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Wednesday, May 27, 2009 Bob Stockus asks

Q: Imaginary Conversations

If I hold verbal conversations with myself and other imaginary characters within my mind,is that a symptom of schizoprenia? And if it is so,is it related to the symptom of "hearing voices"?
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Answers (3)
5/27/09 9:16am

Hi Robert,

 

This reminds me of something I read somewhere about a woman who talked to herself and wondered if that was OK even if she had SZ.  If you are hearing voices that are imaginary characters in your mind, then talking to the voices could possibly be a coping skill or part of the SZ.

 

There are some professionals who would say it's related to your illness, I'm sure.  Myself, if it were me, I would shy away from talking out loud to myself.   But that is just me.  I sometimes talk out loud the words I'm writing down in my journal as I'm writing them.  As I type this answer, I'm reading aloud what I'm typing.

 

As long as what you're doing doesn't interfere with your ability to function and be active in the world, I feel that's all that matters.  Again, you have to know that there are professionals who would say what you're doing is related to the SZ.  And definitely if you did this in public, eyebrows would raise.

 

Regards,

Christina

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5/27/09 12:18pm

What an excellent question.

 

When I was living at home, my mom said that if I talked out loud to myself it would help my fear of the dark as long as I didn't talk back. It never worked. I still hear voices and still afraid of the dark.

 

There has been times in my life where I talked out loud. I've never had a conversation out loud with my voices.  I would use caution. People have alot of misconceptions already.

 

I hope you find what you seek. I'm sorry I'm not much help.

 

Dave

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5/28/09 6:27pm

My grandmother talked to herself out loud constantly, yet she did not have sz.  I, on the other hand, have sz and never talk out loud to myself.

 

My grandmother always said she wanted to talk to a smart person and she wanted a smart person to listen!

 

Carolyn

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