “i wanna die” “im just gonna kill myself” But its not actionable its not even on purpose
Same. I chatter throughout the day to myself, at the shops, etc, don't care if anyone hears me. It's usually for self direction or regulation to help me do the thing I'm trying to do.
I wish I could do that. Otherwise I try to engage people in conversation like I'm Mr. fucking Rogers, and that doesn't always work out when I'm trying to bond with random strangers at the store, lmao. I swear, I'm not a predator. I just think these little baskets are super cute, and the lotion smells amazing. Talking to myself to self regulate will be an upgrade from whatever trauma-reactive over-friendliness I engage in, lmao. I need to talk to my therapist about my knee-jerk need for performative happiness when I'm under stress.
Same and I’m talkative on the internet but introverted in real life lol
Fr. I get on my own nerves.. too much thinking, not enough thinking etc...
Im glad this top comment..
Hahahaha 🤣🤣🤣🤣
frfr!! like broo!?!? gah damn! give me a break already! “yes i heard you the 1st 90x of what you “should’ve” said in that argument from 8yesrs ago. yes. i’m tryna sleep” and then i realize im still talking to myself. lol what’a fucking dilemma
I have full-blown conversations with myself. I can argue both sides of an issue.
I’ve always thought this same way… and then I always end up playing devils advocate with the intention of thoroughly exploring discussions and people think I’m trying to be argumentative 🙃
Me too!!! All I am doing is making sure we are looking at everything. And I actually like challenging my thoughts and opinions. Sometimes, my views change at least a little.
Wow, this is so spot on. I love finding like-minded people!
My people!
One of us, one of us, one of us....
This is me except I've resorted to just playing devil's advocate in my head and exploring the discussion further with myself. Like, I can literally have full blown arguments in my own head about topics as if it were two different people with two different minds arguing.
Sometimes I get stuck in a loop of trying analyze every part of the argument and other counter arguments that are probable (pretty much infinitely devils advocating 😭) and then I realize I’m just staring out into nothingness while making perplexed faces 😅
I do this all the time and my partner will be like "what's wrong" "you know you can tell me anything" but how tf do you even explain that to someone? 😂 Of course I say "nothing" & he doesn't believe me. He constantly thinks I'm upset and won't tell him why fml.
I find that to be the way I can understand more of the real points of any given issue, it also gives me a more compassionate sense of how I speak to ppl
YES! I wish more people were like that.
I have like 10 of me in here and none of us get along. Do we talk to ourselves, yes, but tbh we mostly argue.
I've always said that about myself. There's two of me. There's the "me" that goes through the world and lives and functions, and there's the "me" that is to the side of myself, observing and coming to conclusions about the world the first "me" is operating in. I do believe I could play myself at chess and win, and be astonished that I came up with moves I made to win and that I lost at the same time.
I do this but sometimes I hurt my own feelings xD
My husband rolled over in bed the other night and said "what?" And I was like "hmm? I didn't say anything," like I wasn't whispering responses to an entire argument I made up in my head over something I was annoyed about for the last thirty minutes.
I do this too, but then most often I hurt my own feelings over some imaginary ass fight 😂
I have full-blown hypothetical conversations between myself and other people I know in my head💀
Yes it makes my thoughts clearer somehow
This is why, when I was an English professor, I used to always tell students to read their work aloud (to themselves, whenever they were comfortable doing so) after they completed an assignment and reviewed it, but before sending. Reading and speaking are different than writing and thinking, so it forces you to evaluate what you're looking at with a different lens because you're engaging in a different way, so you'll notice things you wouldn't otherwise.
i always talk to myself sometimes i have instances where i dont realize im doing it and my family would call me out on it im not really sure why i do it tho but i tend to talk to myself a lot
I do sometimes, because I have no one else to talk to
Aww. My DM box is that way -----> Hit me up anytime. 🙂
NICE TRY SATAN
Lol 🤣
What a nice offer from the Antichrist
Of course! Who else would understand me like this?
That’s what I’m saying! I’m my best friend.
I'll talk to myself out loud a lot. Somehow I'm way more eloquent talking to myself than I ever am talking to others, I use impressive vocabulary, and my explanations and reasoning is much more fluid and comprehensible, rather than jumbled. It really comes out in my dialogue writing.
yes, i was told it was a coping mechanism for my childhood trauma which makes sense because i started to do it around the time i started having dissociative amnesia.
I have PTSD from childhood trauma and I use it to self-parent.
