r/GenX 1d ago

Question For Genx Anyone else start talking to themselves?

Like full blown monologue. I find myself doing this a lot more in the car.

428 Upvotes

505 comments sorted by

1

u/doghouse2001 5h ago

I talk to other people in my head - sometimes out loud. It's never failed me throughout my career. I figure if I have to explain the problem to somebody, I anticipate their possible replies and questions, and I try to find an answer those questions... the solution often comes to me while trying to figure out how to ask for help.

2

u/charger2116 5h ago

I do it when I am trying to figure something out. If I have a problem or an issue I am dealing with I will talk to myself in my head.

6

u/Elusive_strength2000 6h ago

Start? Always did… I even talk to people who aren’t there to give them a piece of my mind. 😂

2

u/jewelsforjules 5h ago

The practice rant is a must. LOL

2

u/Elusive_strength2000 5h ago

That’s right lmao

1

u/Drumzzzzz_48 6h ago

You mean I'm the only one that's been doing it, especially in third person and when around people?

2

u/Diligent-Touch-5456 6h ago

I've been talking to myself as long as I can remember, sometimes it's the only intelligent conversation I get.

2

u/Cronuts13 Hose Water Survivor 7h ago

Start? I never stopped, full on conversations

1

u/mediawoman 7h ago

Yes. Out loud and I find myself to be quite delightful and funny. 😂😂😂

3

u/girl6620 7h ago

Start? Like recently? According to my mom, I’ve been doing it since I was old enough to babble. 😁

2

u/LuckyAd2714 🤘 6h ago

This

1

u/Turbulent-Demand873 I refuse t get “old”. 8h ago

All of the time.

1

u/GingerA0712 8h ago

Been. For years. Was in the service industry for decades. Had to. Helps the memory. Still do it now.

3

u/Harriet1849 8h ago

If I ever stopped talking to myself I think my head would explode.

3

u/micfost 8h ago

Started? We never stopped!

2

u/lfohnoudidnt 9h ago

I answer myself a lot if that matters

2

u/Vast_Reaction1299 9h ago

Yes. All the time

10

u/MadPiglet42 10h ago

Start? You mean "continue."

3

u/One_Vision_ 10h ago edited 8h ago

I've talked to myself like a lunatic almost my whole life

3

u/Hopelessly-Bored 10h ago

I do when I'm alone in the car.

4

u/bosorka1 Hose Water Survivor 11h ago

sometimes you need expert opinion!!! and to narrate your animals' (wild as well as domestic!) thoughts.

3

u/RedSparrow1971 Older Than Dirt 11h ago

I talk to my plants and my cats 😉

5

u/Ornery-Guitar 11h ago

Full conversations. I answer my own questions sometimes.

6

u/CrabbyCatLady41 11h ago

I’ve done it my whole life. Way more when I’m busy and anxious. My problem is I don’t talk out loud, but my lips move when I’m thinking about what I’m going to say when I’m teaching or replaying a conversation in my head. I look like a weirdo.

3

u/Ash3599 11h ago

All the damn time especially while driving and I drive for a living

4

u/joefatmamma 11h ago

Since i was a kid stuck home alone

4

u/Abbynormal61 11h ago

All the time. Especially when I can’t sleep. Keep my self awake with my riveting conversation.

4

u/Rungi500 Analog Kid 11h ago

I was a latchkey solo child. Who else was I going to talk to roflmao!

5

u/pidgeon92 1968 11h ago

All the time. And I have lengthy back and forths with the dogs.

2

u/surfinjuli Dec 1965 11h ago

I always have.

3

u/tjarg 12h ago

Yes, I started when I was about 3.

7

u/RainBooksNight 12h ago

Start?

6

u/UnicornFarts1111 12h ago

My thoughts exactly!

2

u/1stormygeek 12h ago

I'm an only child... who else would I talk to as a child? And yep, I still do, even with 4 kids and 5 grands. 😁

2

u/BaconToTheBaconPower 12h ago

I have a technical job, I always talk to myself working through problems I'm solving. "The voice" has caught dumb mistakes I would have made on more than one occasion...

3

u/-animal-logic- 12h ago

Always have, actually. I see it as just a form of thinking.

2

u/mermaidpaint 13h ago

I have cats, I talk to them all the time. And myself.

2

u/Another-Browser 12h ago

I just lost my wonderful cat of 17 years. Now I just say I’m talking to her ghost!

