Constantly talking to myself in my head

[hell1971]

I feel like I am going a little crazy and I can no longer remember what it was like to feel normal, does everyone talk to them selves in there head or is this the depression , I cant remember if I used to do it or not but I cant seem to switch it off its 24/7 so much so that when someone asks me something it takes me a while to focus on what they have said because my mind is already focused on what I am saying to myself? does this make sense. because of this the house seems really noisey I find it impossible and I just want to explode if the kids are talking and the tv is on and my thoughts are going I cant stand it. any comments

[Fuzzz]

This is what I experience.  Besides depression, I also have a diagnosis of ADD.  

"Normal" people must have some of this too, because everybody talks about "self-talk" and whether what we say to ourselves is positive or negative.  I remember when I was young and seeing a psychologist, I made the suggestion that what I might need was to replace ugly childhood memories with better memories that I could go over instead of the unpleasant ruminations, and the therapist agreed.  We started fishing and hiking more and did what traveling we could afford.  

But I agree that it can be very distracting.  A low dose of amitriptyline slows it down for me and takes the edge off so I'm not so irritable with interruptions.  I will never enjoy noise, however.  

[Marahheather]

well i always considered this my OCD!!!! but i do have add too.... its miserable for me.... they can be any thoughts,but, of course in my case mostly highly depressing......

to me, this is such a normal habit that to hear someone ask about it is strange because ive been doing it my whole life...

[Hensley258]

Bingo! Yea dude, that is one of the symptoms of severe depression and anxiety.

Don't worry, your not going nuts, although it will make you feel as if you are.

When Severe Depression takes hold like that, the mind is in a constant race to evaluate what is happining to it. "why do I feel this way because everything is ok?" "why are my hands and body trembling, I'm not in danger?"

Over and over, you will cycle thru worry about stuff that has no real reason to pose fear, yet it causes fear just the same. In your rational mind you know these feelings and fear are completly without merit, yet it makes no difference.

It's like the mind is stuck in the mud, yet the wheels are spinning a mile a minute.
In fact with me it got so bad that at one point I had actually convinced myself that I was going insane. Thus I had planned my own death and how I would kill myself because I felt so ******.

Don't worry, your not going nuts, you will feel like you are, but your not. If you let it go untreated though it can have some pretty devistating effects on your life.

At my worst it was so bad that I couldn't even consentrate enough to read a childs book. It will eliminate any sence of concentration you have. Can't expect the brain to concentrate when all it can do is think about how horrible it feels.

[hell1971]

Thank you all for your comments, I have been on antidepressents for 9 days now and I am definatley thinking clearer but I am buzzing my thoughts are not as I thought talking to myself they are talking like to a third party, I dont think anyone else is listning but its like I am having a conversation with someone else? I dont know what to think, I asked my friend and husband and they both looked at me a bit strange its like rehearsing a conversation I am going to have. I dont feel down anymore, I have had so much energy I have cleaned the house throughout, had a day in the garden and feel the best I have ever felt but the thinking is driving me crazy, I went out last night with a gang of friends and I couldnt speak much because I couldnt keep up with what they were saying because my voice is too loud in my head. I cant sleep without sleeping pills, the first couple of days I took them I fell asleep really quickly but kept waking up but fell straight to sleep again, now its taking longer to take affect my mind is buzzing and keep waking but I am not tired like I was two weeks ago. My mother inlaw says the antidepresents shouldnt be working this quickly.
I dont know what to think, I saw my doc but couldnt tell him about my thoughts because I felt like he would think Im going a bit mad, he thinks because I was so low the meds have mad me a little high and then they will settle and my mood will level out, I dont want that to happen because I feel good, I just dont like my mind as it is at the moment.

Does any of this make any sense

[Jasmine205]

I do it as well, always have, its like a calming thing for me, reassurance when I find something angst ridden or stressful..I try to play devils advocate inside my mind.
Right now, I can't shut my thoughts off and its making things hard for me.
I'm withdrawaling off meds though, which I am trying to do myself, without dr help.

What drugs did you get put on? If its Effexor ( get off it) thats what i had and its hell to ween off.

I hope you feel better soon!

[bernie40]

This is a subject that I was going to bring up but thought it would sound weird so i'm glad you found the courage to do so.  I have conversations in my head all the time with a third person and sometimes i have conversations with myself.  I can get very annoyed by external noise when this is happening.  Sometimes the conversations are quiet and sometimes they are loud.

I've always assumed that everyone must do it but have never dared ask in case they think i'm completely crazy.  Sometimes the conversations make me anxious and I almost talk myself into a panic if that makes sense other times it gives me confidence - its all a bit difficult to explain really.  My mind is never quiet.

I feel better knowing i'm not the only one.  

[hell1971]

Thank you, thats exactly how I feel, sometimes it is quiet but then when surrounded by noise it gets louder, this is new for me, I have always talked to myself now and again but was able to watch tv or something and switch off when but now its 24/7 and I cant concentrate, it was soo crazy before I started taking the meds now it is clearer to me that I am talking to someone else, when I talk to myself it is different, I cant explain it very well but I know that during times it speeds up and then can slow down so I can understand and slightly concentrate on something else but I am finding it really hard. I cant remember feeling well for a long time so I am still trying to remember what I felt like before the depression set in but its hard because I think I may have been depressed for a very long time. Because it is driving me crazy I asked my friend, she said it was normal to talk to yourself now and again and when she was talking I realized that its not what I am experiencing, my husband just looked at me strange and again gave me the same senario that my friend gave me so thats why I posted here. Im still not sure if this is the depression because I can only remember a little before it, all I know is that it has got alot worse over the last couple of weeks and its really the only thing that is getting me down because when someone talks to me I cant keep up with the conversation and I come off rude or stupid. I dont know wether to talk to my GP about it Im not sure he can help but really need help to know how to switch it off.

