[Serotonin]

Do you ever talk to yourself as a form of therapy?

I've been doing it for years, and usually it hasn't been through choice, as I have no-one else to talk to. Talking to myself has helped me to express my thoughts out loud, get to the bottom of a lot of issues, and straighten out a lot of vague and muddled thinking. In fact, a good self talking to has helped me to recognise the error of my ways, and has greatly enhanced my sense of independence.

I usually talk to myself at home, but sometimes I used to talk openly to myself while walking down the street, and in shops, then realised that the old erroneous adage that talking to yourself is the first sign of madness may cause some people to view me as in possession of compromised sanity, which of course is not the case.

Talking to yourself can actually help to improve your mental health by acting as vehicle to focus your concerns, but all too often our self talk consists of the negative chatter-box within telling us how awful we are, and how we are no good at anything. This seemingly independent voice (which is actually our own) constantly seeks to undermine our self-esteem and precarious sense of self worth by giving us an inferiority complex, or exacerbating one which has already been allowed to take shape.

The trick is to turn off the internal negative chatter-box and switch a new (positive) one on, or highjack the negative chatter-box and re-program it to say positive, optimistic things, as opposed to the fuelling the usual and predictable daily negative thought train, which unlike British rail, is always reliable and on time.

I know that positive thinking is never easy, and especially if you are habitually inclined to take a critical and pessimistic approach to just about everything; viewing cynicism as a safer and more realistic lens with which to view the world. But hey, I learned that it's just as valid and realistic to take a positive and optimistic perspective on personal and social issues as it is to take a negative and cynical view.

These days I prefer to view my glass as half full as opposed to half empty, and I'm never going to stop talking to myself while I have a tongue in my head.

Do you talk to yourself? If so, do you feel that you benefit from it?

[Perna]

Have you read this site's stuff?

http://helpyourselftherapy.com/topics/selftalk.html

I think we all work with ourselves as we live our lives; with only an hour a week for therapy the other 167 hours need something (I'm including my dreams at night when I'm sleeping as I believe it's my unconscious trying to help)?

[Serotonin]

Yeah, I stumbled on that site a while ago, and was relieved that it confirmed what I'd always felt: that talking to yourself is most definitely not a sign of madness (how ever you want to define that term).

[and_im_still_here]

I talk to myself, i act up conversations, although i sound more strong and sure of myself in my mind i dont understand why , sometimes i feel my mind has its own control and thinks what its wants and doesnt let me do it for myself, me, im all about the sincere, nice, and kind person but my mind is direct, it lies and perfers to be its own even if it doesnt come out to show in "real" world.

When I was in the deepest depths of my depression, before getting some professional help, I often talked aloud to myself (at home, in the car or walking the dog). Unfortunately, I used the talk to berate, whip or beat myself up. I was quite good at it. By the time I was done, I'd feel lower than a snakes belly.

After getting some help, I learned to really analyze my thoughts when I was going downward into a major tailspin. Initially, I had to sit down and write them out very clearly and challenge my distorted thinking point by point. It was laborious, but I'd bring the thought log to my next therapy appointment and we'd go over it. She coached me through it and it helped. Now, I can do that analysis in my head or talking it aloud as it's happening. I can catch myself before I go down that route of self destruction.

[dismantle.repair]

I talk to myself often- sometimes, I even pretend there's someone there that I'm talking to.
And I don't think I'm crazy... Well I do, but I function well in society :P

[Perna]

Originally Posted by Serotonin

that talking to yourself is most definitely not a sign of madness (how ever you want to define that term).

I think it is a bit of a misunderstanding as some people with mental illnesses are talking to "themselves" only actually, they believe they are arguing/talking to other people in their heads and that is a sign of mental illness. If you are talking aloud to "other" people in public and there's no one there, that isn't healthy. If you are encouraging yourself, getting yourself psyched up for an actual activity, that can be pretty healthy.

[black or white]

I talk to myself as well. Actually I have imaginary conversations with my therapist. he never says anything in these conversations...it's like I'm working out what happened in our last session and preparing for our next. It's like journaling out loud

[Serotonin]

I think my problem was that I used to think too deeply, and talking out loud was a simple vocalisation of my my very deep analyses, not just of myself, but anything that happened to be on my mind.

I try to keep it shallow and superficial nowadays (something I was loathe to do in the past). I've thought and self-talked myself into too many black holes and cul-de-sacs. I learned that life doesn't have to be serious, and neither do the nature of the conservations that you have with yourself.

[Serotonin]

Originally Posted by Perna

I think it is a bit of a misunderstanding as some people with mental illnesses are talking to "themselves" only actually, they believe they are arguing/talking to other people in their heads and that is a sign of mental illness. If you are talking aloud to "other" people in public and there's no one there, that isn't healthy. If you are encouraging yourself, getting yourself psyched up for an actual activity, that can be pretty healthy.

Well, people who talk to themselves and who suffer from schizophrenia or multiple personality disorder are probably experiencing a symptom of their illness/condition, and the crude and ill-defined term "madness" has been applied in days of old. But if someone talks aloud to themselves in public (which I personally used to do), it is not necessarily an indicator of psychosis, it may be nothing more serious than engaging in a personal activity in an unsuitable social context.

Btw, I no longer talk to myself in public, but I have seen plenty of other people do it. Just the other day a guy rode past my balcony on his bicycle, and he was in full flow; having a very lively conversation with himself. I've seen people talking to themselves behind the wheel of their car, with no-one else in the car (ok, they may have been singing along to the radio, but I doubt it).

Everyone's at it!

[newtus]

i talk to myself. its hard to explain what it is. i have schizoaffective dx but its not voices i dont think? its like intrusive thoughts and intrusive people voices that will not go away from my past saying crap about me. so i tell them off. i do it accidentaly in public too much too. its an unconscious thing. im embarrassed.

but idk maybe that is voices. i really dont know actually.

[BrokenNBeautiful]

Keeps me sane!

thanks,

Billi

[shipping]

My husband is a genius in several areas, primarily mathematics and physics. He talks to himself--yes, in public, in our home, all the time he has to keep speaking just under his breath as a way to stabilize his brain. Sometimes he is repeating a conversation or preparing for one. Sometimes it is an argument. But it keeps him grounded. Otherwise, his head would float up into a sky of numbers, like if it were a hot-air balloon and his talking to himself--that is the sandbags that keep him grounded. So your self talk is probably some kind of coping mechanism or stress relief. As for myself, I hear voices from the past telling me that crap; that is sad. It might be good for me to argue with those voices. shipping

[BrokenNBeautiful]

Sometimes talking to myself helps drown out the bad voice.

[kitten2012]

I talk to myself all the time, though it's usually in my head. I act out past conversations, ones I've never had, ones I want to have, the whole bit. This is actually one of my non-maddening habits and I think it impacts whatever my biggest issues are at the moment. Like, if I am doing well, then my conversations with myself are positive. If I'm in basket case mode, sometimes these conversations make it worse and I have to remind myself that it's not real and to knock it off - after I blow off a little steam telling off people that aren't there.

Still, I think it's more helpful than not.