15 year old talking to themselves

[Numberedout]

Have name changed for this and am posting here for traffic.
I am wondering if anyone has any experience of this and could shed some light as I'm driving myself crazy.
I caught DD talking to herself in the bathroom. She's doesn't know that I was listening. It was a full blown conversation about stuff but I couldn't quite make out what exactly as there is a fan on in there.
I have family history of schizophrenia and psychosis from my dad's side and all sorts of things are running through my head.
She has always done this, even as a young child. But since the last couple of years I thought she had outgrown it but clearly not.
She has a few friends at school and seems to engage in family life ok.

I know a lot of posters are saying they talk to themselves, and so do I. We all do sometimes. But I think a teenager is somewhat different. If it were me, I'd try to hear the "conversation". I have a son with psycosis who talks to himself but the things he says are irrational and often frightening. It isn't "normal" role play or fantasy or even mundane stuff. It's hard to explain really.

@Plastictrees do you really think so?

Maybe that was going too far but like I said, if we had intervened earlier with my relative he could have had a better outcome.

I will leave it for now and let her be.

I do this 😂

I talk to myself all the time. I think out loud. I go over stuff. I have planned conversations. I am 0% bothered or ashamed.

I often talk to myself too. Not much now my dds are adults 😆

I do. I understand your concern, it makes sense now given your background. If you have no other reasons to be concerned I really wouldn’t give it any more thought.

Id wonder could she be role playing some conversation she's thinking of having with someone... Id do that myself on occasion.. Especially as it was in bathroom with fan so she'd have privacy maybe..

And she sounds like she enjoys oral arguments, debates from what you say. She sounds lovely.

Working alone for 15 years means that I often say thoughts out loud!

At 15 is she reciting Shakespeare, practicing the words to a song. I'm a big Chuck berry fan. He was basically writing rap music in 1955! To learn the words I often spoke them as in Nadine he uses likes like, " I saw my future wife walking down the street, she turned and doubled back and got in a coffee coloured Cadillac " or Johnny b Goode "deep down in Louisiana, across from New Orleans,way back in the woods among the evergreens" sung faster than talking pace.

Absolutely brilliant

i do this, mine’s a cooking show

DD has full on imaginary conversations with herself about all sorts of stuff. She was worried and asked me about it and I said I do it too. It helps me manage emotions and expectations etc DD is academic and looked it up - it has a name a medical term. I’ll ask her about it later but it is perfectly normal.

I've found my people! I talk to myself a lot, might be muttering about a task whilst working or I've had conversations in the bathroom mirror when thinking about how a conversation might go.

@Plastictrees your last post is spot on about my own anxieties. Yes I have had a lot of trauma that needs to be unpicked. It's something I always put off because I know it's going to be painful and draining but so is this I suppose.
To protect my own children I have tried to do everything right. I'm definitely not perfect (who is?) Right food, good sleep, showing affection, etc etc but I'm learning that I can't control everything and that's the hardest part.
When my elder DD developed tics (which she still has but less so now) I tore myself up about how It must have been my poor parenting.
Coming on here has been a relief. It's the only place I can acknowledge how scared I really am. Being strong all day for everyone Is exhausting.
I will take your advice and get some counselling around my anxiety.

I talk to myself quietly all the time. Theres nothing wrong with me. Echoing PP I’m often being “interviewed” on my verrrrrry important opinions.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intrapersonal_communication#:~:text=Because%20of%20its%20many%20functions,positive%20and%20negative%20self%2Dtalk.

just keep an eye that it is positive and not delusional. DD talks herself through her day and chats about her ideas for the future and where this or that should go or her work etc all positive and finds it soothing. I do the same. I also like reading the instructions on bottles and find that soothing.

I think a busy, internal dialogue can be a sign that someone is imaginative. I’m always going off into day dreams and flights of fancy, which sometimes involve lots of spoken words, although I usually manage to keep them inside my head rather than saying them out loud! It’s just like a child playing, really. No one has ever suggested I’ve got schizophrenia and I’m in my mid 50s so I don’t think it’s very likely to happen now.

Yet another self-talker here! I'm envious of PPs who have whole fantasy lives going on - silently or out loud. Mine's just everyday inner dialogue, random memories of awkward moments (you know the ones) and stuff to do, where-did-I-put-thats, and so on. In my teens, I did rehearse things in the mirror. Mum said it was part of my identity formation 🙂 (Having a child psychologist for a mother can be a bit odd at times.)

'Talking to yourself' gets a bad rap, but it's only a mental health issue when the person believes they're talking to someone (or something) outside themselves.

@ginasevern I felt that it was odd for a teenager too. As an adult it seems more usual.
I hope your son is doing well.
💐

Letting go of control can be really hard, particularly having experienced trauma - the powerlessness stays with you. Make sure that the counselling you get is trauma-informed. It will change your life. It takes a lot of courage to face the past and allow yourself to be vulnerable, it’s also how we heal from things. You have done amazingly well breaking the cycle of abuse - thanks to you your children and their children and so on will live better lives.

@doodleschnoodle I do exactly the same thing, about my non-existent novels. Or I'm giving profound insights about the state of my profession.

I find it really relaxing and actually use it as a way to get to sleep! If I'm struggling, I will consciously hold an interview with myself in my head. Never fails.

@Plastictrees 💐

Do you do what I do and talk to yourself but then add "What do you think Humphrey and Fluffy?" :)

I decided recently that I'm the best person to ask for advice. No-one else really understands my situation except me. Other people just say stupid things that would make my situation worse.

Ask her who she was talking to? She will either say herself or “the voices” then make your mind up.

Completely normal OP