Phrase stuck in head on repeat. What's your opinion?
Piers
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Joined: 23 Jul 2014
Age: 37
Gender: Male
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Location: England, United Kingdom
EDIT: I have read other posts on this forum and found many people discussing similar situations. The phrase does not necessarily repeat, but rather is spoken using my internal voice. I hope that makes sense.
For the past year or so, I've had an obscure phrase from a video game stuck in my head on repeat. It's come to a point where I'm a little concerned by the matter.
- I have questioned my parents and they've not noticed any decline in memory, intelligence, or general cognitive ability. - I am able to concentrate with the phrase 'repeating in the background' on coding and other 'memory-intensive' scenarios.
- I am able to watch television programmes and engage in my hobbies and passions without it seeming to cause interference.
- My style of writing and articulation appears to have remained unchanged.
This behaviour or trait does not seem to be apparent when:
- I'm talking via phone or face-to-face.
- I'm writing (such as this post).
There are actually two phrases both from the video game Counter Strike: Global Offensive - "Yes, yes, yes" and "Yes, I see." I have no idea why my brain has picked these two phrases.
I have been diagnosed by a psychiatrist as having:
- Asperger's (not ASD as we use the ICD instead of the DSM - these are, however, semantics)
- PTSD
- "Mild obsessive traits" - It's important to note that this was diagnosed before the Asperger's.
The only medication I take which relates to the above disorders is diazepam (up to 15mg per day). I have tried reducing the dose and increasing the dose without any difference in symptoms. The issue does not appear to have increased in intensity but remains a mild annoyance and concern.
What do you think? Any and all opinions are welcomed
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Professional testing: AQ: 45 | CB: 7 | IQ: 131 | Asperger's
StampySquiddyFan
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Age: 21
Gender: Female
Posts: 3,754
Location: Stampy's Lovely World
This is interesting. I know some people with OCD who have intrusive "phrases" that repeat over and over, and I also know people with an ASD that have repetitive thoughts, "music", etc. I think it would depend on how much you disliked the phrase (ego-dystonic) to determine if it is clearly part of your "mild obsessive traits" or ASD. It could even be both (Obsessive thoughts and ASD) that is causing this problem. Try not to pay too much attention to it. If you notice it getting significantly worse, then that's when I would talk to somebody about it. Otherwise, I would try "forgetting" about it. It honestly sounds like a "mental tic" to me, and the good news is that a lot of tics go away when you stop paying attention to them. Hope this helps .
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Hi! I'm Stampy (not the actual YouTuber, just a fan!) and I have been diagnosed professionally with ASD and OCD and likely have TS. If you have any questions or just want to talk, please feel free to PM me!
Current Interests: Stampy Cat, AGT, and Medicine
I was attracted to the thread because that has been happening to me lately more often than ever. These are some of the words and sentences that come out of nowhere and once they are on my mind I have to immediately say them at least once while they keep repeating in the back of my head endlessly.
- One hundred thirty percent
- Superpowers
- Bring me life
Unlike the OP though, this time I dont think these words came from a particular film or media. I mean, I always had that kind of problem to some extent but these days the whole thing is worse than I can remember. I am sorry to pop up without a helpful answer. I am used to meditate regularly, what helps to control the problem but the way that´s going lately is just too much!
I think of things I heard Denis Istomin say in his interviews, and they give me inspiration:
"I don't think about a comeback. I'm here now."
"Don't look back, only forward."
"I felt-normal out there."
"I feel now that I can play on the same level with these guys."
I like Denis' statements because they represent hope for the future and hope for continuing growth and change through life.
The amount of focus you give it will increase the amount of annoyance. I have a few things that I must try not to focus on, or they will make me upset -- song lyrics & tinnitus. Song lyrics will run over & over in my mind, similar to what you said about the phrases, for various amounts of time. I'm currently thinking about the lyrics to a Sublime song
I've seen better days, I've been star of many plays
I've seen better days ... and the bottom drops out
The tinnitus is always there, but have learned to ignore it most of the time. Sometimes I catch myself getting upset about it & focusing on it. When that happens I have to let it run in the background of my mind & accept it as part of the environment.
I also used to get very upset when loud vehicles drove past my house. Double that negative feeling if they honked their horn. I hate horns. They make me feel angry. Have learned to not feel upset about it by just deciding it doesn't bother me. It took a lot of time & effort to get that under control, but once I discovered the power I had over my own feelings -- I mean it really feels like I'm very powerful when I get to decide what bothers me & what doesn't. I'm in control over these things now, most of the time. Not always. Can still get overwhelmed & my control disappears temporarily. Melting down isn't the end of the world, but can feel like it is in the moment & if it happens in front of other people. Must accept that sometimes we will not have control over emotions, but we can control them much more than you think. It is an amazing feeling once you figure it out.
I have a similar thing, but it's usually bits and pieces from what I am writing if it's a phrase, or lyrics / bits and pieces from songs otherwise.
In both cases, usually actually writing the repeating phrase into the work stops it, or listening to the song stops it.
In that way, actions would be "resolving" the point that the repeat is related to, if that makes sense.
Is there a way you could resolve whatever it is the phrase relates to? Perhaps playing the game it comes from a bunch of times? Or maybe identify what it is you're doing or thinking about when you notice the phrase intruding - maybe that points to what it's related to and you can resolve that?
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Alexithymia - 147 points.
Low-Verbal.
I honestly think there is nothing wrong with it! Could be OCD it could be something with autism but I say, if you like it and it doesn't bother anyone what does it matter?( I assume you like the game)
I have had phrases and songs stuck in my head multiple times through out life! They all eventually went away with time. When I was playing Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance I had the Black Knight's theme song stuck in my head for... well I don't remember how long.(long time though!)
When I played Super Smash Bros Wii U, one quote a character said "prepare yourself!" was stuck in my head for quite a while. So really I say if it's not bothering anyone or affecting you in a bad way, why worry about!? Like I said I had many and they all went away with time.
It could be a stim that helps you concentrate or relaxes you.
_________________
Autism is a disorder not a personality trait!
"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
and Wisdom to know the difference."
I’m autistic and also have PTSD. There have been times when my inner voice will repeat a phrase over and over or when I will play certain music repeatedly in my head, sometimes for months. It’s like my mind is trying to get my attention, but I don’t get what the message is. It has happened while I’m working or just going about my daily business. I have woken up in the morning with the phrase or music already going. It doesn’t seem to be related to external stress. Sometimes it just goes on in the background and at other times it can almost demand my attention. At times, I’ll get goosebumps and spooky feelings when this is going on and there’s a sensation like I want to be drawn into the inner voice or the music. Like I’ll keep thinking: “what is that?” A good portion of the time there has been some traumatic memory bubbling up that seems to be driving it all. At times I can partially visualize scenes if I focus on the inner words or music. When I process the surfacing traumatic memory the process subsides. When this is going on and I’ve started drawing freely on paper, doodling, or drawing the scenes I sometimes visualize, the memories tend to surface. The more I practice drawing the easier the memories come. I’m not sure if this is what’s going on in your case, but for me it’s been part of coming to terms with repressed trauma.
I go through that constantly, lyrics, phrases, concentrating on my tinnitus as someone else mentioned, tag lines from commercials, etc. Sometimes chewing gum works, they say it interferes with short term memories being laid down. Sometimes it helps to do something that requires all my attention and concentration. Other times it just keeps going until I get to sleep...
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