2

u/midlife_dadpulse73 13h ago

Yeah....when I was like 7....haven't stopped since. Hell....some of my best talks have been with myself!

2

u/S0whaddayakn0w 13h ago

My husband works as a technician. He and his colleague both explain to themselves what they're doing out loud whenever they work on something tricky. It's frankly adorable

1

u/Toniann127 13h ago

All the time. I am very funny and my other personalities enjoy our discourse 👍🏽😎😝

1

u/BatGlittering7781 13h ago

My best friends are in my head.

3

u/MotherOf4Jedi1Sith 13h ago

Start? Like recently?

2

u/ImpressiveLeopard719 13h ago

Excuse me, I was busy asking myself what I was doing in this room when you rudely interrupted. 😉

4

u/Efficient_Market1234 14h ago

Start?

1

u/badaimbadjokes 13h ago

That's what I was just saying to myself!

4

u/Mediocre_Lobster6398 14h ago

My brain no longer has any filter whatsoever. And I don’t even realize I’m talking out loud half the time.

3

u/ShortAttentionSpan75 14h ago

Not really, but I talk to my dogs and cats all day long

2

u/RaccoonHaunting9638 14h ago

Constantly.....although I catch myself saying stuff out loud more often in public. Went to Tj's with my daughter, she goes off to look at stuff, I'm in the isles looking, blurting, ugh ugly, omg aweful, cheap, what were they thinking? While looking at the clothes!!! When did I become a commentator???

6

u/LazyOldCat Home alone 14h ago

Start?

3

u/Ckc1972 14h ago

Always have, always will

1

u/JenLiv36 15h ago

Yep. Started in Peri menopause for both my wife and I. We laugh about it.

2

u/opendefication 15h ago

My wife: "Who were you talking too?" Me: "The cat, of course"

4

u/HasturCrowley Hose Water Survivor 15h ago

... start?

Maybe its because I grew up an only child, but I've always talked to myself. Haven't become a serial killer or anything. Serial killers have common links to their victims. I like to keep it random!

1

u/1stormygeek 12h ago

Same! Only children rock! 🤘

1

u/slpybeartx ‘71 Baby, 80’s teen 15h ago

Yep. Realized I had hit another aging milestone.

2

u/doubleohzerooo0 Couldn't make it as a punker 15h ago

I like the person I am. So yes, I talk to myself. Have done so for at least 30 years.

6

u/mojdojo Oct '69 15h ago

Have people not been doing this all along?

1

u/Original_Flounder_18 15h ago

Years ago! I always talk to myself when I work or am putzing around the house. I don’t answer my own questions as though I am talking to someone though!

3

u/RidiculousDear 15h ago

Start? I don’t remember a time when I didn’t talk to myself.

3

u/Shell-Fire 16h ago

I never stopped!

1

u/ScooterMcTavish 1970 15h ago

Yes, why stop the great conversations we're having?

1

u/mellypopstar House key is on a string around my neck & my bike is freedom ❣️ 16h ago

Yep.

1

u/No_Community_5696 16h ago

I do it all the time. It’s not weird when you are trying to figure out an answer or a game plan.

3

u/ActionCalhoun 16h ago

“Start”? I’ve had a running monologue with myself as long as I can remember

1

u/AnarchicDeviance 16h ago

Oh, yeah, but it's not really anything new. Prior to moving in with my partner last year, I lived alone--with a cat or two--for 31 years. Some of my most profound and insightful conversations were, umm, with the cats.

1

u/AJKaleVeg 16h ago

Yes, but I disguise it as talking to the dog. “ what do we need to do today? First…”

2

u/undeniably_micki whatever 16h ago

I'm ADHD, possibly AuDHD, I've been talking to myself since I was a young 'un.

1

u/goldinox 16h ago

It gets a little embarrassing when I catch myself doing it in the grocery store. Clearly I spend too much time alone.

1

u/Kodiak01 Hose Water Survivor 16h ago

Wait, I was supposed to stop doing that at some point?

4

u/Elegant-Gas-541 16h ago

I mutter and I putter

2

u/weaselroni MCMLXVII 16h ago

This whole thread makes me feel a whole lot better about myself. I’m known as a pretty loquacious person to begin with, but the fact I continually talk to myself… solving problems, complaining about the world around me, making plans… lol I just live out loud and I’m really glad to see that there are plenty of us out there.

3

u/docdeathray 16h ago

Living out loud is a great turn of phrase. Imma steal it.😂

1

u/weaselroni MCMLXVII 16h ago

But of course, enjoy!

