My ADHD siblings and I are always saying or yelling random stuff when nobody is home. It's very cathartic and somehow helps us focus. Most of the time, it isn't even coherent. Can anyone else relate or are we just super weird? Our parents hate it so much lol and I can’t really blame them.
It it normal to talk a lot/think out loud when nobody is home?
DiscussionI don’t know if it’s normal, but I do that.
That's why I have dogs, I feel less crazy if I direct the talking to them.
I talk to my dog constantly as if he’s a little person that understands.
Talk to my dog all the time. She just looks at me like I'm losing it LOL
Me too. She is also deaf. I still feel like she understands me lol
This is exactly why I was excited to get a dog as a kid so I’d be less weird talking to myself 😭
Childhood dogs >>>
YESSS!!
I talk to myself all the time, even when people are home. Dunno why but it feels good lol
I have a theory (for me, anyway) that saying thoughts out loud, whether coherent or not, helps you to get one of the voices out of your head. I have at least two voices and one song going in my head at once, so when I give a louder voice to one of those voices by vocalizing it, it quiets the other noise in my head, allowing me to focus better.
That actually makes a lot of sense. It definitely helps quiet my mind for sure.
Before I got on meds, I talked to myself constantly. Now? Very little
That's how I know mine are wearing off and to take my instant release one. I start talking to myself at work.
Yea, I def notice I do it less on meds as well.
I'm in my 40s and if left alone, routinely narrate sporting events that never happened, engage in silly debates with people who don't exist, or sing along to commercials that never existed. My eldest daughter is mortified if a friend is over, but otherwise, everyone's cool with it.
I do this too. Voicing out whatever in my mind whenever I am alone.
I think it’s pretty common. Helps you sort out your thinking
before meds i did this constantly. Like i needed to , to focus and complete parts of certain tasks. . Now, I only do this sometimes, and not that much.
Glad to know I’m not the only one
I do it, even if I’m not the only one at home.
Do the people you live with get annoyed?
Not usually, haven’t had anyone get really annoyed. I have had one of my parents be surprised that I talk to myself. I also do it in my car too.
Talking to yourself on car rides hits diff fr. Especially when I'm pissed off about something.
I do. All the time I also talk to my cats and my ferrets too lol
I need a ferret in my life to talk too LMAO
Oh gosh they are crazy little critters that’s for sure! Aside from my just random taking to them there’s a lot of “Hey YOI! No get down! Hey don’t climb that. Keep AWAY from kitty etc lol
Keeps me on my toes
I used to have a guinea pig. Had to keep telling him to stop eating my curtains lmao.
I agree. Exactly my thought.
idk if it's normal. And who cares about "normal" anyway? If it helps, or is even a cure for boredom or whatever. Let yourself be you, my ADHD friend.
FYI I do it. I live alone with my cats. I tell myself I'm talking to my cats. I choose to believe that. ;)
I don't even need to be alone. I'm always thinking out loud.
I do this.
I do that, i talk like i have an audience (don't worry I know I do not its just because i hate quiet)
Talking to an audience is actually a great study tool for me. I pretend like I'm giving the lecture to an invisible audience and it helps me memorize things way faster than other methods.
Oh yeah
It's normal for me. Can't speak for anyone else.
I Do That Even If People Are Home Or Customers Are My Workplace.
Yep, but not only when I am alone. That's why I ride a motorbike safe in my own echo chamber. It's like therapy. Public transport is off limits cos my filter sometimes has me responding to my thoughts out loud. Got expelled from school more than once for that.
You got kicked out of school for that? Damn that's kinda harsh
I do that all the time.
I do it at alone or not, helps me mitigate some mistakes
When I'm doing paperwork I can't stop saying what I'm writing out loud, I'll screw up every detail otherwise.
Yeah I do the same especially when I’m finishing stuff for work. It’s like a extra spell check
Yes
I have had a running conversation with myself since I was a kid.
I talked to myself so much as a kid tbh. More so than the avg kid for sure lol
It’s very normal! It even has a name - echolalia!
Echolalia involves repetition of certain words, phrases, song lyrics, etc. Just talking out loud to oneself is common with ADHD and as far as I'm aware, there is no single word for it. In my experience, talking out loud is a way of forcing the brain to focus and quiet the internal monologue that can get very easily distracted.
Sometimes taking out loud is the only way to quiet my brain.
There is a term for it. It’s called self talk
I had no idea it had a name lol, that's cool.
It has a name but not the one the person said. It’s called self talk
Psychology tells us that refraining from such behaviors are more helpful vs the supposed catharsis to get the behavior out and squashed. It actually raises our aggression vs calming it. Not my POV, it's psychology, so don't come at me.
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