Self-talk can be a symptom of a number of mental illnesses. It can be a sign of an anxiety disorder, depression, PTSD, or obsessive-compulsive disorder. More severe mental illnesses associated with self-talk include schizophrenia and psychosis.
For many individuals, this is a healthy problem-solving tactic. However, just as self-talk can be beneficial, it can sometimes be detrimental. While talking to yourself is not a sign of mental illness in all cases, it is a common trait among individuals with certain mental health disorders.
Rest assured, the habit is completely within the norm — and can even be beneficial. “Yes, research shows that talking to yourself is not at all 'crazy' and that, in fact, it is a normal human behavior,” clinical psychologist Carla Marie Manly, Ph. D. tells us.
Sometimes you might find yourself engaging in self-talk centered on rumination, or continuously talking about the same sad, negative, dark thoughts. This type of self-talk may be a sign of a mental health condition such as depression. Self-talk can also be a concern if it occurs as a result of hallucinations.
Auditory hallucinations involve hearing things that aren't there — voices, bangs, music, or other noises. One survey-based study dating back to 2009 found that many non-schizophrenic people with OCD have auditory hallucinations, although they're often distinguishable from “real” sounds or voices.
Examples of intrusive thoughts
Here are some examples of what intrusive thoughts might sound like: Harm: “What if I stab that person?” Responsibility: “What if my dog dies because I didn't touch the wall three times?” Religious: “What if I'm a devil worshiper because I read the number 666?”
Symptoms of OCD include often include obsessions and unwanted or intrusive thoughts, as well as compulsions, or urges to act out specific — and often repetitive — behaviors. Meanwhile, schizophrenia typically looks like: hallucinations: seeing or hearing things that don't line up with reality.
Soliloquy is sometimes wrongly used where monologue is meant. Both words refer to a long speech by one person, but a monologue can be addressed to other people, whereas in a soliloquy the speaker is always talking to himself or herself.
This way of thinking is called catastrophic thinking, and it can be caused by problems with mental health or mental illness. Because of psychological issues or illnesses, a person may make up fake scenarios. For instance, an individual with an anxiety disorder might worry all the time about things they can't change.
Talking to yourself, it turns out, is a sign of genius. The smartest people on earth talk to themselves. Look at the inner monologues of the greatest thinkers. Look at poetry!
There are some cases where talking to yourself can be a sign of a mental health condition. Muttering and speaking random sentences out loud could be a sign of schizophrenia. Schizophrenia affects many people worldwide.
If a person self-talks as part of a hallucination, they should seek help from a healthcare professional. Self-talk and hallucinations may indicate a mental health condition, such as schizophrenia. A person with schizophrenia may experience changes in their behavior and thoughts, such as hallucinations or delusions.
A study by Kornreich and colleagues found that people with bipolar disorder were likelier to talk to themselves during manic episodes than during depressive episodes or when in a euthymic (normal) state. The researchers suggested that self-talk could be used as a marker for the presence of manic symptoms.
Narcissistic Personality Disorder: Compulsive talking may be a symptom of Narcissistic Personality Disorder. In this case, compulsive talking often manifests as a relentless need to self-promote or belittle others.
Schizotypal Personality Disorder.
Schizotypal Personality Disorder may also include compulsive talking as a symptom. Specific ideas or beliefs are likely to be the topic of compulsive speech. Topics might include conspiracy theories, ESP, or paranoid beliefs.
For teleological behaviorism, following Skinner (1938), all mental terms, including 'thinking,' stand for abstract, temporally extended patterns of overt behavior. Thus, for teleological behaviorism, talking to yourself, covert by definition, cannot be thinking.
Some examples of positive self-talk: 'I can do it. ' 'I'm good enough. ' 'If I want to, I can. ' 'It doesn't matter if I make a mistake.
A first-of-its-kind study led by psychology researchers at Michigan State University and the University of Michigan indicates that such third-person self-talk may constitute a relatively effortless form of self-control.
Not everyone with OCD will develop psychosis, but for some people, it's possible to experience symptoms of psychosis. Psychosis is when you lose some contact with reality. When you experience symptoms of psychosis, you may have difficulty understanding what's real and what is not.
We don't know for sure what causes OCD, but your family history, psychology, environment, and the way your body works could all play a role. Personality traits like perfectionism may put a person at risk of developing OCD. Stressful life events and psychological trauma may also play a role.
Psychosis and OCD
“But there's a major distinction there. Psychosis is going to look more like paranoia—a fear of being watched or someone coming to get them. OCD, on the other hand, is based on the fear of a bad thing happening, with compulsions being enacted in an attempt to prevent it from taking place.”
The agony of attempting to arrive at certainty leads to an intense and endless cycle of anxiety because it is impossible to arrive at a definite answer.