Do you talk to yourself? (singing doesn't count)

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Does anyone here have the habit of talking to themselves. I know I do frequently just like that Raymond character in the movie "Rainman". In many respects I see idiosyncrasies of myself in that Raymond character without the human calculator abilities.

Singing to yourself does not count

Paul

I often have to talk my way through doing different tasks..does that count? I also say "what am I doing?" in the middle of doing something lol.

All the time. It's always been an ongoing struggle to keep it under control so other people won't hear it and think I'm crazy. Sometimes I'm talking myself through a task or something - I think that's normal enough, lots of people do that. The rest of the time though I'm having imaginary conversations with other people - either replaying past events or rehersing possible future conversations, talking as if the other person were right there beside me. That's the part I try to hide because I know that's not normal. It seems to be part of my wiring though - I've done it ever since I was a little kid (my earliest memory of it is age 5) and I've never been able to break myself of it despite my best efforts.

Hi, im a new member and im not sure if i have AS or not. I have some of the symptoms but dont have others. I was wondering if talking to your self has something to do with AS. I do this ALL the time, especially things like neongrl said, like remembering conversations from the past or imagining future conversations. I do this a lot, especially if the conversation is an important one. I usually think about all the likely answers i will receive and then i reharse the whole conversation based on the likely response. I do this with all the likely responses, so i usually do this for a looong time. Then i get very annoyed if in the actual conversation the person says something that i didnt plan, then i get really nervous and shy. Can this have something to do with AS or austim?

I do this all the time. I actually hold conversations with myself as if I am talking to someone else. I sometimes ask questions and then answer myself back. It's a compulsion. I do this all the time, though I don't do it in places where people will notice me.

With me, it's more like I am trying to communicate with my environment. It's hard to explain, because I have perceptions that are really strange. I answer myself back as if my environment, the stuff I see around me, is holding a conversation. I also have very deep passions for subject matter that I may be heavily interested in, and I tend to talk to things I've collected as well. As I said, it's a very strange phenomenon. Most people who know me have no idea I do it, because it's something I keep hidden as best as I can.

- Ray M -

Welcome! Interesting, it sounds like we're doing almost the same thing but for different reasons. It sounds like your description is related to social anxiety - being as prepared as possible for face-to-face encounters. Does that sound right? I'd say that's a pretty normal aspie thing and it's a good (and sometimes necessary) coping strategy. For me it's a little different - I'm not really rehersing all the likely responses, it's more of a general conversation based on the first response that comes to mind. If that same conversation ends up happening in real life it usually doesn't go according to what I imagined but that's not a problem for me. It might throw me off a little, but I don't get nervous or shy because of it. So what's the purpose of the self-talk for me, if I'm not really benefiting from it when I'm face to face with people? I have no idea, I've been trying to figure that out for a long time. I don't know why I do it. It's just a compulsive thing that happens - I don't know if it's a normal aspie/autistic thing, maybe an ocd thing... I'd love to hear other people's input on it.

Yeah, its kinda like i feel i hve to be 100% prepared for the conversation, otherwise i will say stupid things. The thing is, most of the time i imagine the whole conversation, then something else happens during the conversation and i end up saying stupid things cause i didnt prepare for what happened

But sometimes i also talk about random stuff or replay conversations i had earlier.

I started researching about autism/AS today, still dont know if i have it. I have many symptoms, like obsessing about stuff, difficulty to make freinds/girlfriends, trying to keep things lined up, avoiding physical contact, etc. I also am very obsessed with symmetrical stuff, like if i do something with my right hand i have to do it with left too, and i have to do them in sets of 5, 5 with the left, 5 with the right. I had a girlfriend that complained a lot about me not looking her in the eye when we talked, me always trying to talk about the stuff i was obsessed at the moment and things like that. The problem is, some symptoms match perfectly, but some are completely off, like difficulty with motor skills, language peculiarities, remembering phones/dates. And some i never thought about, like difficulty with abstract stuff. My question is, how do you separate AS from basic being shy? All my life (im 20) i thought i was just a shy person, but some things didnt make sense. So how can i tell the difference?

edit: sorry about my bad english, its not my main language

When I am driving alone I have a good imaginary conversation with some imaginary person sitting in the passenger seat next to me or I just simply answering my own questions about my own obsessive interests. It really does keep my mind alert which is a good thing while driving.
Also if I am mowing the lawn I feel this is a golden opportunity to talk to myself non stop. I feel so liberated doing that because no one can hear me anyway above the din of the lawn mower.
I also usually talk to myself in the shower rather than sing. Well at least it not as offensive to everybody's ears as most of the NT's shower singing performances I have heard.

Paul

I talk to myself, all the time. I talk about how North American Society has gone down the drain. I talk to myself, whenever the 6/49 reaches at least $30 Million Dollars, and how nice it would be to finally have my own place and my own life. I talk to myself about Routemasters a fair bit. At the age of Ten, when I was obsessed with the United States, I've learned that nobody in my Family wants to hear about my Obsessions. That's why talk to myself about my Buses, instead of driving the NTs in my life up the wall. I talk to myself about my place in my Family and how I would be treated better, if I would just move out. I talk to myself about the Revenge that I want to seek on the Students who were in that Special Needs Work Experience Programme that I didn't really need to be in, and how I would still be a mellow Flower Child decorated with Beads, as opossed to an edgy Rebel who's obsessed with Classic London and her Routemasters. I talk to myself about how it's a good thing that I'm not a Flower Child, because I would be weak and very skinny in a sickley way, due to a lack of Daytime Protein, and to hiding away from Urban Society and being a prisoner in my own home, like I was when I was still in High School, if I wasn't in that Programme. I talk to myself about crying and other actions that are caused by Human Emotion. I talk to myself about how not voting in Canada's 1993 Federal Election was my punnishment for being both, on the Spectrum and forcefully being in some form of Special Education through my Schooling Years, and that my Parents didn't put me on the list, because they thought I was a Mentally Handicapped Loser. I talk to myself about how I've used that missed opportunity as a Golden Opportunity to go back to a much happier time in my life, when I was first obsessed with London. A time when there were no limits to what Sucesses my Future would bring me. I talk to myself about all the things that I would never talk to my NT Family Members about. I think I should seek Councilling.

I always talk to myself.

I sing to myself more though.

I forgot to mention, yes I do all that conversation rehearsal business in my mind...I must remember this stuff for when I get assessed for a government benefit in the near future.

Yes. And to computers. And to my various collections. And my plants. *nods*. But I know when I'm doing it, and I can control doing it, so I don't think I'm crazy Just Aspie *hehe*

My Dad does it too, though, and my sister apologises to furniture when she collides with it. Neither of them are Aspie, so I guess we're just a weird family

Apple

I think talk to myself alot and i have conversations with myself. I don't speak outloud to myself, but that has alot to do with the fact that I'm really f*****g crap at speaking.

I talk to myself all the time. I do make conversation with myself too. I do it when I'm shopping, completing a task, driving, anywhere. I don't mind too much. I kind of mutter under my breath mostly. It seems to help me prepare for conversations or situations by talking it out. Saying my thoughts helps me organize them a little better so I don't have random things floating around in my head. I think it acts as a filter for rational thought.

I often talk to myself. Years ago I tried to stop myself and could not. Eventually I gave up.

I talk to myself a lot. I don't always realize it when I am doing it, but when I do I get very caught up in what I am saying. Some of the most interesting conversations i have had where with myself.