Is it an autistic thing to have a constant commentary going on in my head, going over and over either what I should be doing g, or obsessing about something that’s stressing me, or commenting on what I am currently doing as though I have no control?
It drives me mad, and I have to constantly listen to podcasts or TV to shut it up.
I have this. It feels like I have two streams of thought running simultaneously. One is engaged in the thing I am doing and the other is observing and commenting on it. It's definitely my own voice but I wish it would bugger off sometimes and let me just enjoy something!
One is engaged in the thing I am doing and the other is observing and commenting on it. It's definitely my own voice
When you start to have internal arguements or one voice giving abuse then this is a good sign that help is needed.
I have arguments with myself quite often, it's not unusual for me to have one voice twlling me how crap I am and another reminding me that I'm not. But then I argue out loud with books too!
Thank's Iain, this was something I covered quite a lot in my own theraputic journey and when doing counselling training. A lot of the unhelpful and critical voices are often those of a person, like a teacher, who was critical of us at a time when we felt we had no power or control, isolating this voice and doing things like empty chair exercises can help a person take back their power from this unhelgful and critical person and you can give back their opinions of you and this can help you to stop internalising unfair criticism.
It always surprises me, how many people don't know that self talk is normal, that almost everyone does it, that it's part of normal thinking. 'I'll just go and make that cake now, then I can clean the bathroom whilst its baking', is a normal sort of thought, but its as much self talk as telling yourself that nobody will like the cake you've made.
So many people are terrified that they have a serious mental health disease and tie themselves in knots trying to deal with it and not talk about it or fear of the reactions of others. How can we know so little about ourselves and that our normal processes? It's like theres some conspiracy of silence, where people seem unable to distinguish normal thoughts from ones telling them to murder prostitutes or build it an ark.
I spent so much time at uni, with my much younger friends reassuring them about things like this, from about 4-6:30pm everyday I'd have a procession of visitors often wanting to talk about things such as this. I think we spend so much time thinking about mental health, or rather mental ill health, that we forget whats normal and we risk pathologising the normal.
I have arguments with myself quite often, it's not unusual for me to have one voice twlling me how crap I am and another reminding me that I'm not.
It may be interesting to read this article as regularly or overly critical inner voices can be a sign of another condition:
How can we distinguish the pathological hallucinations heard by people with mental illness from the helpful inner voices that occur in mentally healthy individuals? Distinguishing characteristics include the nature of the voices, their content, and their effects on those who hear them.
For example, verbal hallucinations tend to speak in single words, short phrases, or brief sentences, whereas helpful inner voices generally speak in complete sentences or extended discourses. Also, verbal hallucinations tend to be judgmental, critical, or condemning, but helpful inner voices are often supportive and helpful. Additionally, verbal hallucinations seem real only to the person who hears them, but helpful inner voices can provide benefits that extend to others as well.
I'm not trying to diagnose you or anything, just pointing you to something to consider since you know your way round your own mental health well.
I have arguments with myself quite often, it's not unusual for me to have one voice twlling me how crap I am and another reminding me that I'm not.
It may be interesting to read this article as regularly or overly critical inner voices can be a sign of another condition:
How can we distinguish the pathological hallucinations heard by people with mental illness from the helpful inner voices that occur in mentally healthy individuals? Distinguishing characteristics include the nature of the voices, their content, and their effects on those who hear them.
For example, verbal hallucinations tend to speak in single words, short phrases, or brief sentences, whereas helpful inner voices generally speak in complete sentences or extended discourses. Also, verbal hallucinations tend to be judgmental, critical, or condemning, but helpful inner voices are often supportive and helpful. Additionally, verbal hallucinations seem real only to the person who hears them, but helpful inner voices can provide benefits that extend to others as well.
I'm not trying to diagnose you or anything, just pointing you to something to consider since you know your way round your own mental health well.
Thank's Iain, this was something I covered quite a lot in my own theraputic journey and when doing counselling training. A lot of the unhelpful and critical voices are often those of a person, like a teacher, who was critical of us at a time when we felt we had no power or control, isolating this voice and doing things like empty chair exercises can help a person take back their power from this unhelgful and critical person and you can give back their opinions of you and this can help you to stop internalising unfair criticism.
It always surprises me, how many people don't know that self talk is normal, that almost everyone does it, that it's part of normal thinking. 'I'll just go and make that cake now, then I can clean the bathroom whilst its baking', is a normal sort of thought, but its as much self talk as telling yourself that nobody will like the cake you've made.
So many people are terrified that they have a serious mental health disease and tie themselves in knots trying to deal with it and not talk about it or fear of the reactions of others. How can we know so little about ourselves and that our normal processes? It's like theres some conspiracy of silence, where people seem unable to distinguish normal thoughts from ones telling them to murder prostitutes or build it an ark.
I spent so much time at uni, with my much younger friends reassuring them about things like this, from about 4-6:30pm everyday I'd have a procession of visitors often wanting to talk about things such as this. I think we spend so much time thinking about mental health, or rather mental ill health, that we forget whats normal and we risk pathologising the normal.
