I have a very good friend that in all honesty is one of the greatest guys I know. The only thing that bothers me about him is that he seems to have this scary habit of constantly talking to himself. At first he would do it whenever he thought no one was around to hear him, but lately he’s been doing it openly as if he isn’t even aware of it. I have bought this to his attention several times and each time he’ll say something like “As long as I’m not answering myself, I guess I’m O.K” . The both of us will laugh it off, but deep inside I’m really starting to get worried about him. I don’t think he’s using drugs or anything like that, (his job just had all of their employees take an annual drug test that demanded everything from urine to Hair samples and he passed it with flynig colors). Seeing this, I simply blew it off as stress. Now that he is doing this more and more often, I am really starting to get worried. Can this be a sign of Mental Illness? If not, what can be done to get him to stop?
Really it could simply be a tool for him to organize his thoughts. Speaking something aloud might be helpful to him to remember something or work through a problem. As long as he is aware that there isn’t actually someone there listening or worse ANSWERING him, it likely is not something to be concerned about.
If it is seriously disruptive to you Then you could likely get him to be more concious of it and avoid vocalizing his thoughts unless he actually means to talk to you.
There have been a few times where I went to his apartment, and when I went to knock on the door, I could hear him in there yelling like he was in there arguing with someone. When he finally let me in, I saw that there was no one in there with him. When I asked him “Who were you in here talking to?” He just simply said " No one"…I told him that if he keeps this up, someone’s gonna scoop him up in a big butterfly net… 
I’m one of them. :eek: Sometimes it’s the only way to get intelligent conversation.
Usually, I tell myself to shaddup. 
I’m with ya there.
And it is a good way to organise your thoughts. I do it occasionally too, though not to that extent. Generally just a comment or two at a time, and mostly when I’m doing something. I had a friend over last ngiht who was reading a problem out loud. He told me that he’s an oral person, so it helps him.
I can tell you this: If he gets a big shot of thorazine in the ass and wakes up naked in a pink room, it won’t help. He will just start talking to his imaginary friends again when he thinks it’s safe.
I talk to my dogs, then change my voice and they talk back.
I’m nuts however.
My sister, who seems to be a normal enough person, talks to herself, she says it helps her to think outloud.
Starguard, this sounds like my brother in the early stages of schizophrenia. How old is your friend? It is probably nothing, but if he is in late adolescence I would be a bit concerned. If he is schizophrenic he would be hearing voices that sound like they are coming from the radio. I realized something was wrong when my brother started talking about things he heard on the radio that just didn’t sound right.
I hope this is just an eccentric habit, but it is the yelling that concerns me. Most people who talk to themselves do it rarely and in a hushed tone to organize their thoughts. Schizophrenics often yell when the voices are at their worst because they don’t feel they can be heard otherwise. Let me know a few more details and maybe I can help narrow it down for you.
I’ve always talked to myself. It’s usually just been my way of thinking out loud and helping to concentrate my thoughts. But lately I’ll notice that I’ve been talking to myself for a while and not really realizing I’m talking out loud. In public.
It’s just a few steps now for me to be the Crazy Old Woman Who Always Talks To Herself. Now all I need is about a dozen cats…
(no offense to folks who own a dozen cats, btw.)
Well, he 34 (at least I think he is), he has no children or girlfriend at the moment, and he lives alone. I don’t thnk he listens to the radio much, but he does seem to complain alot about things that he reads about in the newspaper or sees on the news. Sometimes he will complain about something he saw in the Media and just simply won’t let it go, he’ll just keep complaining about the same things over and over and over again. Heres an example:
He might read about how some woman was found raped and beaten somewhere in the neighborhood. He’ll understandably get very upset about this. But instead of just forgetting about it and moving on, he’ll start making suggestions about what the judicial system should do to those responsible and will keep repeating these suggestions over and over. Whenever he’s alone and I come to visit, I will hear him talking rather loudly to himself repeating these same things over and over again. and its not only with victimized women in the media either, its with almost anything that upsets him. (wars overseas, price increases, auto sales, sports, you name it). Sometimes he’ll periodically laugh to himself right out of the blue for no apparent reason also. Overall he’s really a fun guy to hang out with, but receintly his behavior has really started to get me worried.
Thirty-four would be quite old for the onset of schizophrenia. I would say though that his behavior sounds odd and not at all unlike what I experienced with my brother. I can’t think of much you can do except continue to monitor his behavior. The focus on news items was something my brother did constantly. I knew something was wrong when bizarre details were inserted into real news stories.
Don’t interrupt. It’s rude.
[sup]What is the problem?[/sup]
Well, being one of those crazy ladies who walks around talking to herself . . . I was really embarrassed one night when I was in a store and realized that I was talking to myself, quite unconcernedly, as I strolled up and down the aisles. So does the fact that I realize I have a problem mean that I’m not too far gone?
On the more serious side, my husband’s behavior is more like what you’re describing (getting upset about something and then going on and on with solutions, proposed penalties, etc.). For years he spent a lot of time alone–either on the road driving or while he was working in a telecom room. He’s a highly intelligent man, and has a lot of thoughts and opinions on every topic you could imagine. I think he got into the habit of talking to himself (the television, the radio, and/or anyone who would listen or pretend to listen) as a way to express what he was thinking and feeling. It’s a little funny sometimes–last night I was in the living room listening to him watch the football game in the bedroom. I heard this steady stream of diatribe pour from his lips.
It can be a little unnerving at times, but I chalk it up as just part of who he is and how he deals with the universe around him.
Lots of my co-workers talk to themselves, answer themselves and argue with themselves. “Did I call lab? Yes, I did. No, I don’t think I really did. I hate those labrats! Why can’t they run my samples? Well, I guess they try…but still!”
I ask myself questions aloud–just trying to get the 100 details of 16 patients organized.
Scary nurses!
But I think the yelling your friend does is not okay and he should explore why he feels the need to be so loud.
Cyn, OB/GYN RN
I think I know what it is. Some people have trouble getting thoughts or topics out of the concious mind and into the subconcious once the person is done with them. This makes the thought keep repeating or recurring when the person isn’t thinking about anything else, and eventually the thoughts manifest as speech.
I’m one of these people. I blame my god-like mental powers. I cannot contain my thoughts within the fragile shell that is my skull. If I did, the force of my incredible intellect would cause my brains to shoot out my ears like mashed potatos through a fire hose.
Needless to say, this is a bad thing.
My father had badly-treated syphillis which caused symptoms similar to your friend’s, although Dad didn’t come up with constructive suggestions, he just got upset/angry.
Anyway, your friend is suffering from some kind of illness (mental or physical) and should get himself checked out. These symptoms can be for minor inconveniences of serious problems.