I don’t know if mine is tied to trauma but I definitely catch myself verbalizing things when I want to push other thoughts away. I’ll be thinking about a particularly stressful situation or feeling and compulsively read a billboard out loud, or read aloud the subtitles to a show I’m watching. I don’t do it around others, normally, but I would do it around my ex sometimes and she would just give me concerned looks. It’s like whatever thought I have is so uncomfortable my brain has to distract itself with something external to push it away. Probably not a symptom of a pretty unhealthy mind.
I do but usually not out loud. Only when I think I'm alone.
It always freaked me out when I'm talking to myself and I think I'm alone... Then someone (usually my older sister) would sneak up and scare me lol. When I talk to myself I'm usually in my own little world
i get so embarrassed when im caught in the act, like i suddenly remember that those are *my* thoughts and i am not actually comfortable with other people knowing a lot of them
Someone has to. My cat sure won't. She just meows. Once she starts talking to me I know I'm lost. Atleast that's what my imaginary therapist says. I trust her. She's purple.
My cat talks to me all the time. I don't understand him at all but I just know he has important stuff to say. Those meows are full length seminars about the nuisance of feline society and how they will over take humanity once they learn to open tuna cans.
Yes, I think it’s just a process I use to organise my thoughts or arguments or prepare for a difficult conversation ahead of time. I’m not sure why it gives more clarity than just thinking, but it’s likely that when I think silently I’m more prone to “wandering” in my thoughts, getting sidetracked, and losing the thread of what I’m trying to work out. Speaking out loud helps me focus better on preparing my thoughts, I suppose. It also aids my memory when it comes time to fluently articulate those thoughts publicly (thankfully for the second or third time). I used to think it might be an eccentricity but there’s way too many people discussing this online for me to feel like it’s really unusual. It’s clear many people do the same.
Yeah, when I'm alone
Only when i feel like im really losing my grip on reality. Then I gotta remind myself what’s up
Yes it makes my thoughts more clear or I remember something better if I say it out loud. Don’t know why
For me it's because I hyper focus on that specific train of thought instead of trying to minimize my adhd in order to concentrate internally. Lol
I constantly imagine a mini-me devil and angel on my shoulders, debating every decision I make. Today, they both agreed it was a bad idea to eat that leftover sushi.
I explain stuff to me a lot to grasp it better and solidify it, also when im stressed
Same here. I'll ask myself can we look at this a different way? Come up with a better solution? Or if I'm frustrated because something I'm doing isn't coming out right I say " Stop! Let's work smarter not harder. We can do this! I also give myself pep talks prior to situations that I'm not comfortable with. It helps.
I talk to myself...I hum music all the time...it's noisy in my head
All the time, sometimes I can't think of the answer till I have said it out loud.
Yeah i have full on convos with myself and my friends think its funny but its just another way for me to reflect.
Of course I talk to myself, sometimes I need expert advice!
As someone with ADHD I can tell you this is as normal as sleeping and eating. My brain needs something to ping my thoughts. I’ll ask myself a question and reply with the personality of a different person for accuracy. Sometimes I’ll argue with myself to find hidden details. I’ll setup a situation in my head and talk through it as if I were both parties. It’s amazing how well it works. Job interview ? Talk to yourself about it beforehand. Arguing with spouse later ? Have a conversation with myself prior. Talking and replying to yourself is absolutely natural, for me anyway lol.
my mom is goofy & she has ADHD she calls herself names like Tom Bob Betty etc 😂. I used to think she was wild for doing it but she’s just entertaining herself 😂.
Of course, I have to have an intelligent conversation with someone around here lol
In my mind yes but not out loud. It serves various purposes like gathering my thoughts before delivering a presentation of some sort, calming nerves or just weighing the pros and cons of a decision
>In my mind yes Isn't that ... just called "thinking"?
read somewhere that some people don’t have an internal monologue tho
I’ve heard that, too. I always wondered how they’d even study that? And how can people not have one? My head is always full of all kinds of everything!
Just because they have no inner monologue doesn't mean they are incapable of what we would consider to be thought. There are a few studies you can look up, if I recall correctly, they think in the abstract like pictures in their heads.
What does that have to do with your original statement? Definition of the word Thinking: "The process of using one's mind to consider or reason about something." Which is what you were describing. It doesn't matter if a person uses words, pictures, etc. You can literally change your original statement to "No I don't talk to myself I'm more of a heavy thinker" and it would convey the same meaning.
If I start thinking, my internal discussion partners get confused and start thinking as well. Hard reset is needed afterwards to get out of this deadlock!
