Do you have an internal monologue?

Does anyone have an internal monologue?
What's it like?

Or if you dont have one, how would you describe what goes through your mind?

I was just wondering as mine is very loud at the moment, making me feel increasingly anxious and I keep having songs running through my mind over and over and over....

I have a stream of thoughts running through my mind every moment I am awake. Not sure that is the same as an internal monologue.

Luckily some part of my mind is able to step out of this stream from time to time and observe it as though from the outside. It is like sitting on the banks of river and watching the water go by. This gives me a sense of control and sanity.

Sometimes songs or melodies get into a feedback loop in my mind too. I wonder if we are experiencing something similar? Sorry that your thoughts are loud if that is disturbing. I guess I have had "loud" thoughts too. Best to you.

Thanks so much for your reply @Yaowen
Thats so good youre able to step out of the stream sometimes! I think mindfulness is really good to quiet down my thoughts. That and yoga!

And I just hear my own voice in my head going along with the thoughts or what Im doing, I looked it up and it said online it was probably an internal monologue that a lot of people experience. I just wondered what others experiences were.

And yes, I experience the same thing, the songs play in a constant loop. It can be set off by the smallest of words that I immediately recognise as part of a song, then the part of the song I know just plays over and over, until the next one. Sometimes i find myself humming them or singing along.

Yes. Sometimes it's more like obsessions, but those come and go, being more persistent in a depressed mood. They're about things that are very important to me, so it's hard to ignore them. It's a set of worries. What if this, that, and the other unpleasant thing. Shouldn't I do something about it, but I don't know what to do about it, but maybe I should try harder.

I hope yours isn't like that!

Other times it's just a running commentary on what I'm doing and about to do, kind of like talking to myself.

I have an internal monologue, but very often it is as if I were writing a letter or speaking to somebody important I related to in the past or am relating to currently - somebody important in one way or another. In the ideal world I would actually write those letters for real, or write an autobiographic novel, but I currently do not have time due to a high responsibility job and the demands of managing my health and wellness, which takes a lot of time!

This sounds like me sometimes...

I’m constantly reminding myself what day it is. Like, oh it’s Wednesday today. I should also tell myself what date it is. I often don’t know. Just an hour or so ago I reminded myself that it’s Wednesday and I had gotten the mail in and that tomorrow night was garbage night.

Yes, I have a constant internal monologue, also imagery. Everything from A to Z. A lot of my internal monologue/imagery involves memories.

When I'm stable, my thinking is far "quieter" and relaxed, so to speak. Nevertheless, I still communicate a lot to myself, and if available, to others. What's going on now is a lot of pushing to complete projects. Go, go, go! Also, bouts of frustration and impatience. I don't currently have anxiety (or at least not typical types).

I definitely experience racing thoughts during hypomania, mania, and mixed states. The "flavor" affects the topics that go on. Elated, extra extra frustrated, depressed mixed in, anxious? It varies. I, too can have a lot of repetative stuff going on then. Not just songs/sounds, but phrases. Some are self cheering on. Others can be declarations of joy. When mixed, fantasies of violence even though I'm not generally a violent person. When I become so, it's only directed at either myself or maybe a wall/inanimate object, even if directed towards others in my mind. Daydreaming of various sorts increases. I can start to feel distant from myself.

When very manic, my thoughts race so much that it's like a chaos of everything, with multiple stuff happening in there rapidly and simultaneously. Sometimes to the point of a type of explosion.

I talk to myself outloud all the time, my internal dialogue outloud. I used to do it aimed more at my beloved dog but he had to be put down a year ago. I do wish I had movie music following me around. Like when Im thinking about a problem I'd want that crazy music from interstellar playing in the backround.

Oh my gosh, how good is the music in interstellar!!

Oh @Soupe du jour I think I daydream more when unwell too! And I get phrases stuck in my head too, like Ill hear one word and that will remind me of a phrase, which just goes over and over in my mind. Sometimes I say it out loud (I dont always even recognise that Ive said it out loud).

Its so odd how the mind works, isnt it?

Oh memories, thats really interesting! Ive never thought about if mine involves memories! Thank you @BethRags !!

Thanks @Nammu ! Yeah its kind of like, just weirdly normal stuff!

Oh thats very interesting! Thanks @Tart Cherry Jam !

Thanks @tentoedsloth ! I actually relate to what youve said a lot. Its much worse when Im unwell too.

Yeah, it's a sort of conversation in my head with whoever I feel would be helpful or whoever I feel like talking to at the time but it's mostly me talking to them (in my head).

The majority of my internal dialogue is about my eating disorder. I won't share the details because it could be triggering, but it's always about my weight, my body, losing weight, and restricting food.

After that I'm usually thinking about art and painting. The rest of my eternal dialogue is mundane like, "I need to do a load of laundry" or "I need to get ready for bed", boring stuff like that.

When I'm depressed the dialogue is mostly negative self-talk and the ED thoughts get even more intense. The thoughts about art/creativity go away and I can't paint or draw.

When I'm manic I have racing thoughts. The majority of my internal dialogue goes like, "Ok, I can control this (the manic episode). I won't end up in the hospital this time", but I usually end up in psychosis and have to go to the hospital

While in psychosis I don't notice much of an internal dialogue because I hallucinate a lot (mostly visual and tactile) and just feel extremely high/euphoric. The only internal dialogue I notice are the thoughts dealing with my delusions.

I often have internal monologues where i fantasize a conversation from the past and what i would like to have said. This was a plot of a Seinfeld ep where George acted out his fantasy. I so HATE to have anything in common with George, so detest him! And yet we most strongly dislike the parts of ourselves that we dislike and recognize in others. Ack! It's mostly me talking in the fantasies. I've done this all of my adult life. It's not necessarily bad, it's indulgent and not productive but it passes the time and no one gets hurt.

I do not have any racing thoughts that part of my mind broke when I initially had my break. it overloaded and broke. I felt my brain crack. now my mind seems blank I really have to think to pull thoughts out. it's peaceful now, I'm not nearly as stressed.