Talking to one's self

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Recently I have been having to ride the bus and one thing I have noticed is that there are a lot of people who seem to talk to themselves. Now, I have been talking to myself for my entire life, but when I am in public I know enough to keep it to a whisper. These people are talking full volume like they're in the middle of a conversation with someone who isn't there(and may very well be doing just that). So I am curious what the potential reasons for talking to yourself are(for me it helps me think) and why these people don't seem to realize it might not be a good idea to do so at full volume like they're on stage in a play.

Ah, public transportation. No matter how crazy you are, there’s always someone there who’s a dozen times crazier than you’ll ever be. It’s comforting.

I think I'm a lot like you. Now, I also find myself (quietly) talking to myself as I take walks. I also like having my house or apartment to myself as I bounce around afternoons and talk to myself if I want, too.

My guess is that the people who talk loudly to themselves might be suffering from schizophrenia. Still part of the larger human movement that a difference not necessarily bad nor good, just different. Might be able to bridge build. Although many people with schizophrenia want the auditory hallucinations to go away and would be very interested in medication if only the damn stuff didn't have so many side effects. Me, well, I don't want to give up my good aspie traits. That's a difference.

Most all of the books on how to improve memory suggest to say what you want to remember aloud, again and again.

I like Skinnerian Behaviourism in learning things, and I take "thinking in words" as silent, to subliminal, verbal behaviour. Social conventions often dictate "silence", but the rules have plenty of exceptions, mainly with things socially popular (i.e., when I was the unpopular student, any whisper from me in the library was prohibited, but about any of my concerns with my studies being disrupted by Mr. and Ms. Congeniality having a gabfest, I was told I lacked concentration and was just too easily distracted from reading in the library). The physical movements of typing words can also be used to "verbally think" with your fingers. Many memory tricks rely all kinds of modalities of every basic sense.

Neurological impairments in my speech also makes it difficult for me to initiate speech (at times, I have write the word "Hello" down on paper, then read it off aloud to start my speech, other times, epileptic seizures cause me to "speak in tongues" or to be unable to speak at all, and then, my speech tends to drag on (most like a side-effect of the "Geschwind Syndrome"). To accommodate many of my impairments, I regularly read off the time and my GPS location with audio/video recorders as I'm traveling (mainly walking) in public. Some individuals (and officials) have raised issues over my accommodations, but with a repetition of starting "adminitrative remedies for reasonable accommodation under the ADA" phrases, they usually back off. During my epileptic seizures, my time, place, and activities are recorded, and the remarks and behaviours of other people and officials are often much more bizarre than mine from my seizures (some witnesses/officials have very bad memories also, either that, or they are prone to tell big fibs of what they said and did). Whether the ADA offers me any real protection from the State not allowing public records might end up in court someday.

Most everybody talks to themselves (even if they deny it), it's just if it's "appropriate" (like wearing the "correct" campaign button at a campaign meeting). Then, as many cell phone users illustrate, the public will have to tolerate it or go "un-ADA protected" private themselves (where wheelchairs, guide-dogs, etc., can all be prohibited).

Tadzio

I talk to myself all the time. I know it looks weird to outsiders. Sometimes in public I still talk to myself but most of the time I am able to control it. I talk to think out loud and other times its the thought insertion or voices that I talk to. Its mainly either government agents or even other times aliens. I know this sounds weird. I do have schizoaffective disorder though on top of my classic autism. I wish the stupid thoughts would go away and this time even though I am on stupid meds for this, its not totally going away since May of this year. I don't want to be on the meds either. I believe they are poison because of the side effects. I think they shorten your life span by many years. I have gotten fat because of the meds and am tired with hardly any energy. At least its better than what it was for the extreme tiredness because now I take all my meds at night. I have several that cause the sleepiness. I pray I get off of them.

I always do that...though today was rather weird I wanted nothing more than for my brain to shut the hell up...I think it is safe to say there is a bit of an issue when I have to turn up my headphones just to drown it out. So the self seems to have made up its mind to respond more than I would like it to or possibly provoke a response out of me.

I hope it was just one of those weird days, and that does not become the norm. I mean usually I just talk to myself because it helps me organize my thoughts not because myself is being an ass and I feel provoked. Of course I figured focusing more on the music i was listening to rather then arguing with myself would be the more socially acceptable option.

I talk to myself all the time when I'm alone, and occasionally I mumble to myself at the grocery store. I'm not bothered by it as long as nobody hears me. I remember my 5th grade teacher being "concerned" after hearing me talk to myself while I was rushing to get to class. I thought I was the only person in the hallway.

I talk to myself all the time. For me it's just thinking aloud, it helps me to think, to remember stuff and to make decisions. I probably do it louder than most people because I only have one volume setting (as my daughter says - even my whispers are loud). I do it in public because

1. I don't care that much about what strangers think of me
2. I'm not that conscious that I'm doing it - I do it quite absent-mindedly
3. I've only ever once or twice in my life noticed anyone giving me an odd look because of it

Quite possibly a few different potentially Aspie traits coming out there but I'm happy enough with my mutterings and I'm not hurting anyone so am in no rush to change it.

A woman walked past me in the park the other day and she was having a conversation even though she was walking alone.

Although I could not see any sign of a mobile phone and she did not look the type to be in possession of some hidden hi-tech gadget - I just assumed that that must be the case because she appeared to be telling someone she could 'be there on Monday at such 'n' such a time'! !??

I talk to myself out load, but i try not to around others..
My thinking can be very fast. If I talk as I remember, the flow slows down and I can remember more details.
It is the same when I deep think and more so when my mind is zooming.
Some times when I seem to have several flows of thought talking, quietly, can help me pick the flow I want.
Other times, I just want to hear an intelligent voice.
When I'm around people and have to talk to myself, most of the time, people seem to ignore me.

When I was a teenager, it wasn't unusual to hear voices and carry a conversation with it. Till I realized it was just a voice... I haven't done it a long time now.. Visual hallucination have not gone away completely... It has been a few years since I talked to a person that wasn't there...

Most of the time, if I had someone intelligent to talk to, I wouldn't have to talk to myself.

The real world is such a boring place...

What about to try a non-thinking ... or atleast to try switch to visual or auditory thinking.

often times people with severe mental disorders schizo/psychosis are homeless and public transportation is a place you see them more often than anywhere. i used to see these people on the city bus going home from wrestling practice when i was in
high school. i alway felt sympathetic towards these people, helps you realize life with aspergers has its difficulties but things could be much worse.

Well, look at it this way, if you whisper to yourself you can always control the things you say and make it positive

Hope this helps

Could their be some technological reason: earphones, a headset or something to a cell phone. Sometimes those things aren't noticeable because they are covered up by clothing or are very small.

I think this is a possibility. There have been several times I thought someone was talking to me, and I was like, "huh'?, and then they'd move their hair back, or show the little ear piece on their ear, like the bluetooths. I guess they're great for when people need to have their hands free, but it's such a pain to know if they're just talking to themself, you, someone else nearby, or they're on the phone if you don't see their hand up by their ear/head!

If you watch Boondocks, they actually have an episode where they do a good job making a joke out of the whole blue-tooth/headset trend.

I talk to myself loads , but then i am lonely. I use my lonliness as an excuse for talking to myself because i have no one else to talk to. It does feel odd talking to myself , but seeing as i have no one else to talk to i don't know what to do.