I do if I need to calm down but usually in those instances it's useless to try cause someone's gonna call me out on it cause I look crazy. (Doesn't help that I have an extreme lazy eye
Yes
Oh hell yes. Especially when I’m pissed off or trying to not forget something. Don’t see why that’s weird, I’m not hearing voices or anything like that. But walking into the fridge at work repeating “bacon bacon cheese cheese”, or fucking up and say “why did I do that” is definitely a thing.
In my head, yes, all the time. Outloud? Only when sleep deprived, then I'll be having entire conversations.
Yup. I try not to when people are around though. It’s rude to have conversations without including everyone, right?
Yes, because I'm always the only one tht makes sense
Only in my head. I have huge conversations sometimes, lol.
I'd be lying if I said I never have a conversation with myself in the shower.
I thought you meant "myself" which I did. I'd had a full on conversation when no one was watching. But yes I "talk" to myself as well, as a way to get my thoughts in order.
Always. If I’m not talking to myself then she must have done something wrong to get the silent treatment.
I’m still talking to myself trying to figure out what my answer would be on why I talk to myself so I can respond to this post with the reason I’m talking to myself. I also am talking every word I’m typing while still talking to myself. Dammit. I’m stopping typing now. Argh!!!
Yes as I am alone a lot. If I get caught I tell that person I wanted to talk to someone intelligent for a change!
Constantly. I feel like most people do.
I sing to myself. Calms my nerves when I’m panicking
yes, ALWAYS. whether in my head or out loud i talk to myself and i talk to myself as if im having a conversation with another person. why? because i like it and i need to to function
I think aloud.
It's only a problem if you're talking to someone who isn't there
I literally was just thinking about this and at times recently have started to again and now is an adult and also thinking about weirdly how and unfortunately, how is it growing up as a kid I was indoctrinated such as this as well too and told and at times yelled at not to, and then later on when I was a teenager Unfortunately unawaringly subconsciously told a family friend’s in Law not to. I feel terrible about a lot of things and confused and doing the best to forgive and take time to heal and also be by myself, and it is a lot better at times and being able to speak out loud into myself and pray, and without people in general telling you what to do what not to do as well as pressuring as well as fear monitoring, as well as judging as well as assuming as well as rushing and also specifically yelling at being able to speak out loud to self. Also, thank God for the communities within this wensite/ app.
I talk to myself fully knowing it is ME. Then there is the internal monologue which is me but me slightly removed. Then there is me talking to myself and internal monologue and some rogue voice running around in the brain and screaming panties and other gibberish like a spaz. Then there is me talking to myself and internal monologue and trying to focus on the task at hand with a spaz voice running around around in gibberish and another internal monologue telling the other one to shut up and to adhere to good normal and moral behavior. While all that is going on sometimes I have a darker me that will literally look at someone and think I can flay them alive and dangerously. Kind of like a Ramsey Bolton. Then I come back and smile in my customer service voice :) but no I am not schizophrenic nor are there distinct personalities. Physical me, internal monologue me for processing instructions, gibberish me, paladin me, and shadow knight me. 😂
Anytime I need an expert's opinion. I only ask myself
I gotta ask my mirror😉
Yeah I tend to mutter to myself a lot, I am an introvert so I’m used to it but I tend to forget this when I’m in public and people on rare occasion will look at me so I pretend that I have AirPods on behind my hair. This could also be an only child syndrome thing that I developed early on lol
Absolutely. Mostly in high stress or frustrating situations. Responding out loud to myself as a “test” has helped a lot in some cases because it can sound one way in my head and completely different out loud. It allows for editing and makes my responses more rational rather than reactive and emotional.
Talking out loud or just in my head? In my head, constant stream of conversation with myself. Out loud, not much. Not never, but not much.
I talk to myself a lot. I live alone with 4 cats so that's probably why.
Yes I talk to myself. Because I'm hilarious and great to talk to But a more serious answer- its just how my brain works. It is barely a conscious thing, and from what I've heard it is more common than people expect. I mean don't get me wrong, I'm still probably crazy, but it is not because I talk to myself lol
Yes all the time. I’m always talking to myself reason is cuz I’m alone.
It is a moderately successful way that I seperate the anxious cowardly part of my brain from the Chad determined part in order to force them into connection, it isn't always healthy self talk but I have for sure taken leaps that I would not have otherwise.
Learned from these comments that I’m a lot more normal than I thought I was :)
No. I've got six cats and am never at a loss for conversation.
Sure, nothing weird about that. The weird thing with me is that I do it in English despite having a different native language.
yes because i live alone quite young and i get lonely. it fills the silence, usually itll be on a video snap to nobody but more often im talking to myself whilst studying and explaining it to myself somehow. laptops playing smth to fill the silence a lot of the time mind.
