Talking to myself: the opinion of a psychiatrist

Perhaps every person at least once was surprised to realize that he was talking to himself in a completely empty room or a deserted place.

And other people do have steady habit of thinking out loud, referring as if to an invisible interlocutor.

The man is talking to himself out loud: reasons

A person who engages in a dialogue with himself, may seem strange.

In some cases, they try to connect this “symptom” with psychiatry, suspecting any disorder (schizophrenia, psychosis, etc.).

But in the case of mental illness in humans Other symptoms will be mandatory:

hallucinations;
obsessive thoughts and states;
loss of connection with reality;
prostration;
depressive states;
panic attacks.

If such disorders of perception and behavior are not observed, most likely the reasons are quite banal and safe.

Why do people talk to themselves:

Desire to arrange thoughts. Thoughts in the head are sometimes messy and chaotic, as well as difficult to understand (as if quickly switching panoramas in a kaleidoscope). But when a person says something out loud, he preliminarily formulates a thought and draws it up into a sentence. We have to "grasp" the meaning, cut off all unnecessary. It helps to get together, put his head in order and make a quick decision.

Maximum concentration on the problem. When a person solves the current problem, he may be distracted by third-party thoughts, sounds, and so on. Talking with yourself in this situation is a way of self-organization. The brain switches to the mode of solving the sounded task. Build logical chains becomes easier. In addition, the visual center is activated. One has only to say out loud the phrase “lost keys”, as the image of the keys and the places where they could be lost emerges in consciousness.
Emotional discharge. While a person is trying silently to cope with intense negative or positive emotions, he resembles a boiling cauldron. Feelings literally rush out. And it is very important to direct the energy to the outside world. Someone shouts, others beat their dishes or tear paper, and still others just complain to friends.
But there are those who get rid of emotions by talking to themselves. This is also the direction of energy to the external environment and the way of discharge.
Loneliness. All people have a set of social needs. But a single person cannot bury these needs. And in order to fill the lack of communication, he begins to talk to himself. At the same time, the monologue is often addressed not even to himself, but to the invisible listener. Sometimes the role of the listener is assigned to household items, pets, furniture, etc. A single person seeks to animate inanimate objects around in order to find an interlocutor.

Separately it is necessary to say about those who have a habit to hum a little song.

Such a habit has nothing to do with situations when a person speaks to himself.

Yes, from the side it may seem that a person is talking, because his lips move. But actually speaking the words, man does not put meaning in them.

Is this normal: the opinion of psychiatrists

Scientists believe that a person is talking to himself about 70% of waking time.

If a person talks to himself, there is nothing terrible or strange (according to psychiatrists). Each of us leads an internal dialogue, playing it in our head. And speaking out loud, a person only creates an external projection of this dialogue.

Scientists at the University of Wisconsim-Madison even conducted a series of experiments that proved that such conversations help focus on the task and successfully deal with it. At the same time, all participants in the experiment were completely healthy in terms of psychiatry people.

There is a special term - egocentric speech.

This is a speech addressed to oneself. Phenomenon is not a deviation.

Egocentric speech can perform protective function. It also helps to distract from unpleasant thoughts, focus on the details and get rid of the feeling of loneliness.

Is it a disease and what is the diagnosis?

Worry is worth if a person loses touch with reality. Talking to himself, he does not perceive this as a monologue, but like a dialogue with someone invisible.

At the same time, there is a belief in the "reality" of the invisible interlocutor. An imaginary opponent can be a character, some kind of strength, image, or even spirit.

During the conversation man addresses the "interlocutor" of various emotions. From the outside it looks like a quarrel, a dispute, an active exchange of opinions, etc. In the process, a person actively gesticulates and uses facial expressions.

Such symptoms can signal early stages of schizophrenia, a split personality, and various neuroses.

Personality disharmony or psychopathy also is associated with uncontrolled speech.

But at the same time the monologue wears a negative color.

In obsessive compulsive disorders, a person also loses control of himself, saying aloud words or phrases.

This is not about an unconscious process, but rather about inability to resist the urge to say something out loud.

Only an expert can make an accurate diagnosis. Independently determine the presence of disorders is impossible, especially if the associated symptoms are mild.

What if you talk to yourself?

If you have already noticed for several times that you are speaking out loud and voicing your thoughts, It is worth to focus on this. But do not panic and worry.

First you need to understand, can you control the process? Need effort to stop the monologue? If a person can control the process, then nothing to worry about.

Determine the cause, according to which there is a need to conduct a conversation with himself.

Maybe this is a way to focus? Or focus on business in the face of extreme fatigue?

Or maybe through a monologue you are trying to escape from loneliness?

If you listen to your own feelings and identify the cause, you can find hidden problems and work on them.

How to stop talking to yourself?

If speaking with oneself helps to focus attention or to formulate a problem, then don't have to fight this habit and try to eradicate it.

But sometimes speaking the thoughts out loud a person does it absolutely unconsciously and even in public / in a company. In this case, the habit can cause discomfort and provoke surprised looks of others.

What to do:

Watch. At what point do you start voicing your thoughts? In what circumstances does this happen? Try to track your feelings at this moment and grasp the meaning of the monologue. Starting to celebrate your behavior and its features is the first step to controlling the situation.
Switch over. As soon as you notice yourself talking out loud, try switching to a mental monologue. Chewing gum will help to deceive the brain and force it to independently switch to "silent mode." After all, when you chew, it is difficult to combine this with unconscious speech.
Restrict freedom within reasonable limits. If the obsessive habit of pronouncing thoughts does not leave you, it is necessary to weaken the resistance. Allow yourself to talk to yourself at a certain time and place (only at home after work, in a deserted place, etc.).
Minor restrictions are easier to introduce as a new habit (compared to total prohibitions).
Keep a diary. If your thoughts are confused and need to be streamlined, you can keep a personal diary. Making your experiences in the proposals, you will work through the problem. And the need to voice it just disappears.
Communicate. Often it is loneliness and lack of communication that cause a person to talk to himself. You may not have a sense of acute loneliness. But the need to speak out, share information or "get rid" of annoying thoughts provokes a monologue. If you put into practice regular communication with like-minded people, the desire to talk with yourself will disappear, as well as destructive information hunger.
Do something interesting. Conversation with oneself begins most often in those moments when a person is bored, immersed in thoughts, dreams or plans. As a result, he seems to be locked up, losing touch with what is happening. In this situation, any fascinating activity (an interesting book, a computer game, drawing or modeling) can relieve you of the desire to speak your thoughts out loud.
Fine. If the methods listed above do not help, it is worth resorting to penalties.
Get a special jar in which you will throw a couple of coins every time you notice that you are talking to yourself.

If the inner monologue and habit of talking to yourself is distracting, confusing and confusing thoughts, should try the exercise "3 points":

select three objects that you will be watching (colleague, car outside the window, a cat, a tree, etc.);

Try to simultaneously monitor each object, not losing sight of the dynamic changes;
connect the sound perception and try to catch what sounds reproduce objects.

Exercise will help develop the ability to control the mind.

If you can't control the monologue say things out loud that you don’t even think about or hear someone else’s voice instead of yours, you need to contact a specialist.

Well, if the situation is under control and does not bother you at all, it means that you love verbalization.

Talking to yourself - ok? Opinion psychologist: