For a while I've been talking to myself. Not weird full-on conversations or anything, just little back and forths, mainly verbal reactions to my thoughts. It definitely stemmed out of high school and having absolutely no one to talk to for the whole 4 years, and now a couple of years later, even though I'm in a somewhat better headspace, I still have this habit.

While I don't think it's all that uncommon to mumble stuff to yourself, what bothers me is that lately I've been doing it subconsciously, and I'm scared I may be doing it in public and not knowing it. Sometimes I'll realize there are other people in the room or nearby, and I won't remember if my thoughts were in my head or if I actually said something out loud. Or I'll walk into a room talking to myself & have no idea how weird it must look to others if they catch it. I'm worried I'm gonna end up being that person you see fighting with themselves on the trains.

It bugs me that it feels impossible for me to police. I don't know how to work on doing it less. I thought maybe I need to have more verbal conversations, but I do have conversations with people regularly, and yet I still subconsciously talk to myself...no one's called me on it yet which is good though.

LOL! I used to catch my mother out doing that! At first I thought, hmm what's going on here?? But as the years went on and I got to maturity I started doing it too, then I thought, Oh no, Im doing what my mother's doing! Why? Hmm well I thought about it for a while and came back with the answer. Simple. At the time when I was really frustrated and had no one to talk to, I had to let it out somewhere, right? I had to actually voice it, so I spoke out, even though no one was listening I was letting it out, then I felt better. Ok that's all it is, Im sure heaps of other people do it, but Im also sure people are just afraid to admit it in case they look a bit odd.

The other thing I wanted to add to this is my worry for you that you are doing it subconsciously, nearby other people, it's one thing to do this by yourself but nearby others is a different story, are you taking any medications? Do you think this may be why your also doing it subconsciously??

(This is an edited post) so sorry if I have confused anyone.

I didn't know that you could turn into the person fighting with themselves on the train! (now I'm scared).

I talk to myself all the time, if I'm not talking them I'm singing. I didn't realize how much I do it until the other day when I noticed that I couldn't shut myself up. I do it everywhere, it's like I can't stop! When I'm at the store alone I have to really really force myself to stay quite. Is it necessary to say I need butter and eggs out loud? Nope, but I do it anyway

At work I'm walking around talking and singing. I feel like a fruit.

Becky you sound like a cute person, wish I had the guts to sing at work, one of my workmates does it and sometimes I think, let it out!!! But the SA stops me.

Thanks Leena If you heard me though you'd tell me to put a cork in it like my grandma does

when I'm feelilng a lot of anxiety, I am VERY LOUD in the way I talk to myself...I swear..try to talk to myself in positive thoughts...I'm really nervous arround my family, and I just start talking to myself...Its really incomprehensible jumble of words to anyone listening to me, but its an expression of my thoughts...I do this because it helps keep the negative thoughts at bay...saying my positive methods out loud, helps make them stick...but people must think I'm crazy...lol

I often have conversations with myself where I'm talking to my British alter ego with accent et al just to make solitude more interesting and fun. The problem is that in my apartment, I'm not always alone and sometimes I can't tell whether anyone else is there so one day I ended up having an entire conversation with 'Nigel' about how to work through a problem set. And then I heard a door open and it was a flat mate leaving. It was definitely a holy #&^%*# omg moment. My flatmate had hear my entire twenty minute long conversation that had left my mouth dry. A few months later, there hasn't been any awkwardness about it but I'm definitely more careful about it. Maybe you should 'get burned' doing this around some random person so mentally you'll be less inclined to do it later.

I talk to myself in my head, if that counts.