Do you repeat conversations in your head/out loud?

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lady_katie
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27 Jul 2012, 6:54 am

I have this thing where I repeat conversations in my head, or out loud to myself. Most of the time they weren't conversations that had happened, or they did happen, but I was repeating them in a different way to hear how they could have otherwise sounded. I think I'm rehearsing, but I'm not sure because 99% of the time the conversation is never going to happen and I know it. Often times this even keeps me up at night, when I'm stressed out about something...because I'm having "conversations" with people related to the stress about the stress (imagining it). Does anyone else do this?



ablomov
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27 Jul 2012, 7:08 am

i used to do this, could lead to distraction and anger, repeating nonsense, now I just 'throw them away' and never think of them again ....(I'm 54 male aspi) .. but it tooki me decades to be able/ realise to do this.



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27 Jul 2012, 8:26 am

Yes, I do this fairly frequently. Often I don't do it deliberately. I think about a conversation and then I suddenly start interjecting statements into said conversation that had not occurred during the actual conversation.

I need this kind of rehearsal, or writing things down, in order to clearly explain most things, however.



FMX
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27 Jul 2012, 8:42 am

Yes, I do this regularly, exploring and analysing the conversation as it happened and as it could have happened. I'm basically trying to figure out if I said the best thing I could have said, so that if I'm in a similar situation again I can do better.



JustEmbers
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27 Jul 2012, 9:35 am

I do this all the time, and it's sometimes that I'm rehearsing for possible future interactions, sometimes I'm rehashing past conversationsations try to understand what was going on during them (or changing them to see what I could have said/done differently and what poosible outcomes my changes might have brought about to the end result), and sometimes I'm worrying about possible future conflicts, and what I ought to do/say if they actually happen. That last one usually brings me nothing but stress and anxiety, as well as many sleepless nights, but I've tried doing what was suggested and "toss them out" but that usually doesn't work with me. They tend to pop right back up and cause me no end of grief. I hope it's at least comforting for you to know that it's pretty common with aspies, and that you're not the only one..


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Misslizard
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27 Jul 2012, 9:36 am

I always do this,I go over what was said to see if I said anything wrong or rude so I won't make that mistake again.Or I'll rehearse what I'll say so I'll be prepared and not embarrass myself.



mystranger
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27 Jul 2012, 9:52 am

I do this both before the actual conversation and after it. Doing it before, I seem to get out most of the tension--though, it usually ends up in my back and shoulders--and it gives me something to go off of when I actually do talk to the person. Afterwards, I try to play it through to see if I could have said or done anything different.

This is sort of handy when you can take some conversations in real life and translate them into your story worlds.



danmac
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27 Jul 2012, 10:03 am

sometimes i realize i've been doing it out loud for some time, i take a sentence and repeat it many many many many many times
many times many times many times time many, time many, many times many times


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DaBeef2112
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27 Jul 2012, 10:13 am

I do this too but in reverse. Rather than reenacting past conversations I try to anticipate future conversations. Also I always do this out loud never in my head.


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zxy3cpn
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27 Jul 2012, 11:23 am

I do this too, only in my head though. I change past conversations sometimes and also think about future ones (that are usually ones I want to happen, but aren't going to). I've never thought about why I do it; it's just something I do.


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jetbuilder
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27 Jul 2012, 11:40 am

I do this too. I think about conversations that I've had and look for anything that may have been hidden between the lines (I suck at reading between the lines :lol: ). I also think of things that in hindsight that I would have wanted to say.

I also have theoretical conversations in my head to rehearse for conversations that may come up. I'll sometimes say my part of the theoretical conversation out loud when I know no one can hear me.


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YellowBanana
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27 Jul 2012, 11:53 am

Yes. Mostly in my head but often if I am definitely alone then out loud too.


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MirrorWars
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27 Jul 2012, 1:10 pm

Yeah, me too. This was how I came by my username, as I often do it in front of the bathroom-mirror.

I seem to find it harder to keep these types of things inside in recent years. They seem to be leaking-out of my head, into the real world, that didn't used to happen.

I hope it doesn't continue to get worse or people are gonna notice & I'm gonna look like a right nutter.



whirlingmind
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27 Jul 2012, 1:14 pm

Yes. The big thing for me, is because I never know how to deal with situations that are stressful for me or in any way confrontational, I always go away and stew for hours or even days afterwards about what I wish I'd said and how, and I picture it all in my head, because often I haven't got across what I wanted to say at the actual time. Also if I know that I have to say something to someone, ahead of time I imagine the conversation in my head and talk it through in my head as to how I will say it, and try to imagine what the reactions might be and what other ways I can answer if other reactions happen. I don't know if everyone does this, regardless of whether they're on the spectrum or not?



lady_katie
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27 Jul 2012, 1:31 pm

JustEmbers wrote:
I hope it's at least comforting for you to know that it's pretty common with aspies, and that you're not the only one..


It is really comforting to at least know that I'm not alone. I wasn't even aware of it for awhile until someone mentioned that they could hear me talking to myself while I was in the shower! That was pretty embarrassing (I'm sure I replayed that conversation about a million times in my head lol). I had to stop and ask myself what on earth I was even talking about...than I started paying attention and figured that much out. I really would love to find a way to make this stop though. I've been under a lot of stress lately, and it's giving me headaches and keeping me up for half the night. I got so annoyed at my hubby last night because when I woke him up from tossing and turning, his advice was to "turn it off". He's an Aspie, but I guess his thinking is much more compartmentalized than mine, so he doesn't have this problem. I wish I could turn it off!! !



outofplace
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27 Jul 2012, 2:11 pm

I do this too. Sometimes it will be conversations I had 20 or even 30 years ago, where I said the wrong thing and am criticizing myself for doing so. Other times it will be a way of trying to figure out how better to handle similar situations in the future.


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