Submitted 14 hours ago by als@lemmy.blahaj.zone to [deleted]
Be it in the library or in shops, I often hear old folks talking to themselves. Is it a habit they’ve likely always had or is it something to do with aging?
Two reasons I can think of it being age related, though I think it’s pretty common at any age:
Define “old people”.
I’ve doing that since my late 20s at least.
The older you get, the more you realize the people that make fun of useful behaviour are the ones that are wrong. If something makes your life better, but other people make fun of you for it, they are just jerks and you can ignore them.
I am one of the few people I enjoy talking too… who else would I talk to?
I’m in my 60s. I’ve only been living alone for about a year and a half, but I do find that talking to myself (or the cat) is preferable to going ages without saying a word. I don’t do it when I’m out in public, but I could easily see it becoming a habit after enough years of it.
I’m honestly more concerned about farting loudly becoming a habit, since I don’t have to worry about farting quietly 90% of the time.
To make sure the normal people keep their distance.
best answer yet lmao
ADHD…spend most of my time silent. When I speak a thought aloud, it puts some emphasis on that thought. Helps me remember important things.
I talk to myself when I need expert advice. Just kidding, I talk to myself to slow my thought process way down.
I'm 31 and I've been doing this (soliloquy) since my early childhood.
!nostupidquestions@lemmy.world
Talking to the only interesting person in the room
Most of mine are “What the fuck am I supposed to be buying again?” or “What did I come here for?” and just variations of those situations
Are they having a conversation or just thinking out loud?
The legend goes that Einstein thought out loud all the time. If it’s good enough for Albert, it’s good enough for me.
Who else is gonna listen?
Sometimes saying things out loud helps people make sense of them, I don’t know all the science behind it but I’m sure there is a good reason.
I’m autistic and that’s why I do it
It’s almost certainly a mixture of things you’re seeing - some mental health issues occasionally, some is lifelong and normal, some is just when aging you don’t care as much who sees you doing what in your younger days might have seemed embarrassing, in your old age you also have stored a lot more information and context and talking through them helps organize thoughts a little better. There’s more reasons, but you can see there’s a mixture of reasons why it’s occurring, and each time you see it it’s probably a differently weighted mixture of all these things. My wife has always talked to herself to work things out as she’s planning, also announcing what she’s doing in the next few moments or hours to herself, she also complains about whatever is wrong out loud no matter what it is, but most notably she does this FAR more often when she’s stressed.
Like narrating actions ("I’m buying these cookies") or carrying on conversations or ‘thinking out loud’ ("I wonder if it will rain today?") kind of stuff?
I’ve heard both, some external thought processes, some rambling about nothing much at all
People have smartphone mic inplanted
I do it sometimes from experience, I speak some of my thoughts aloud. I guess it gives some semblance of sanity, I’m guessing. I feel odd for doing it but I do it anyways.
Squirrelsdrivemenuts@lemmy.world 12 hours ago
I talk to myself all the time and I am only in my thirties. I think it’s partly because I work from home and therefore spend around 8-10 hours talking to myself or the dog at home, or sit in total silence. It’s hard to break that habit when I’m at the shop or other public space. Many elderly people also live quite lonely lives, so maybe that’s why?
snooggums@piefed.world 12 hours ago
I spend most of my time alone and have such a strong internal dialogue going on that it does the same basic thing without me making a noise. My mother in law verbalizes all of her thoughts, and always has even when surrounded by people. It reminds me of my internal dialogue!
I don’t think it has anything to do with being lonely, just how someone processes their thoughts.
thesohoriots@lemmy.world 12 hours ago
Exact same situation here. I figure it’s only a problem if the dogs start talking back.