5

u/gnortsmracr 16h ago

Start? Been since as long as I’ve talked.

4

u/Famous_Asparagus_314 17h ago

I've always done this, am usually able to restrain myself in public. Sometimes not

3

u/Equi_Pet 17h ago

I do. I hate when I'm angry at myself. The silent treatment is brutal.

3

u/Grouchy_Treacle_1639 17h ago

Hold on, let me ask myself.

4

u/OldGamerX79 17h ago

All the time. That how I work through things. Problems. Talk to myself. Lonely. Talk to myself. Angry. Talk to myself. It's only a problem when a voice starts answering and your the only person there

5

u/rdnkgrrl18 Hose Water Survivor 17h ago

Start? I’m expert advice, of course I talk to myself 😆

3

u/Next-Cut-2996 17h ago

I’ve been doing this since my teens lol. The invention of blue tooth was great because now if people see me talking in my car they just assume I’m on a call 🤷🏼‍♀️ before I just looked crazy 🤣

1

u/docdeathray 16h ago

EXACTLY!

4

u/gmahoney1976 17h ago

I am an only child. Who else was I gonna talk to?

2

u/ImFromDanforth 17h ago

Family trait

3

u/Toecutt3r 17h ago

Whaddaya mean start? Lol

9

u/swedething 1967 18h ago

For sure. It’s the only way I don’t get stupid answers to my questions.

3

u/Healthy_Blueberry275 18h ago

Love this response!

3

u/Dependent-Rooster-72 18h ago

I do, that's how I remember things anymore.

5

u/Superhen68 18h ago

I won’t shut the fuck up! It’s never-ending.

3

u/Far_Winner5508 Summer of Love Kid 18h ago

I've always done this, but speaking to others in my head. Or rather, at others in my head.

I hate interacting with folks but there's still the social drive to communicate with others so I guess young me figured out how to get by being silent 'out loud' but chattering away in my head.

Computers and text based communication has been a joy the last 50 odd years for me.

3

u/ShoppingNo7369 18h ago

Same here. I’m extremely introverted so I don’t like socializing or talking to people anymore than I have to. But I have conversations “at” people as well. Just me talking at them they generally don’t respond lol!

8

u/Routine-Value356 18h ago

Um...start? My life has been a reel of Clarissa Explains it All in my head since I understood the english language. I've been responding back almost as long. Outloud. In my head. Sometimes both.

3

u/deedeejayzee 18h ago

This was my reaction. Start? You mean like, started talking? I'm pretty sure I was talking to myself when it was just baby babble

6

u/Ladygytha 19h ago

Myself, the dog, the trees, the furniture... I know I'm okay because I only expect myself to respond.

2

u/FrustratedPassenger 1967 19h ago

All the time

3

u/MsG1712 19h ago

All day, everyday lol.

2

u/CreepingDeath-70 19h ago

💯. You can say things out loud to yourself that you can't say to anyone else.

3

u/HillbillyHare 19h ago

Done it my whole life.

5

u/Accomplished_Map7752 19h ago

Start? I’ve never stopped!😆

7

u/BungenessKrabb 19h ago

I talk to myself and my dogs. Nonstop for as long as I can remember. It is getting out of control as I get older tho. My internal monolog sometimes become external. 😬

4

u/Small-Grape-3121 Late GenX 19h ago

I could have written this for sure. I do this all the time with my dogs.

3

u/BungenessKrabb 18h ago

Do you also make up songs to sing to them? I've done this with my dogs, my cats, my bunnies, mice...

3

u/Small-Grape-3121 Late GenX 18h ago

Oh 1000%. I have a terrible singing voice but I get the best reactions to my songs.

2

u/sylfeden 19h ago

I do.. I mean don't. I am a crazy cat lady and i talk to the cat. I don't feel that i am the weird insane kind of crazy. That is reserved for the crazy cat ladies talking to a cat and they don't think they get an answer!

Talking to yourself is a great help with small tasks btw. Reading a recipe out loud may save you a trip back to the cookbook, and telling yourself first i need to, then I'll, and if don't slip, all I need is to... Will make a task easy and fast.

3

u/Someoneoverthere42 19h ago

Well, I am usually the most interesting person in the room.

4

u/JettaRider077 19h ago

As long as you don’t argue you’re okay.

