I do talk to myself, both to rehearse/practice conversations and also... I don't know why. Especially when I am driving, I tend to talk as if I am conversationally talking to another person (but of course, it's much smoother than it would be if there were really another person there). Sometimes I talk about what I am passing on the road, or something interesting that happened, or sometimes I even end up telling a story like a bedtime story :S. I realize that other people think this is odd though, and (I think) I manage not to talk out loud when I am around other people. I talk under my breath or in my head when other people are around. Sometimes, I forget and start to talk or I start singing but when I hear the sound of my voice in public I'm acutely aware that other people are around, so I catch myself.
Two thoughts about your situation: When I am going over and over something either rehearsing what I would actually like to say to somebody or trying to clarify something for myself, sometimes writing it helps. Sometimes I have to write it down 3 or four times over and over again before it is clear, but it has the same sort of relief as if I had actually said it once I get it all out, even more so actually than talking to myself, plus it's there in case I forget if I made some point and start repeating again. This works best for issues that I am talking about because they are bothering me or I am trying to figure them out. Maybe this would help you?
2nd thing: I don't think your neighbor has a right to be annoyed or complain about you because you are talking. After all, if there were somebody else there that you were talking to, nobody would consider it to be a problem and they would laugh at him if he complained that you were always talking to your roommate.
The only thing he could possibly complain about is the volume. I have a problem with volume when I am just speaking regularly, especially if I get really invested in something, and people frequently tell me to quiet down or "stop yelling" even though I do not think I am yelling (this isn't even if I'm angry or something, just talking loudly apparently). To add to it I can't hear that well myself or maybe I just block things out but I don't notice these sorts of things. I don't have a recommendation for reminding yourself to lower the volume, unless you have a pet or something who will react to you if you get loud, this could be a signal. Maybe you could play music quietly in the background. This will not block out the sound of you talking, but it will create background noise so it might not be as clear what you are talking about or what is going on besides the music.
30 Aug 2006, 2:54 pm
