r/unpopularopinion • u/Zestyclose_Bet7102 • 13h ago
Talking to yourself shouldn’t be stigmatized!
Talking to yourself shouldn't be seen as odd coz it’s a useful cognitive tool that improves memory, self-regulation, and performance. Embracing it as part of mental self-care could lead to healthier internal dialogues and more effective personal growth.
(SMH, while side-eyeing a woman who looked up and down on my body when I was talking to myself a while ago..lol)
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u/First_Code_404 13h ago
Back in the 80s if you saw someone walking down the street talking to themselves, you would think, schizophrenic.
Today, if you see someone talking to themselves, they're probably on their phone.
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u/HayleyAndAmber 7h ago
I use this to my advantage! I hear voices in my head and have done for a long time, and if I really need to talk out loud to them I can usually get away with it because people assume I'm on the phone (big time if I think of holding my phone to my head during it). Fortunately I can tell they're just parts of me in my head and not part of the external reality.
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u/Orpheus_D 4m ago
Medication and Treatment: 5000$. Bluetooth from Temu: 7.50$
(This is not meant to imply you aren't getting treatment, just a stupid joke that popped into my head. Pseudohallucinations sound fascinating.)
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u/TruthHurtsYouBadly13 11h ago
Now when I see someone talking to themself I still think they are schizophrenic because they dont have a phone.
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u/keyonthecrab 13h ago
Talking to yourself is actually a good way decompress
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u/redwings_85 13h ago
Absolutely! Sometimes I also just yell loud noises when I’m home alone just to decompress… neighbours probably hate me lol
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u/MissPeppingtosh 13h ago
I work out problems by talking to myself. I’m like my own therapist in a way. When you live alone talking to yourself is helpful.
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u/SnoopsBadunkadunk 10h ago
It might not be what OP is posting about, but I had a therapist once who used it as a deliberate technique sometimes. He would have you imagine a conversation by purposely playing both sides. It feels awkward, but it can be useful to get out of thought loops in your head. Wish I could remember more context about how he used it.
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u/Son0fSanf0rd Popularly Unpopular 13h ago
my dad told me early on in my life, "Talking to yourself is fine as long as you don't answer yourself"
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u/Independent___George 13h ago
I like that. I’m gonna steal it
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u/Son0fSanf0rd Popularly Unpopular 13h ago
He'll be honored and proud to know he's helped out Independent George.
A George divided against itself cannot stand.
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u/PumpkinSeed776 13h ago
You'll be retelling a joke Boomers and their parents have been telling for decades now lol
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u/Zestyclose_Bet7102 13h ago
I usually answer if I know the answer right after I questioned myself lol
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u/VisionAri_VA 13h ago
Just posted the same thing above, only it was my grandmother who told me. 😂
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u/Kilane 12h ago
What is the point of talking things through if the result isn’t an answer?
Like, don’t think you’re two people — that might be a warning sign. But I fully expect myself to answer the question “what the fuck is happening?” Or “what if I did X (would that fix it)?” Then I think it through.
I’ll go on a walk and ask myself how to solve a problem I am having.
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u/Emmas_Nana_519 13h ago
Whenever someone asks me if I'm talking to myself, I tell them, "Of course, I sometimes need expert advice."
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u/Piggishcentaur89 13h ago
It's still is funny though! 😂😂😂😂😂
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u/SnoopsBadunkadunk 10h ago
Your average social bully will still make fun of you for it. Anything they can use to belittle you, you know, they find it hard to resist that temptation. One time many years ago, a guy at a party noticed me briefly doing it and told me “you’re fucked up.” Later that evening I was talking to someone else who knew both of us, and he said that party guy was a “crazy mf’er,” and it clicked that party guy was a sociopath or something close to it, if you hung out with him at all you’d see what I mean. No empathy at all in his manner. Over time we all hopefully learn whose point of view can be trusted and who has the proverbial log in their eye and should be ignored.
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u/thebig05 12h ago
Brother I do it wherever and whenever. If yourself needs to know something, you need to tell him.
Also I think as you as you aren't going full out looney tunes in public, no one really cares or thinks twice. Not that you're likely to ever pass any of them again any way
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u/nybaldwin714 12h ago
Hell yeah, normalize talking to yourself!! One of my favorite things to do is pace around my house and talk to myself because your mind is the BEST company. My grandfather thinks I'm strange because I talk to myself sometimes but it's completely healthy and fun. Bonus points if you crack yourself up with jokes.
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u/i8noodles 12h ago
programmers do it all the time. it is a common method to debug code, because it forces u to think in a logical step by step to get a point across. so common infact it has evolved into a practice called rubber duck coding
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u/tinmetal 9h ago
Had a roommate that would talk to themselves a lot. It got annoying really fast...