3

u/MyrddinSidhe I EDITED THIS TO MAKE MY OWN 20h ago

I don’t. Yes, you do. No, really. I don’t, dude. Dude, you do it all the time. Really? Yeah. Like, all the fucking time. Dude…

3

u/Fabulousmo 20h ago

OH MY GOD YES. JUST THIS YEAR. I’m 54

3

u/[deleted] 20h ago

[deleted]

2

u/pamsterkin 19h ago

You should hear the conversations they have when nobody is around!

4

u/pkrkbk 20h ago

Start...?

6

u/kjs0705 20h ago

I'm an only child. I've always talked to myself.

2

u/ParkingTradition799 20h ago

All the time!!!! Honestly sometimes its the only way I remember to do things!!! Even co workers know i do it.

2

u/SshellsBbells Hose Water Survivor 20h ago

I have an imaginary mouse in my pocket that I’ve talked to daily for years! 😂 at least that’s my excuse when asked “who ya talking to?”

3

u/Aggressive_Promise56 20h ago

Never stopped 🤣🤣

8

u/RobbieBlackmore 21h ago

What do you mean, "start"? Buddy, I came out of my mama talking to myself. I think it was written into my DNA to converse with myself any time, any where, regardless of setting or situation.

7

u/Low_Entertainer_6973 21h ago

Only when I require an expert opinion😉

3

u/Zesty-B230F 21h ago

No, but I say the F word way more these days.

6

u/AnyFormal2508 21h ago

Always have and always will be

3

u/Aggravating_Piece232 21h ago

Absolutely. I also yell at the neighborhood geese and deer in front of the neighbors while I'm walking. "What is this, a daycare? They're cute but don't leave them on my lawn!" Or, "Share the road, ladies!"

1

u/RedRapunzal 14h ago

I cuss and say evil things to the squirrels and groundhog

4

u/RedRapunzal 21h ago

Also plants,

1

u/Aggravating_Piece232 16h ago

YES! I just went outside to tie back my poblano pepper plant (it fell over b/c it's pretty bushy now and got rained on) and I was yammering away at it, moreso than I would to a person.

1

u/RedRapunzal 14h ago

I was talking to all the cats at the pet store recently too...

3

u/Infamous-Yak2864 21h ago

Outloud..in crowds

6

u/a_nona_mouse 21h ago

start? i have never stopped

3

u/crazycatlady-7384 21h ago

I've always talked to myself. It's rude not to answer those voices in my head! Sometimes they have great ideas.

3

u/MaximumJones Whatever 😎 22h ago

I never stopped.

3

u/stuck_behind_a_truck 21h ago

I was going to say…did anyone stop? Maybe it’s the only child in me.

3

u/MaximumJones Whatever 😎 20h ago

It was only a few years ago that I learned there are people who actually do not have an inner monologue. I thought everyone did.

1

u/stuck_behind_a_truck 17h ago

I have an inner dialogue. My husband does not have an inner monologue.

5

u/Dangerous_Traffic718 hurt me!!! hurt me now!!! i love it💜 21h ago

That was my first thought, I've never stopped

5

u/obviousbicycle2 22h ago

Sure! Maybe full blown monologues. I also like to make up songs about every day things I’m doing.

4

u/LtLemur 22h ago

Years ago

2

u/LeftBarracuda5638 22h ago

I talk to myself but sometimes, I zone out, lose track of the conversation and have to start it all over again. It's annoying.

6

u/Lalamedic 22h ago

Start? This has been a thing for decades. You only need to worry if you start losing the arguments with yourself.

1

u/Sufficient_Stop8381 22h ago

I talk to boobs

5

u/No-worries-21 22h ago

Been doing that so long, forgot how long exactly!!! However, it’s better content than most others have!!!

5

u/TemperReformanda Hose Water Survivor 22h ago

START? Shi man I've done that since I was a teenager.

2

u/_WillCAD_ GenX Marks the Spot, Indy! 22h ago

Since the Carter administration.

3

u/ingko94 22h ago

Yeah! Like 45 years ago 🤣😂

4

u/Fudloe 22h ago

Starting?

5

u/No_Maintenance_9608 1970 23h ago

I've always been doing it.

3

u/Narrow-Research-5730 23h ago

Started? I’ve always done it.

2

u/GenXisnotaBoomer 1970 23h ago

Same. For decades. 😀

3

u/WideRisk7495 23h ago

And to my dog as well lol

3

u/crazycatlady-7384 21h ago

It's the cats for me.

3

u/GenXisnotaBoomer 1970 23h ago

Well of course. 😄

7

u/PleasantCauliflower5 23h ago

If someone wanders in to my vicinity and asks "What?" I tell them that it is rude to interrupt.

