small voices

[DeafEars]

ever since i was small, I entertain myself by talking to my mind.. when I'm in very deep thought, I sometimes don't notice it that I actually say the words out loud and I'm afraid that people might think I'm weird .... But it seems to me that... my mind stopped talking and I don't hear small voices anymore.

It all started when I met a ESTP friend (who became my best friend)... she keeps on chatting with me on the internet everyday for the pass few months. she teach me how to express myself to other people, and I teach her how to plan things out (like how to save money). basically we have a 'purpose' for each other LOL. For some reason I don't know, I am not annoyed with her unlike other people usually... she always gets my 'full attention'. and I'm happy that I made a new friend.

But now my mind slowly stopped talking to me... is this normal? I feel like I'm getting dumber or I'm Just schizo? I miss my mind lol.

[Jgib5328]

Now you have someone other than yourself to talk to, it's a good thing. You can still introspect and reflect if you have a friend, having a friend really shouldn't change that.

[Darkmist]

I don't understand what you mean by small voices. Hearing dissenting opinions in your mind? Debating with yourself? I do both of these things and talk to myself all the time. The opinion that talking to yourself is bad intimates complete dementia or asocial behaviour, which is a construct IMHO of those who want us to fit with the social norms. For that reason I pay scant heed to mental illness, if that is the case. I mean, what is mental illness if not a definition of what someone else deems should be in relation to others of society? Is it illness because it's different or is it simply difference? Who is to say that the majority, following allong, wagging their tails, aren't the ill or different ones?

[Szarra]

Perhaps the internal voices have stopped because you no longer need them? You have someone external that you can use as a sounding board for your thoughts now. Kind of like an imaginary friend that children have when they first move to some place new. They don't know anyone, so they make up a friend they can talk to until they find someone else.

[DeafEars]

well I call them 'small voices'/ or my thoughts, so i guess I'm ok then.

does most INTJ have 'noisy' thoughts?. or is it common to all humans..

[malefide]

Perhaps now your thoughts have an external target (your friend) and so are no longer "caught" in your head?

You can still engage in introspection/reflection now that you have an external target for your "voices". My inner voice gets quieter when I am more involved with external life, but it always comes back when I return to solitude and reflection.

[DeafEars]

yeah I think your right, I'm actually avoiding her now I know sooner or later we'll run out of topics, I don't know what's wrong with me LOL. I don't want to be too attached to her, that it would hurt me if she stop talking to me... I'm so weird :(

[TheLastMohican]

yeah I think your right, I'm actually avoiding her now I know sooner or later we'll run out of topics, I don't know what's wrong with me LOL. I don't want to be too attached to her, that it would hurt me if she stop talking to me... I'm so weird :(

If you become good friends, the topics will take care of themselves. Avoiding her will not help. ;)

[guardian789]

I have the little voices as well. Pretty simply when one is around others, the voices become quiter, because your full attention is on others. That is, as in your friends case, they keep you intrested. Don't worry though, the little voices never really go away, they might be quite for while but eventually, you'll need to withdrawl to recharge and then you'll hear them again.

Often times the voices are so we can rehearse things in our heads before we say them. They are also there to entertain us. I know what you mean when you don't have them around your brain feels less full, so you feel stupid. Don't worry you're not.

[DeafEars]

after a day of not chatting with my friend, she confronted me the next day if I was avoiding her lol. Am I that obvious? anyway I told her yeah I'm avoiding you, she laugh and told me I'm silly, then she starts talking like nothing happens.

[suzyk]

I have an inner voice. Ever since I was a kid. Started when I was eight, I even visualized what both of them looked like in my head. One was called 'mind', the rebellious, fun side and the other was 'brain', the responsible and sensible side. Mind would often bicker with brain about what I should do and what I shouldn't do.

Of course, I don't see 'mind' or 'brain' anymore, they were only figments of my imagination, and they were like friends to me, since I didn't have any friends at the time. I have the occasional voice in my head now, and then another voice will tell me why I should do whatever, and the bickering will start. Seems like I haven't outgrown the two buggers.

[mental drift]

In my head the voices seem to be loudest when I have numerous things I want to get done and short time to do it, they will say get this done first no this, and I will be in my head constantly figuring the best way to get it done. A troublesome situation causes the same reaction, say an imperfect moment in my day. Anyway doubt the voices went away just need a certain trigger and they will start shouting.

[acyckowski]

I don't know that I'd describe it quite the way you did, but without a doubt I talk to myself. Since I learned early that this was an effective way to get a wedgie, I stopped talking to myself out loud, but the activity never really stopped. I liken it to reading out loud vs. reading silently.

I really only seem to do it when I'm trying to sort out something particularly vexing.

[Hdier]

Hmmmm, I have one person in my head who is fully developed (I know I said more in previous posts, but I've had more time to introspect since then and I just don't consider the others fully developed any more), and I talk to him frequently (rather, he annoys me with nagging and arguments-he always seems to take the opposite position as me, but I love him anyways). Does this sound anything like what you mean, or are you just talking to yourself? IOW, are you consciously manufacturing the other person (or whatever) or is the voice something that you're not really thinking about; can it truly surprise you?