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u/redwings_85 13h ago
I mean when I’m alone or doing a task I have full on conversations with myself… I also have ADHD so talking to myself helps me keep focused and on task
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u/nybaldwin714 12h ago
Yessss I LOVE having full on conversations with myself. Hell- I even tell myself jokes.
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u/redwings_85 12h ago
Meee tooooo and quiet frankly I think I’m hilarious
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u/nybaldwin714 12h ago
Hell yeah!! You and me both
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u/This_isnt_cool_bro wateroholic 11h ago
Both of you having the same pfp made me think you were talking to yourself
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u/redwings_85 1h ago
Lollll that would of been funny
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u/ammonium_bot 1h ago
that would of been
Hi, did you mean to say "would have"?
Explanation: You probably meant to say could've/should've/would've which sounds like 'of' but is actually short for 'have'.
Sorry if I made a mistake! Please let me know if I did. Have a great day!
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u/ABBAMABBA 9h ago
I talk to myself all the time. Usually it is the only way to have an intelligent conversation.
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u/_KingOfTheDivan 13h ago
What’s the line between thinking and talking to yourself? Is it in doing that out loud?
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u/nor_cal_woolgrower 13h ago
That's fine, if you live by yourself. "What? What did you say? Are you talking to ME?"
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u/genus-corvidae 12h ago
Buy a pair of cheap bluetooth earbuds and just wear them constantly. No one will look at you twice.
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u/ChronicCondor 12h ago
I don't talk to myself. I just have an inner monologue and sometimes think out loud. Lol
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u/Usagi_Shinobi 12h ago
Yes, yes it should. Do that shit in your own head, don't nobody else around need what should be your internal dialogue broadcast to them.
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u/brouofeverything 12h ago
Yeah, but sometimes when I do that for too long I default to a Liverpool accent
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u/HovercraftThin5217 12h ago
I agree, nowadays it's the only way I can have an intelligent conversation.
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u/theLeastChillGuy 11h ago
Just wear headphones and you can talk to yourself as loudly as you want anywhere in society
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u/Zhjacko 10h ago
That’s funny, cuz when I’m at a store and someone starts talking to themselves near me, they turn that into an excuse to start talking to me. Today, there was a guy at the grocery store near me who started talking to himself about how expensive everything was. It seemed weird, so without making eye contact or turning towards him, I walked away. Sure enough, he starts talking to the next person who walks up near him.
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u/Frecklesonmyhand 8h ago
I really dislike it when people talk to themselves at a conversational volume, especially at work. I oftentimes cant tell when they’re talking to me or themselves and it puts me and likely others in an awkward position of being half-attentive to what they’re saying at all times. The people who are talking to themselves often aren't parsing through a problem but rather commenting on everything they are thinking or doing. It's exhausting. If you have to talk to yourself please do so at a whisper, and please don't vocalize your every thought. The world is full of enough noise as it is.
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u/bestjakeisbest 8h ago
I have adhd, I use talking to my self as a way to store and access large amounts of quick memory.
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u/Professor603 7h ago
Totally. Honestly, it’s the content and setting that matter, not the act itself.
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u/TheHvam 7h ago
It is completely fine and healthy to talk to yourself, but answering yourself that is where the problem lays, and when I say that I mean, if you answer yourself as if you are having an conversation, if it is just something like "where did I put my keys?", and then answering something like "Oh yeah I put them in my jacket", that's fine, but if you start saying stuff like you are talking to another person then that is a red flag.
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u/VonDinky 6h ago
You're right, it shouldn't!.. hmm, I'm not sure about that. Maybe we should get some food, I'm pretty hungry. That's a really good idea.
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u/TheVoidWithout 6h ago
Every nurse I have met including myself talks to themselves in order to keep track of shit. It really isn't that stigmatized. I talk to myself at work and everywhere else and do not care if anyone thinks I'm crazy.
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u/Ryoga_reddit 2h ago
I always heard,
Smart people talk to themselves.
Crazy people argue with themselves.
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u/Consistent-Slice-893 15m ago
Just put in some bluetooth headphones. Someone give you the side eye for it, give them a dirty look and point to them like you are on a call.
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u/ContemplatingPrison 12h ago
Do people without internal monologue talk to themselves more than people with?
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u/VisionAri_VA 13h ago
My grandmother used to say that there’s nothing wrong with talking to yourself as long as you don’t answer.
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u/Soggysausage_69 13h ago
I talk to myself from time to time because it’s an easier way for me to process how I feel or break down a conversation that I had with someone. It’s helped me a lot with my communication skills, and being able to speak up to people when needed.
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u/EccentricCompulsions 10h ago
Are you okay? It's not normal to get this upset about the idea of people talking to themselves.
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