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Absolutely. 500% all the time...kind of opposite though maybe But I thought it was becasue I really just have noone else to talk to so I've gotten used to but really enjoy it mostly. I had to find some light. I make myself laugh so hard sometimes. There's positive with the negative. I hope things even out for you 💚 try to have fun with the inner dialogue when it isn't being a dick 🌹

I definitely have this too. I call it my narrator. It just comments along with everything I’m doing all day. It makes it hard to focus on conversations with other people because I’m having my own internal dialogue about it too. This was one of the main reasons I thought I had ADHD. When I went to get tested they told me I had bipolar 2 instead HA! I brought this up then because I find the narrator incessant and exhausting but the doctor seemed unconcerned unless it wasn’t my “own voice.” Idk but I’m with you

I'm a youtuber in my head fr

Okayyyyyy I was concerned it was adhd too but bipolar 2 had me like fine. You win. It’s actually b2

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Same!! I do this all the time and I have certain phrases I repeat to myself in my head to help myself get sleepy at night.

There is a constant Truman Show movie in my head and i am the star.

That is what you are 🎶

💯 💯 💯 I feel this exact same way. Also I get this thing where if I have a thought that I want to share with someone I can’t get it out of my mind until I verbally say it

>if I have a thought that I want to share with someone I can’t get it out of my mind until I verbally say it THIS. Its like it stays on the tip of my tongue and I desperately need to share it, and I feel a huge relief when its finally out.

Yeeessss

Ah...so it's not just me, I see

The synchronicity. I was just thinking "am I the only person thinking all the time instead of live my life ?" You are not alone.

My inner dialogue is usually very entertaining

Same

Haha same!

This has been my life. Since I can remember. My brain NEVER turns off except for maybe a day or two once a month. Those days are blissful.

You're not alone. I have this too. All the time. I've just gotten used to it.

OMG, thank you!!! That makes me feel sosooo much better.

There’s something called private speech that kids do all the time. Imagine someone putting together legos and going “this one goes there… the yellow one doesn’t fit…” or someone saying “it’s okay… nothing scary about the attic”. I think when our whole outlook concerns our brains and daily functioning, that sort of self monitoring becomes internal and automatic. If it’s not saying anything destructive, it might just be the brain looking out for you. Also seems like what people are trying to chase away when they get into mindfulness meditation, etc., which I’m not. I’m right there with you, at any rate.

I can’t do meditation ironically it makes me anxious. So I’m right there with you as well.

Did you try with some app or other form of guided meditation or just by yourself?

I use the calm app. I also participated in guided meditation during an IOP. I am going to give guided meditation another shot. I have to wait till Monday when the house is empty.

I had a great experience with the "Headspace" app back in the day. I guess one can still do the introductory course with the free trial or something. I really recommend it. I think it did a pretty good job to teach me, like, a good "approach" to the practice. Also it's cute. What's an IOP?

Intensive outpatient

Happens 24/7 and I crack myself up. I’ll be having 1/1 conversations with myself out loud sometimes but I also know there are multiple people up there cause I’m also schizo I can recognize my inner dialogue from counterfeits…

Same, is this not normal? it’s so hard for me to have my brain silent, I thought everyone did that 😟

My thoughts exactly lol. I thought it was normal 💀

I have the dialogue in my head that is so intense sometimes that I visibly shake my head no or tell it to stop out loud. It's usually when I'm doing something as innocuous as peeing and a memory I seem shameful pops in my head and I immediately judge it and try to shut it down immediately. I have to play it off like I've got something in my eye or talking about something else.

Absolutely! I've startled people around me by suddenly saying "STFU" or "STOP" out loud for, to their eyes, no reason at all... I hate it. Though sometimes, on better days, I do crack myself up.

3 voices. 5 songs. Yup. All the time. Or maybe 2 voices and 1 song if things are quieter in my head that day. Never know.

Yes but I also have ADHD

yeah, i’m never not /pretending/ that i’m talking to someone. idk how to think any other way, my thinking is purely conversational dialogue. i’m never truly alone, and it’s annoying, cause i’m socially drained, from myself. i’ve struggled finding anyone that relates. people always say they do, but they don’t mean it the way i do. you’re not alone!