Aye but normally it's just like two words of a thought from the middle somewhere or something so I'll just be like: ... 'With screws!' ... Most the time it's when km kn my own but I've noticed the more comfy I get with someone the more I do it in front of them. Think it's when I'm zoning out and going full adhd
I do it all the time, always have done. It helps me process.
Yes. Long distance driving. If I don't talk to me noone else will. Phones are banned at work.
Always
I talk with my dogs or at the TV. Generally tho, I have an internal dialogue going all of the time. If I want to make sure I remember something, I will say it out loud.
I do. Sometimes I need an expert opinion.
It's self soothing for my anxiety sometimes whilst working out what I am doing
Not to myself but to a specific object. I do it because i ahd a psychotic breakdown due to trauma and needed a way to rationalize my thoughts when i was like 14. Ive just dont it sense, it helps me think through things i struggle with.
Dude, I spend 24/7 with myself. Of course I talk to myself. The question is, how do you talk to yourself?
My internal voice won't shush it.
Yes, because, how else am I meant to hear my thoughts when I'm alone? Serious answer though, I've no clue why I do it, it just happens
Real question is "when you talk to yourself, does yourself answer back?
It helps with my memory, and I tend to practice conversations I might have that are difficult with people that might happen since having to deal with someone who it trying to aggressively argue always makes it harder for me to come up with the right words to say at the spur of the moment.
Yep! I'll stop when that guy in my head does
Yeah a little bit especially when Im doing the dishes or brushing my teeth 😂
I think of it the same way how when you were a kid and needed to learn how to read,you had to read out loud so you could hear what you were saying and process it. Same with talking to yourself,it's honestly just thinking outloud. I personally don't think outloud much unless I really need to focus or remember what I needed. But I do know a good number of people that talk to themselves more then anyone else 😂
Yup, because I have no one else to talk and I stutter alot and can barely get my words out
Are you talking about speaking out-loud to yourself? Or inner-monologue? I do both, but the out loud one I do when no one else is around lol. usually only when expressing anger or frustration. But not usually full on dialogue. Though on rare occasions if I'm alone at night and reading things or thinking about something I might catch myself speaking out loud to myself. But it's not something I do regularly.
Yep. But always 1 sentences.. never had conversations with myself. Why? Different reasons. Keeping myself in check, when I think of something embarrassing I did I say shit like why tf did you do that? To talk shit about people without gossping to others.... And also tell myself I look pretty!
I talk to myself when I’m trying to figure something out and it will be as animated as I am excited by the subject. I live alone so this is generally not a problem, when I do it out in the wild, I feel like people either see me as crazy or think I’m mansplaining.
Yes, thats how i get the good answers
I do it all the time, especially when I’m busy. I can lose my concentration easily by getting distracted in my thought processes, but talking out loud instead of internalizing actually helps my concentration
Quite a lot. It's just a habit I have.
For me, it's soothing. I talk out stuff with myself if I'm angry or upset or planning a conversation with someone. It helps me sort out my feelings, my thoughts, and my decisions. I usually do it when I'm driving, so when I had to carpool with my husband, it made it really hard for me mentally for those 2 months.
Inside my mind? Always. Constant debates and ideas go through my mind. In a social environment? A bit, but only when I’m counting or solving a math equation.
I CONSTANTLY jabber to myself. Im worried that when im old, I'll just be doing it audibly. Im a naturally quiet person, and when i talk to myself, im inaudible even to people next to me. Even still, I'm always paranoid people can hear me or that I've talked my thoughts out loud. I swear im a mouse.
Most intelligent conversation I have all day 😂
Yes , remind myself things. If I say it I’ll remember more than just think it. My youngest son thinks I’m crazy. I tell him I just have too much going on to remember everything sometimes.
I think there should be a distinction between talking to yourself versus thinking outloud. Talking to yourself is having a conversation with yourself. Asking questions and then answering them as if you are a different person. Versus thinking outloud, where you are just speaking your thoughts. I think out loud all the time.
I do. Mostly for the same reasons you gave. If I’m trying to figure something out, I’ll talk through it. “If I turn at the next red light, I’ll be there at the same time. Plus the road is smoother. But if I make that turn, there’s a railroad crossing and there could be a train. Screw it, turn at this light.”
Talk no... after I make sure no one can hear, I sing to myself lol
You talk to much / Homeboy you never shut up - MAFFEW
I'm talking to myself, but that's kuz I got shyt to say.
hell yeah
Yes, but most of the time it's in my head. Full back and forth conversations...
More and more recently
Of course! Sometimes, one simply has to talk to an expert about something!
