please help me make this voice go away!

[girl-guest]

maybe this is a sign of mental illness, maybe this is what all people have - you tell me!

 

i have a voice in my head that will not shut up! from the moment i open my eyes, to the moment i fall asleep, i cannot stop it. it's like a racing thought. usually, it's going through past experiences i've had, or imagining future experiences (both likely and impossible ones). a lot of times it's making up my own biography - as if i'm eighty, and writing "when I was XX, I suddenly realized YY, and the next day i was already doing ZZ", it's like writing a book.

 

it's driving me crazy! i feel that i'm missing out on the present, on the reality, by always being up there in my imagination. i've had this voice for as long as i can remember, but i have only recently realised how tiresome and bothersome it is.

 

sometimes it is useful - like if i wake up feeling down, i can imagine scenarios where i feel good (somebody praising me, for example) and i feel better. but then it also often makes me feel bad because of what it imagines or remembers.

 

this is crazy. the only time it stops is when i am completely occupied by something, both mind and body. that's the only way for me to relax.

 

please help or at least shed light on what is happening to me! i want that voice to go away, to be in the present of the reality where my body resides.

[girl-guest]

i want to clarify about my inability to relax. if i sit down, close my eyes, and just breathe, the voice will say "so i was sitting there and breathing, and it felt great! i was thinking of nothing at all", etc. it's like a ceaseless commentary.

 

thank you.

[sonofhud]

I really have no idea what is happening to you. You should visit a doctor/psychiatrist.

[2SidestoStories]

girl-guest:

 

My suggestion would be to speak with a qualified counselor about this, if for no other reason than your description of this voice:

it's driving me crazy! i feel that i'm missing out on the present, on the reality, by always being up there in my imagination. i've had this voice for as long as i can remember, but i have only recently realised how tiresome and bothersome it is.

 

I honestly cannot tell you what this may be indicative of psychologically, but I know that there are ways in which a professional would be able to assist you. I wholeheartedly encourage you to speak to someone about this, for your own peace if nothing more.

[travelin gal]

I think I know what you are saying.

 

My mind frequently begins composing novels. if I'm grocery shopping, I will hear a running narration, "the girl picked up the head of cabbage and examined it for flaws. Satisfied with the produce, she placed it in her basket. As she turned to the oranges section, her husband took the basket from her. "here, sweetie," he said, "let me take that from you."

 

I've never even really thought about it before, but I guess I have to agree it's stressful. This weekend I was imagining various scenarios about a confrontation at work (which never materialized anyway). It was really consuming me. I finally prayed to take the stress away. It left - I started up again briefly on Sunday but only for a little while. I always chalked it up to being kind of high strung and having studied journalism...I guess it really doesn't happen to everyone. I certainly can't imagine that this sort of thing is going on in my husband's mind, for instance.

 

Isn't it just our imaginations?? And maybe our imaginations took a writing class?

[girl-guest]

That's interesting, travelin_gal. My voice never goes as far as composing a novel, but sometimes it will compose broken records - like take a piece of smth i heard, and rewind it over and over, with a beat. Crazy stuff.

 

I've been trying to get the voice to calm down. I find that meditation helps. Paying attention to your breath and body lets you come back to reality, and get away from the imaginative chatter "up there".

 

I've also read that such a voice is often a symptom of bipolar syndrome, so you may want to look into that, just in case.

[Leikela]

Did you have a series of traumatic events happen to you in the past? Most likely when you were young? Either way, most definitely go to see a psychiatrist. Therapy and drugs can help with putting those voices to rest.

[hunter]

I understand what you are feeling with the "voices" or negative thoughts

 

These come from past experiences of neglect and abuse on my part

My mother continuous told me that I would never find anyone that loved me or would ever care about me, and all she told me was that I was never going to amount to anything.

 

These voices and still with me after 20 years and even with the help of therapy I could not overcome them.

 

What I tell myself and these vocies are that is my mothers opinions and I am not going to listen to them anymore. I tell myself that I have attended college, got my degree, have a great job making great money and even tho I am in a relationship my needs are not met, I have accomplished things in my life.

 

Refuse to listen to the negative voices, complimemt your self and praise yourself so that these voices are not heard, but all you can hear if your voice telling you how good you are.

I tried this in a mirror and strange but it works.