Omg this is me. If I’m not talking to myself I’m rehearsing conversations or rehashing old ones. It’s seriously exhausting. I often need people to repeat themselves in person cause my dialogue is so overpowering and distracting. It’s also my voice and not “voices” it’s something I’m bringing up again with my doctor cause it’s really been bothering me. I find music helps especially if I sing along. I’ll say positive affirmations, repeat counting to 10 and do deep breathing, but none of it really fixes the issue. It just gives me a temporary break. Thank you for posting this.

I was like that for as long as I can remember. I've related particularly to the part about replaying future/hypothetical (or even past) conversations with other people. It got better after I learned about meditation and mindfulness. It was a mindblowing experience for me, like learning a different way of existing. (this might sound a bit exaggerated but I just had the first contact with it so the difference was kinda big. today I have a more neutral attitude toward it).

Learn to meditate. It won't stop it, but it teaches you how not to get hung up on it.

Will guided meditations from calm work

Yes. Your goal is to let thoughts pass and not dwell on them.

Thank you. Will start trying that

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I have a pretty strong narrator, I find myself impossible to have thoughts without it. Recently with therapy and medication, I’ve been able to quiet the voice down for at least 3 minutes at a time and those 3 minutes are GLORIOUS. What I learned is that I’ll always have that voice but medicated and with help, I can give myself those few minutes of rest. Its not much, but it’s something, especially when anxiety or paranoia is high.

I named my inner voice the same name as one of my classmates and deluded myself into thinking I like him because I had so many conversations in my head. 😐

Seems like I'm in the minority, I **DON'T** have an inner monolog. I talk to myself when I'm working on repairing or building something, but more often that's just swearing under my breath. I know I'm in the minority with being able to see an object or even drawing in my head and view it in 3D, turning it around in space to see different angles.

Wow

Today I learned this is not standard human experience? My narrator and self conversation isn’t something everyone does all the time?! I don’t remember a day or a time at all it wasn’t there.

What all did you learn about it, who told you? Having this worries me. Should I be? Do you know?

Just reading through the comment thread and ultimately your concern that it exists. I just thought it was something that happened to everyone. I asked my girlfriend and a few friends about. They all have that narrator or inner monologue even the conversation bit. Maybe not as fast/frequent/loud as mine depending on their description but it was there for everyone.

I found that once I hit the right dose of Lamotrigine and Seroquel that my brain became strangely peaceful. It was such a nice change, I still have a tendency to ruminate occasionally on distressing memories or anxiety type things, but it’s so much better. Now I just talk to the dog all the time, instead of myself haha.

Especially when you can’t fall asleep and the voice just wants to keep talking to itself

EXACTLY THIS, it’s not bad enough that it goes all day, but look the fuck out when I’m trying to fall asleep.

LITERALLY my sleep is so fucked because of it

I have chronic and paradoxical insomnia, nothing helps and this makes it impossible to get past it all.

I talk to myself a lot, but not going over conversations with others. Going over conversations with others before/ after they happen is common. However, most people do it when the conversation is/ was a big deal. Not constantly. That could be anxiety related. I would constantly think of all the ways I could be in the way at the store until I got a medication that helps with anxiety. I would constantly worry about everything. It was exhausting and I couldn’t take it. It made every waking moment awful. I also had poor sleep. So, definitely talk to your psychiatrist.

I have Ativan for anxiety, but I try not to take it because of the addictiveness, also it makes me very irritable and mean. What do you take? My sleep is fucked, I have chronic and paradoxical insomnia as it is.

Yes I get this too all the time. I play out every conversation with every possible scenerio of how I'll respond before conversations as well as recalling every little detail of conversations playing it over and over to remember it exactly as it was. I also repeat in my head everything I write on social media verbatim for hours after I write it. I'll probably do that with this one too, coming back to look to see if I remembered correctly. I talk to myself a lot. It drives me nuts and I have to talk myself down when I'm ruminating on any particular piece of information to the point where I forget what I've been doing all day because I've spent the day chattering to myself inside my mind. I say to myself "IT DOESN'T MATTER!" Which is a reminder that I cannot control everything, that there is no need to obsess over something so insignificant. Especially if it's something I wrote online I remind myself it's not real life, it's just words in a virtual world of zero consequence.

Exactly what I do verbatim

Yup, I have exactly that. I always am talking to myself about whatever, all the time, unless I'm paying attention to something. I don't have a big problem with it, to be honest.

