Someone who talks to his own self (depression, pill, personality disorder)

[syeda rafia]

Actually i've a reserved kind of nature and i don't share my feelings, emotions or my personal life with anyone not even with my parents although i'm too much frank with my mother. I've an awkward habit that i imagine myself to be e.g my friend and me at the same time. First i'll say my dialogue then hers for e.g i: hey she: hey i: wats up she: nothing special blaa blaa then i'll start a convo related to a particular topic may be about my personal life our friendship or someone else . It wastes my time especially when i'm sitting alone for study i start doing this odd thing and waste my time i don't know why i do this although i try my best not to do it but all in vain.I know it sounds awkward but please tell me some way how can i get rid of itß

[Hippocrates]

I think it is symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
On the whole, always be close to the wall of the room because this alleviates many of the symptoms.

[Anon_90]

My niece who is 16, will sit in her room for hours having conversations out loud where she voices both sides of the conversation. With full on laughter and sometimes getting mad. I’ve been trying to figure out forever what would cause this or what it’s called and still have no answes

[jonesg]

Originally Posted by Anon_90

My niece who is 16, will sit in her room for hours having conversations out loud where she voices both sides of the conversation. With full on laughter and sometimes getting mad. I’ve been trying to figure out forever what would cause this or what it’s called and still have no answes

Its ego.

[Clintone]

Originally Posted by stepka

What mental illnesses might this point to? I'm aware that schizophrenics might do so, but who else? I"m wondering b/c this man I broke up with in my last relationship does that. When we were dating I sometimes saw him do it around the house, but always assumed that he was either doing it to be funny or that it's kind of like picking your nose--best done in private, since he certainly seemed sane enough otherwise. After we broke up I witnessed a very chilling episode where he stood out on a street corner by himself for 20 minutes holding an entire conversation with himself, complete with gestures and laughs. As it turned out when I did a complete amateur armchair analysis of this man's mental problems after the fact, I realized that he probably has the entire cluster B of personality disorders-- that is, sociopathy, borderline, narcissism, and histrionic, which he managed to hide very well for a few months. But as far as I'm aware, none of these come with holding entire conversations with yourself. I'm still puzzling thru this thing just because it's interesting if nothing else.

One thing: I have entire conversations with myself...when I'm alone. This includes hand signals. I'll laugh at my own jokes. I'll walk around in circles talking to myself, chuckling and making hand signals for half an hour or more. I got caught doing this a couple times in college, which was embarrassing. I worked as a cashier when I was younger and got caught talking to myself and chuckling at memories occasionally too. It kind of slips out now and then. Talking to myself just feels so natural to me that I don't understand why other people don't. Obviously, it's embarrassing, but the fact that most people don't get the urge to is difficult to relate to, to me.

I have no diagnosed mental disorders except for, probably, social anxiety disorder, which I was offered medication for when I was younger, which was optional. That said, I haven't gotten myself checked for anything either. In any case, even if I do have some mental disorder/disorders, I'm almost sure talking to myself isn't part of that. Talking to myself, including wandering around in circles laughing at my own jokes and making hand signals feels far too natural for that. Social anxiety disorder is unpleasant and a hindrance to me. Talking to myself though...that's just a leisure activity.

I'm not saying that your former partner doesn't have a mental disorder, or that talking to oneself might not result from some mental disorder. I'm just saying, I don't think talking to oneself, even while wandering around in circles muttering to oneself, laughing at one's own jokes, and making hand signals, necessarily means that. I've done it outdoors too, but I don't think I've wandered around in circles talking to myself around people I knew well intentionally, at least after I was very young.

It probably has a lot to do with the fact that I just don't get embarrassed easily, which might have something to do with the social anxiety disorder. I get so nervous from the social anxiety disorder that if I listen to my instincts, everything says DON'T DO THAT! so sometimes my solution is to ignore all of my instincts about social norms.

But again, the social anxiety disorder might explain why I'll occasionally be willing to get caught talking to myself in public, but not why I want to talk to myself. That's simply something I enjoy doing as leisure activity.

That said...I could definitely understand feeling weirded out by that behavior and not wanting to date someone because of it, mental disorder or not.

[nightbird47]

Originally Posted by Anon_90

My niece who is 16, will sit in her room for hours having conversations out loud where she voices both sides of the conversation. With full on laughter and sometimes getting mad. I’ve been trying to figure out forever what would cause this or what it’s called and still have no answes

She sounds like she knows herself very well. Inside us is always a conversation and sometimes either writing the conversation out, or if you have enough privacy, speaking it helps define our best options. If you don't know then sometimes listening to all the voices inside us can help define the things about it which matter, and the best option. It's much better to listen to the inner voices and use what you learn than to try to navigate your way through options you maybe don't really understand yet.

When I had things to figure out I used to write out these detailed conversations between the two me's who couldn't find a center, the one who wanted to take a chance, and the one who was afraid to, and found that often because I was able to put into words what I was afraid of, I could end up seeing it all a lot more clearly, in all its confusion.

Sixteen is a hard time when kids are amidst a huge change, and if her 'selves' can work things out it should make teen life a bit easier.

[Sollaces]

I talk to myself. It's because I'm alone a lot. I remind myself of things and write them down, saying them outloud reinforces what I set out to do, a reminder. Like a grocery list and listing the things so I won't forget. Or that I forgot something and saying out loud what it was. Is it a regular conversation? No.

I don't know what brought up your witnessing and figuring out his behavior or why you didn't take the time to know this when you were together. I guess the break up was good in that respect - You didn't know him well enough and he didn't feel comfortable enough to confide in you. That says a lot in itself.

Btw, I also talk in my sleep. ))

[skywalker2014]

Schizo most likely. If he is really talking to himself and not rather be just thinking out loud.

[Phil75230]

Originally Posted by stepka

What mental illnesses might this point to? I'm aware that schizophrenics might do so, but who else? I"m wondering b/c this man I broke up with in my last relationship does that. When we were dating I sometimes saw him do it around the house, but always assumed that he was either doing it to be funny or that it's kind of like picking your nose--best done in private, since he certainly seemed sane enough otherwise. After we broke up I witnessed a very chilling episode where he stood out on a street corner by himself for 20 minutes holding an entire conversation with himself, complete with gestures and laughs. As it turned out when I did a complete amateur armchair analysis of this man's mental problems after the fact, I realized that he probably has the entire cluster B of personality disorders-- that is, sociopathy, borderline, narcissism, and histrionic, which he managed to hide very well for a few months. But as far as I'm aware, none of these come with holding entire conversations with yourself. I'm still puzzling thru this thing just because it's interesting if nothing else.

I know you said he seemed to be the type who might threaten others (my interpretation of "chilling"), but I have to comment about whether his talking to himself (the title of your post) really is a scornworthy trait. So I'll focus on that part alone.

If it's not harming or demeaning anybody else, I don't see what the big deal is. This is especially true when most people conflate "normal" with "socially acceptable", in short, it's arbitrarily labeling based on kneejerk (dis)taste. Sure, you can statistically measure if a behavior is outside the norm. Slapping the label "scorn-worthy" (i.e. socially unacceptable) on it is entirely another matter. Why slap the "scorn-worthy" on talking to one's self at all? It seems to me an arbitrary collective judgement and nothing more - similar to LGBT a generation ago.

If the mainstream so blatantly misjudged the worth of LGBT even less than a generation ago, then what other types of people and behaviors are mainstream society mistakenly slapping the "scorn-worthy" label upon? The same thing goes for past attitudes toward different races (especially interracial marriage) and other categories.

[Katiethegreat]

He's talking with spirits.