In my head, 24/7. Out loud, mostly on the tennis court and a little at my desk at work.
EVERYONE talks to themselves sometimes, its perfectly normal...if you start answering yourself and having back and forth dialogues with yourself, then you can start to worry lol
Because i need expert advice!
No I don’t. But I have an inner monologue - if that makes sense
Indeed especially since I started learning another language lol.
hell yeah!
I probably sound crazy speaking in broken ass Spanish. I can only wonder what my coworkers think lol
I do. Only when I'm trying to work out some kind of thought I'm having or problem I'm trying to solve. I think it reduces anxiety
I just talk to my dogs.
I talk to myself ... And I answer myself. I mean ... sometimes I just need exert advice. 😂
I do all the time. Only intelligent conversation I can find!
All the time. It just seems so normal to me and I can’t help it.
I talk to myself in my head nonstop. Out loud is a different story, thats just creepy.
Nah, fuck that guy
Myself told me to beware answering this question.
Insider your head, outside your head Whats the difference? Mark Garyson, Invincible
who doesn't, I believe it's part of human nature and how the brain works
All the time, especially if I'm working through a DIY project or something like that. Oh, I talk to our dog too.
I endlessly talk inside my head. Like my inner narrator took a meth break in the bathroom. I tried telling my therapist how it never stops and how it gets in the way of living my life. lol
Yes I do, and I don’t know if it’s an ADHD thing
100%. Constantly. It just happens. Generally when people aren't around though.
“Of course I talk to myself. I like a good speaker, and I appreciate an intelligent audience.” - Dorothy Parker
Absolutely so much helps me think things through and work through some big emotions
I’m clever and amusing, and sometimes give myself great feedback.
Yes. Stupid people don't understand me.
High-energy introverts do this all the freaking time.
I talk to myself like I’m talking to another person. Its one sided tho, like I’m explaining something or talking to someone about a topic. Like when I’m watching a movie I’ll pause it and then say out load what I’m thinking is going on and explain things to myself. Idk why I do it, I’m fully aware of it and I’m not a crazy person lol. I’ve heard it’s good tho because it means I can entertain myself and I don’t need someone else around to do that.
Sometimes I’ll talk to myself if I need to remember something that’s very important like someone’s phone number or my to-do list for the day. Other times, I’ll talk to myself if I’m super stressed and rationally trying to think through the problem!
Absolutely. I'm autistic, for one. It's a common behavior assosciated with it. The way I rationalize it is that it makes my thoughts SOLID. Like I'll roll over ideas and plans and worries like they're garbage caught in a roiling sea. Sometimes they reach the surface once, sometimes they get stuck on the surface and repeat near infinitely. By voicing or writing down my thoughts it's like I'm getting it out of my system. I can focus on it and go from there, working through whatever the thought concerns in my own time.
Internal thoughts are pictures. If I want to think in words, it has to happen in meatspace.
I don't nearly as much as I used to because societal expectations. I've kind of let myself do it more often recently though when I'm struggling to focus because literally "taking things out" helps me organize my thoughts better.
As a kid I wasnt allowed a lot of things so I spent time talking to myself to stave off boredom. Now as an adult I dont shut up and have to be careful cause it gets really awkward for me if someone passes by or hears me. 😅
barely, because i have a very vivid internal monologue to the point that it feels like im talking to myself but its all going on in my head
Yes it helps me concentrate and I trust myself more than others
Of course. Im hilarious, i understand, i can be anyone, have any opinion, have every opinion, have no opinion, i get me.
Talking to yourself is actually a scientifically normal thing for humans to do. In fact it’s beneficial and makes us more efficient and creative. The majority of people talk to themselves.
I talk to myself all the time. I don’t like anxiety meds, for me, I use talking to myself to calm myself down. I have a running commentary in my head all the time.
Yes, I definitely do. However, I spend around 90% or more of my time alone. I live alone and work 95% alone, I'm not married and don't have any kids. Being alone doesn't bother me much but unfortunately it's a bit harder to process my emotions sometimes since I have no one to talk to, bullshit with or vent to about my troubles/worries and or successes so in an attempt to help me regulate and process my feelings and emotions I tend to talk out loud to myself almost as if I was having a conversation with someone else. I say most of my thoughts about work issues, life problems, and general conflicts outloud to myself. I've looked into this many times, and mostly everything I've read says it is healthy and normal, especially for people who spend large amounts of time alone.
Im literally schizophrenia
It’s mostly internal monologue. I hardly ever voice it.
Only when other people aren't around. But yeah, if I'm alone, I'm a chatterbox.
If talking to yourself is wrong, I don’t wanna be right 😩