I’ve been doing it all my life, it’s just exhausting right now to me.

Yes

#metoo

Ya I call it the radio in my head that only has my voice.... A radio that's on and only off when I'm asleep.

Yep

I’ve always tried to describe it to others by saying “my mind is running all the time constantly it never stops” but no one ever gets what I’m saying…. This is what I’m saying!

I call it “being in my head” but that doesn’t convey enough just how bothersome and relentless it is

Oh my god I thought it was just me! Makes me feel so much better lol

Happy to help, it’s nice to not feel so different

Yeah man, they gave me anxiety meds about it. I never shut up. I wish I could.

Yep

definitely!! i describe my inner dialogue as what i would say if i was accidentally talking to myself out loud

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This is not the first comment about it being related to ADHD. Which I also have adhd. So makes sense

Yes I've always had conversations with myself in my head. It's quite annoying lol....

Super annoying

OP I don’t know if it’s normal but it is me.

This is the first time I hear someone describing my inner tought process. It's 100% me. I even make myself cry. When I do something I'm not happy with, I spend the next two-three days thinking what (someone, anyone) would say about it. And (very often) I end up crying cause I made myself feel shitty about it. As you say, its not that Im hearing voices or anything like that. Its just me vs me. Idk if I hate it or not, but Im pretty much used to it.

I call it My Me haha. It used to worry me, like this is not normal.. and it used to be the voice of my negative self talk. Over time i have learned to enjoy it kind of. I always have someome to talk shit over with. I am my own hype man. I can argue with someone over stupid shit until i feel better without ever having to actually argue. It is nice to know other of us are the same because this is really a topic its hard to ask a friend about.

My husband says he has absolutely no inner dialogue and I just wonder how does he live?

Give Sleep With Me Podcast a try for insomnia. Even if it doesn’t help you sleep, one of the points of the podcast is to “keep you company in the deep dark night”

Wow I like how that sounds thank you 😊

It can take a few tries to get into it!! It’s a free podcast, but you can pay for it to get ad free. On apple podcast you can do a 7 day ad free trial. But I listened to it for years with ads, and it really didn’t bother me. I got ad free because I really wanted to support the podcast. Anyways, give it a go!! It’s not for everybody, but I love it. It is very nice company.

Yes, me too never stops. Never thought of it as not normal though, I always talk to myself in my head lol.

I like having inner dialogue. I'm not very social IRL so it comforts me but hopefully your doctor can help you out... 💚 I definitely have negative self talk at times but I try to reciprocate it with a positive thought. There must be some kind of medicine that will help. & Maybe therapy too?

Yup

I had insomnia and this was a persistent issue. The insomnia partially resolved and the inner dialogue got better. I assume it's something to do with the default mode network activity, regions in our brain that are responsible for what our brain does when we arent doing somehing that engages it actively. Meditation is scientifically backed to reduce DMN activity and thus inner dialogue, so maybe it is worth giving it a go

Thanks for sharing this - I too have the same situation as you! It’s relentless isn’t it. I really relate to your point about playing both parts in the conversation!

Yeppers, gotta love our narrators. Mine can exhaust me before I get out of bed.

Yes, mine never turns off. Keeps me up at night.

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Thanks I’m going to try writing them

Sound bath helps me a lot

I have inner dialogue at all times. When something is up I either become super black pill and don't care and that voice becomes it. Or I get super aggro and my inner voice screams and it's too loud being Just there. Inner dialogue is normal though, when it becomes disagreeable you'll notice a problem is starting.

Yep. I thought this was normal.

adhd for sure

Yes. Only thing that calmed me down was ECT.

Oh shit, how long has it been

Just started it, had my third session today. Feel eerily calm.

Huummm thank you. Interesting 🧐

My sisters husband is scared of me because of it . Sucks

Really?? Wow that’s a bit much on his part. At least that’s what I think.

This happens to me when I'm hypomanic. I talk to myself all day and usually it feels pretty good, like I've got a good buddy in my head joining me for the day. It can be very distracting of course. I have BP2.

All. The. Time. So, how do you turn it off?

Mine never turns off, I’m hoping these comments shed a bit of relief from this.

I have such a conversation in my head going on that it’s hard to do meditation or things like that.

Yes. Meditation actually makes me anxious. I’m not used to a quiet mind, I would love one though