[Jlfg]

Isnt it funny that we are all experiencing the same thing, but afraid to talk about it.  And it only takes the courage of one member to bring up the subject,and now we finally get to discuss it.  My conversations in my head get confusing because I wonder if people can tell by looking at me if Im talking to myself.  And I wonder, gosh, I hope my lips arent moving.  And sometimes I don't know if I've said something outloud or not.  My husband is always asking mewhat's wrong because I have a strange look on my face, but I can't say-"Oh, my brain is just talking"

[bernie40]

I think its great that we are all talking about this to.

One problem I have with it all is when I have been having a conversation in my head and then think that i've actually had that conversation with a real person - my husband for instance or friends.  I will be very stubborn and say I did tell you because this is the conversation we had and they'll look at me and say that the conversation really didn't take place and then I get angry.  So sometimes its difficult to separate the two.

I've been doing it for as long as I can remember, I was brought up an only child and so had no siblings to talk to and I wonder if its just a habit that has stayed with me.

My husband is always saying what are you thinking or whats the matter.  He thinks its odd because he said that he can sit quietly and not be thinking about anything and he doesn't have conversations in his head.  Sometimes I try and verbalise the conversations and just looks at me real confused so I don't bother anymore.

Mind you i've always got someone to talk to even if it is myself :-)

[hell1971]

You guys have made me feel heaps better.

My husband is the same he says he doesnt think or talk to himself unless he is really nervous about something and then hes just going over stuff in his head to prepare but generally he doesnt think of anything. That would be bliss

My husband always has asked me whats wrong are you ok, I find it a little annoying because then I have to go through the same conversation in my head again, it really is talking to a third party that much I know.

It has now become such a problem though because I cant switch off, the kids might be asking me something and if the tv is on I cant focus because I find my voice and the tv and any background noise is soo distracting I cant listen to what they are saying. Last night I had to leave a friends house because her fridge was so noisy I couldnt concentrate on a conversation, it seems to take me longer to focus and process what is going on around me, this maybe my meds I guess.

[vdp]

I also have problems with noise in my head. Sometimes it's like I can hear the electric current in appliances. It has got so bad with me that I can no-longer have anything electrical in my bedroom!
Have you talked to your doctor/pdoc about it?

Depression and Anxiety can certainly be causes but it could possibly be part of something more. It seems fairly well known through research that some anti-depressants can have the ability to produce hypomania or mixed state in people that are bipolar.
It could be worth your checking this out.

[skram]

am so glad this has been brought up, i thought i was slightly potty, my hubby is very similar to bulldozers, i can ask him what he's thinking and he says "nothing", i don't get that, it is never quiet in my head!!! i can't imagine silence? i have full blown arguements in my head, with myself or another person. so glad to know i am not a complete loony!!!
S

[dippy1]

The constant brain chatter is definitely the depression, nothing more, as I got better I found there were times I could silence it but it always restarts when you least need it to! It is normal too in severe depression to be hypersensitive to all stimuli- I discovered this in spades when I was at my worst...noise was the biggest offender, couldn't bear for TV or music to be on, and went nuts if more than one person spoke at once, but also bright lights, even colours, and smells, and at time touch/tactile experiences were too much..at one point I couldn't stand being touched by my kids which caused all sorts of negative thoughts internally, but it's just HYPERSENSITIVITY and it's a normal symptom of severe depression.
Hope this helps, x

[Lorri1968]

Yes, I can difinately relate to what you are talking about.  With my experience, it's like Im talking to someone else, but in my mind.  It goes on constantly.  I become very irritated easily with things like my kids carrying on.  I used to love listening to music, but anymore I can't take it because there is so much noise going on inside my head that the outside noise or music or kids are just too much.

I never asked my doctor about it I think because I just thought it was normal.  That this is what they mean by "talking to yourself".  I also didn't mention it because when I see my doctor, I let the doctor ask the questions, and they just don't ask about this.

I have noticed recently, as my life has become extremely stressful, and my depression symptoms are raging full force, that the conversation I have with myself, is no longer words that are understandable, but more like multiple conversations or thoughts or worries all jumbled togeather to form this constant noise, if that makes any sense to you.  It's like my thoughts have become so jumbled that I can't concentrate on what Im doing or how I'm going to solve the problems I have created.

Truthfully, I don't know that I take much comfrort in the thought that there are others out there that have similar symptoms.  Whether or not I get the title of crazy is irrelivent (sp?) because no matter what you call it, there is something majorly wrong with me, that I have lived with for the majority of my life, in varying degrees and there doesn't seem to be any help for it.  The idea that there are many others out there with similar problems makes the situation seem somehow more hopeless.

Anyway, Im sorry I don't have any insight that may help your situation, but I definately do understand what you are describing.