Oh FUCK - husband just overheard me having a conversation with myself!!

[DyingOfShame]

I am SO embarrassed right now.

The imaginary conversation was between me and a singing idol of mine. We were collaborating on something together when he suddenly announced that he had feelings for me and could no longer work with me, didn't want to cheat on his wife etc.....

I thought my husband had come up to bed 10 mins earlier and only realised when I got upstairs, that he was actually sat in the room off our kitchen!

FUCK!!! This is mortifying. He hasn't mentioned it but he surely heard me!

AIBU to run away and never come back?!

You know, I normally hate when people say this but it really does apply here.

Some people just don't get it and never will.

I don't see the point in getting angry over it though.

Kim - since you have analysed my personality and deficiencies in some details, I feel vindicated in saying that you come across as a really angry person. Just sayin.

Not just in this thread either - it's a reoccurring theme.......

I really wouldn't worry about the "urgh weirdo" comments. It's ok to be rare.

Got the gist of the thread you haven't half been armchaired, There is probably a sliver of truth in it but at the end of the day it's completely harmless and it works for you, it's a shame it turned into you must be horrifically miserable with your life thread instead of the face palm it should have been.

It's more creative than what I do and that's completely disconnect from reality and shut off staring into space, I quite enjoy it once I've realised I've been doing it, I am not miserable and don't have many more stresses than my neighbour will..

kim, if I understand you correctly, you're saying such rich daydreaming is a negative outright? I think that's a bit short-sighted - it's surely more accurate to say it's an ability which is a neutral thing, which can have positive and negative applications?

For instance, I remember years ago when I became interested in the first world war, I was exploring a story in my head about a soldier in the thick of it. Running it in my head as op does, examining it, 'living' in it while doing something else.

For me it's exploratory, given being in WW1 was an experience I would never have - what was it like? If I were that man, how would I have handled it? Who were his friends? Who did he love? How did he die? Something about that story resonated with me, and so I picked it up and took it off with me to examine.

In my experience it's never more fruitful than on holiday - lovely long sunny days; I always write lots on holiday. Equally, you're absolutely right that it can be a refuge - during periods of intense stress, for example when a family member was dying, up pops a long, involved story which was emotionally everything I needed at the time.

tl;dr

If you do do this kind of imaginative 'play' (and personally I think that's what it is fundamentally), imo it's just an ability you have - depends on your use of it as to whether it's harmful or just harmless.

Hunger - I totally agree, it was meant to be lighthearted and jovial. I certainly didn't do it with the intention of making it into the 'classics' section. That was just another excuse to have a dig and really unnecessary.

I do this all the time.

Sometimes I think I have been sitting in he bath doing it too loudly and DH has heard me and I start to consider how long I can reasonably stay in the bathroom and survive.

It would be mortifying but to my knowledge I have not yet been discovered....

Thanks for this thread OP!
I talk to myself all the time and its reassuring that I'm not alone 😁

Mainly I just commentate what I'm doing and its just one sided normally. I have to let some of it out or my brain is just too full 🙈

Armchair psychologists out in force. Kim why are you so determined we all must have horrid lives we are not happy with?! Why are you determined we must admit to being unfulfilled and sad? Im 26 and dating so lots of nice offers so lack of sex isnt an issie. I dont often fantasis about real life things. Some of my daydreams are dark as such as being a heroin addict and how i would get clean. Or if i was kidnapped how i would escape and save the other captives too. I totally have maldaptive daydreaming and thats ok. It doesnt mean my life sucks or im not happy.

I have imaginary arguments with ppl and swear at them in my head. So does my DH. We have ishoos

*OP are you bored or unhappy? The fact you're so engrossed in having another life, that you act it out with voices, when alone, would say to me you don't like the life you have.

Is it odd. Yes. But I'm not sure it's harmless imagination but more a signal you want more, to be successful, to be important, to be talented, to be desired, and as your needs aren't being fulfilled in real life, you escape into a fantasy world.*

Do I really want to have superpowers and be an Avenger? While its fun to imagine, I'm not sure I'd ACTUALLY want to have to save the world. I'd miss my DH & DC's. It's more something to occupy my mind on long drives or while doing boring repetitive tasks.

‘Weird’ is an interesting word to use here. Do people mean ‘uncommon’? Because the responses suggest that is not the case. Or do they actually just mean: ‘I don’t understand it so I don’t like it’?

There’s no such thing as normal when it comes to human behaviour, IMO.

I think some people are just very intolerant to things they don't understand.

Purplepants my DP likes to pretend he's Iron Man sometimes. Apparently I need to be concerned that he's actually dreadfully unhappy with our life together, rather than just finding it funny to imagine that he's got one of those power suits and rocket propellers in his feet!

Thinking about it, another one of my favourites is to imagine that my much younger self (13 or 14) is observing what I'm up to in my adult life through my eyes. I don't talk to myself in that case, but I do imagine a running commentary from younger-me's POV. It's always positive. I'm pretty sure it's evidence that I'm very content with how things have turned out for me, and that I know how happy Younger Morbid would have been to know what lies ahead

It’s been really interesting to me to read about the different benefits people get from this sort of thing. For some, it is a way of processing anxiety or difficult situations. It can be a way of ‘debriefing’ after an unpleasant situation or argument. For others it is a form of escapism. Sort of playing.

I can see how the idea of adults ‘playing’ may seem alien to people who don’t do it, but no one here has been able to explain what possible harm could come from it.

Obviously situations where people actually hear voices or live in fantasy worlds to such an extent that it interferes with their real lives ar different and need addressing but the anecdotes shared here absolutely don’t suggest anything pathological in my humble (and unqualified!) opinion.

Any psychologists or psychiatrists about to give their perspective?

I talk to my self too. Its a great way of dealing with anxiety, and poor self image . I no longer berate myself during them though

Oh I do this all the time. My advice is to do it in the car. Not when you have passengers, mind!

I have whole and very in-depth imaginary conversations with the guy who plays hooks character in Once Upon a Time.

Don’t worry OP. There’s many of us with what I like to call, a vivid imagination

Suggest you do lots more of this in his hearing with different scenarios but explain upfront to him that you want to write a novel ( like fanfiction) and this is how you explore the dialogue before you write it down. Good luck with the novel.

It's just a more interesting extension of singing falsetto loudly in the bath. Even less inhibited, good on you!

I can't believe some of the posters determined to pathologise it. Ignore.

We are not all the same.

I've found my people

I'm always day dreaming and living an imaginary life, but I usually keep it in my head. I only act it out at home when I'm totally alone. I'd be mortified if someone caught me! I sometimes worry I'm doing it in public and not realising and everyone thinks knows I'm crazy.

I think with me it was an escape/coping mechanism I adapted as a child when I was being abused. It helped me forget about all the trauma going on and I've carried it on into adulthood. I tend to do it more when I'm really anxious or having a tough time.

Is it Daniel O'Donnell?

Think it's your hubby who want to run away. It's bad enuff talking to yourself but seriously posting about it and telling the world is beyond mad