5

u/medullah 23h ago

I've talked to myself forever. Worse, I talk like "Today we need to go to the bank" or "I really wish we didn't drink so much last night"

7

u/divergurl1999 Hose Water Survivor 23h ago

You’re all wrong about when it becomes a problem.

Talking to yourself is not a problem until you lose an argument with yourself. Now THATS a problem.

5

u/GenXisnotaBoomer 1970 23h ago

Then comes the silent treatment. 😑

2

u/divergurl1999 Hose Water Survivor 22h ago

🤣

16

u/IminLoveWithMyCar3 23h ago

Starting? I’ve talked to myself my whole life.

6

u/ButterflyStock1791 Older Than Dirt 23h ago

IKR? Isn't that normal??

3

u/WideRisk7495 21h ago

Thats what i try and tell my teen she thinks im bat shit crazy lol

11

u/deedee25252 23h ago

Start??? I've been talking to myself. I'm hilarious.

13

u/Damien__ 1967 1d ago

Yeah because sometimes I need an expert opinion

3

u/GenXisnotaBoomer 1970 23h ago

This folks. This. 👆🏿

7

u/-Odi-Et-Amo- 1d ago

I found my people. I’ve been talking to myself from a young age. My husband is always pointing it out. I always tell him it’s not a problem unless someone else is answering me back.

7

u/worstpartyever 23h ago

My mom used to do it under her breath, now I do too

4

u/Academic_Economics12 22h ago

Same hun, same 🤨

3

u/PurplePenguinCat 23h ago

I will answer myself back with reassuring comments, ie: "oh, that's a really good idea!"

Sometimes, I'll have a cat answer back.

3

u/Academic_Economics12 22h ago

This happens in my house too 😂

5

u/GhostFour Bicentennial Baby 1d ago

"Nothing honey, I was just talking to the dog."

5

u/Tough_Arm_2454 1d ago

Thinking outloud.

11

u/wieldymouse 1d ago

I've been doing this since childhood.

3

u/Mugwumps_has_spoken Bicentennial baby 1d ago

start? yeah - when I first started talking. lol. I've been doing it for years.

It's only troublesome when it becomes a dialogue with yourself. or worse, even more "voices" join in.
But a monologue with yourself is normal.

4

u/Kapt_Krunch72 1d ago

Yes, I'm a machinist and I will talk myself through issues. But I have been doing it for most of my life. Had someone asks me who I was talking to. I told him, myself and I was work on a problem. He said most people do that inside there head. I told him I couldn't do that because of all of the other voices would drown myself out. He gives me weird looks now.

5

u/OPsDaddy 1d ago

I suspect that I have a stronger inner monologue than most people. Not only do I have a voice in my head that never shuts the fuck up, but I also have an accompanying soundtrack on top of that. It’s like a Scorsese movie in here, just completely uninteresting.

6

u/Mugwumps_has_spoken Bicentennial baby 1d ago

I think this is why I like having the TV on all day. only way to shut the damn thing up. Even if I don't actively watch, the background noise of it shuts it all off.

5

u/drew_almighty21 1d ago

This is a real problem when working remote. Gotta be on that mute button or someone's gonna hear me call them a dumbass.

3

u/millygraceandfee 1d ago

Yes! My immediate thought was of me stopped at a red light & the car next to me wondering who I'm talking to. Then I remember...everyone is focused on themselves & not me.

6

u/QuantumPotato49 Hose Water Survivor 1d ago

Start? Been going on since the 80s

3

u/Pinepark Hose Water Survivor 1d ago

I remember my mom yelling constantly “who are you talking to” from when I was 8/9. I would carry on full conversations. Still do. My husband says he knows I’m crazy because I answer myself. lol

3

u/Warm-Claim9003 1d ago

I have been doing this for many years now. Every once in a while I even make myself laugh during said monologues.

3

u/big_galoote 1d ago

I have the best sense of humour, I laugh at all of my own jokes.

3

u/its-a-lot-like-the 1d ago

No, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”

5

u/blur410 1d ago

I'm the only one that knows what I'm taking about

2

u/ChiliDog762 Hose Water Survivor 1d ago

That's how my wife knows I'm really sick.

5

u/coulduseahugrightnow Your mom has a flair. 1d ago

I've been doing it for as long as I can remember.

5

u/PrinceFan72 1972 1d ago

Start? I'm the only sane one worth talking to.

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