 

 

 

Best of luck

[Kelebek]

I can relate in a way here. Sometimes I hear a running commentary, but not enough to really notice it. However, I have imaginary conversations ALL THE TIME. When I'm walking, on the bus, going shopping, anytime I'm alone, really. If I'm feeling down I imagine a nice conversation with the guy I'm seeing, or something like that. It annoys me, because it's so real, then I come out of it and realise that it didn't happen, and nothing's changed. I also have imaginary arguments with people, i.e my bosses, my parents, even my friends if they are being unsupportive and I wish to tell them, but can't in real life. I think the person I am in all my imaginary conversations is the one I want to be. I'm assertive, honest about my feelings, and everything works out cos it's all a fantasy. And the arguments don't hurt anyone cos they're not real. And so what if I tell the guy I'm seeing what I really feel for him - he doesn't really know in real life! But it lets me pretend everything's perfect for a moment, and the way I want it.

 

See, we all hear voices, of a kind. (Well, I hope, lol.) Sometimes my head is so busy that I can't sleep, but I don't have any answers on how to stop it, I'm afraid. I think it's maybe just stress. Why don't you try listening to some chill out music while you sit down? Maybe that will stop the running commentary. Or music that reminds you of a good time in your life?

 

I suppose what I hear isn't quite the same, but it's there nonetheless. It's tiring!!!

[travelin gal]

This is really interesting. Someone I worked with (a medical doctor) once took a piece of paper and drew a line on in. A straight line. And said, "This is most people's moods". He then drew a curvy line that went above and below that line and said, "these are *your* moods." He asked me if I wanted a good anti-depressant and I laughed and said no.

 

My voice never says anything bad about me, like that I'm no good, or anything like that. But sometimes I do get so involved in some made up conversation, like that confrontation at work that i was imagining, that I get sort of aggressive when real people talk to me. In this case my husband and I were on a long drive, and he started talking to me. And I hushed him and said I was really stressed out and to leave me alone.

 

I never really thought about how bizarre that is. I was more involved in the fictional fight in my mind than reality.

 

 

Uh-oh.

 

Well, anyway, maybe it's good that I'm finally aware of it.

 

By the way, mine does repeat record too. I've had bits of songs running through my head since I was probably about three (and with distorted lyrics that a three-year-old would understand too -- I could never sing this stuff aloud!). VERY annoying. But I suspect *that's* normal.

 

I think everyone probably has an internal voice to a small degree - it's just a matter of how loud those voices get, right?

[Kat]

Umm no offense, but we all have that litle voice inside our head... yes that one going "What little voice?" right now.

 

 

Don't tell them they are crazy, they are perfectly normal to have background noise in their head

[travelin gal]

How about internal visions?

 

 

If I'm resting (eyes open or closed, doesn't matter) or doing something quietly like reading, and there is a sudden loud noise that sort of startles me, I see bright colors that block my vision. Only lasts for a second.

 

 

 

(Cough cough)

 

Anyone else get that?

[Kat]

That is natural.

 

People need to do Pshycology or something. EVERYONE so you know how the human body works, both biologically and mentally.

[PkUpTrk]

This ic something I have thought about quite a lot-The dualistic nature of the mind. I have always had voices in my head. One that knows what is the best course for me, and another voice that takes the opposite view. I dont know if this is from childhood imprinting or what. but gradually over the years I have managed to bring the part of my mind that wants the best for me into the leadership role. An example-when I quit smoking years ago a part of my mind (a voice) kept saying "go ahead and smoke one you can quit any time", and things like that. Im sure you get the picture, and I think everyone has this same thing going on inside of them. Its almost impossible to have a thought without having it tied up with words. What about original thought?-by that I mean thought concept or imigary without words. Is this duality of the mind the result of the apple that Eve ate-the knowledge of good and evil?

I used to be very bad about planning what I was going to say and do in future situations. It was so hard for me to think about something without planning what to do or say-you know without tieing it up with words. I have tried meditation and visualation to clear my mind and it seems to help me. The act of thinking about only one thing without the words is mentally quieting.

I had a dream one time I could see me going about my life and business (my physical self). And my mind was like two seperate personalities watching my physical self. A part of my mind I guess the controlling part said to the other(my subconcious maybe?) in my dream,"Watch this". When the dream was focused upon by this part of my mind I woke up instantly. Oh, well-later!

[Dejin]

I figure lots of people have a certain little voice in their heads. Depending on mental state, mood, what is going on around them at the time, and thoughts of the past. The differences between people could be the severity of the voice(s?). A person may not even notice their own mind fighting against itself, and another may notice it so much it drives them up the walls. If the 2nd is the case, then psychiatric help most likely should be sought.

 

As for me, yeah I do find that my mind has a voice that I notice here and there. But usually it is concentrated on present situations, or past experiences. Most of the time I just laugh at it or ignore it, but sometimes it does get annoying to get sidetracked because of it.

 

I dunno, it's funny how the mind works. Weird too.