My person has never really disappeared, though he does stay quiet for long periods of time sometimes, and has quite an interesting story he's told me. Apparently, he is studying me for a school project (I'm almost sure he's just my imagination). There's more to it than that, but I won't bore you all with details.

[acyckowski]

No, I'm pretty much talking to myself. It's more like a way of shouting over all the other random thoughts bouncing around.

[Flamethrower]

yeah I think your right, I'm actually avoiding her now I know sooner or later we'll run out of topics, I don't know what's wrong with me LOL. I don't want to be too attached to her, that it would hurt me if she stop talking to me... I'm so weird :(

after a day of not chatting with my friend, she confronted me the next day if I was avoiding her lol. Am I that obvious? anyway I told her yeah I'm avoiding you, she laugh and told me I'm silly, then she starts talking like nothing happens.

If you become good friends, the topics will take care of themselves. Avoiding her will not help. ;)

I agree with Mohican. Seems daft to avoid someone you like and who is a good friend just because you are worried about running out of things to say. Sounds like she is pretty talkative anyway and probably has no such concern. If you focus your attention on what interests you and your friend have in common you won't have any problem. There's always a risk with making friends with anyone that something might one day go wrong with your friendship but putting the effort into creating good friendships with people regardless is worth it. Also I think the mark of a great friendship is being able to be with someone and not necessarily be talking.

[Antares]

The 'voices' diminished for me also, ever since I became more popular than before with my classmates; my life, since becoming friends with extroverted types and becoming more extroverted myself, has become much more dynamic and fast-paced. It's fun and exhilarating, but I'm also losing the 'voices' that I liked; and they wouldn't come back even if I purposefully try. The 'voices' are sarcastic, rude and argumentative, often debating with a rival 'voice'. I don't usually cuss in real life, but the voices do; a lot.

I remember playing my Dip exam and I made a mistake. One of the snide voices said: "Magnificent. The day is just getting better."

[quaestionus]

Well, admittedly, this all sounds rather insane.

How entertaining.

[thod]

I am not even sure what we are talking about. I talk to myself in my head constantly its not the voice of another person its me. Everyone thinks in terms of words and pictures. Try to think of anything without using words or pictures, I reckon you cant do it. As I type this I am first forming the words in my head as a precursor to typing. Reasoning an argument in my head is much like the threads here. I recite statements and counter statements internally and very fast.

If you are hearing voices that you believe are not your own thoughts then I would guess at schizophrenia.

As an interesting exercise see how long you can remain blank without any words or pictures crossing your mind. Its the basis for many styles of meditation and you get better with practice.

[EsoteriEccentri]

There's a difference between arguing with yourself and having other voices that talk to you/discuss things, ect, than hearing voices which mean you have something wrong with you.
I reckon everyone gets the former, only very few get the latter. The meaning of "hearing voices" has changed, because everyone (I think) hears voices and it doesn't mean there's something wrong with them.
I don't like my voice. She addresses me as "YOU" and is not very nice to me. *cries* xD

[Flamethrower]

I talk to myself in my head constantly its not the voice of another person its me. As I type this I am first forming the words in my head as a precursor to typing. I recite statements and counter statements internally and very fast.

I do this also. I am thinking the words in my head as I type this. I think about everything in words. It's me thinking inside my head.

If you are hearing voices that you believe are not your own thoughts then I would guess at schizophrenia.

I agree with thod. If the voices are not yours (ie basic normal thinking process) and appear to be real and have an external life and identity of their own I would worry.





Flamethrower added to this post, 3 minutes and 12 seconds later...

well I call them 'small voices'/ or my thoughts, so i guess I'm ok then.

Although you appear to have answered this question already! :rolleyes:

[HousesOfApollo]

I have two well-defined voices in my head: the first one is more optimistic, and likes to be nice to people. He's always telling me to try and give people the benefit of the doubt, and that maybe life isn't terrible, and it isn't futile.

The second voice is dark, nihilistic and very negative. This voice is what leads so many people to think that I'm morbidly depressed. He argues the cynical side--the take what you can while you can position. He's essentially the negative INTJ stereotype.

Whenever I encounter someone who resembles one of these voices, the voice he/she resembles silences a bit. This is why I'm extremely cynical and negative around optimistic people, and somewhat more optimistic in the presence of fellow cynics. I spend a lot of time talking to extremely cynical people just so I can feel "nice." Without my nicer side to balance things out I get a little creepy.

Perhaps if I socialized more, I'd have less need for internalized voices.

I wouldn't worry about being stupid if I were you, since you obviously are still over-analyzing life enough to worry about this :).

[Neutral]

You're fine, you are doing anything harmful to yourself or others so why should it matter if you here voices?(I used to too, I think it has more to do with isolation than any real mental problem)