Hi, for as long as i can remember ive always had this strange tic that it seems like no one else has. I get words, phrases, sometimes even songs, stuck in my head, either from hearing them, reading them, or saying them myself, and then will repeatedly mouth the words to myself inside my own mouth, silently, over and over and over again until the phrase is replaced with the next one. Its always extremely random phrases like sometimes itll be “even though” or “red worm” or even a line from America The Beautiful. And i dont mouth the phrases with my lips, but sorta with the whole inside of my mouth, as if i were talking to someone with my mouth shut, but its to myself silently. This has been going on ever since i was little, i cant remember a time when i wasnt doing this, and the only time im not doing it is if im forcing myself to clear my mind or just force myself to stop doing it, or when im sleeping, or talking to someone. It doesnt stem from stress or a coping mechanism, sometimes ill get annoyed if i somehow get an annoying song stuck in my head and end up repeating a line from it. But really it doesnt affect me negatively, i just want to know if it has anything to do with ocd or any other disorder, or if anyone else does the same thing?
Repeating phrases to myself silently - OCD Support
OCD Support
Repeating phrases to myself silently
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I call it “thought stuttering”. I’m an older adult now but I think I’ve been doing it since I was a teenager or even younger. I have memories of repeating, “yeah” over and over and over like Rainman does with other words in the film. Do you read well? I have trouble reading because my mind repeats phrases I’ve read as well as what you described. Sometimes when I go to the store and trying to remember a couple items, I repeat them over and over to try to imprint them onto my brain. I have terrible short term memory for details. When I finally write them down, the repetition continues. I’ve been diagnosed with OCD and ADD so I assume it’s part of those conditions.
Ive noticed my short term memory also isnt great, unless i focus and repeat something its easy for stuff to just slip from my mind as soon as i hear or see it. I do get distracted easily with reading and will have to go back and reread sentences or paragraphs just to remember. Ive wondered for a while if i have add or adhd , and maybe if this thought stuttering is apart of that
I love books so I try listening to audio recordings and podcasts. You'd think that would be the answer to reading problems. But, as you said, I'm still distracted. I find I missed what was being said for the last 15 seconds, even though I'm interested in the subject. I have to go back and re-listen. Just like with a book. So I know it's not an eye-to-brain thing. It's just being distracted, usually by my own thoughts. I feel that is tied to the repetition of words in my mind and mouth.
Morning Itsukori ,
* Have you tried saying positive affirmations in place of these , though , they must always be spoken in the present tense . I suggest this because it’s much simpler , and more effective than trying to stop altogether.
* Have you read Betty Shine book called Mind to Mind ( her first book ) ?
Very down to earth and easy to read , but absolutely wonderful . At the back there is a chapter called ‘ Expanding Your Mind ‘ where Betty describes a few various mind exercises for one . All very simple, safe and highly recommended . Betty lived Hassocks , Sussex .
* Have you tried joining a yoga class as these positions play a very beneficial effect on the mind .
Woooow!! I found your post, because I was searching for what to call it! I repeat words or phrases over and over like that. Not with my mouth, but something physical. Like, I will repeat the phrase silently, while tapping my fingers along with the syllables, in a pattern like: thumb, 2, 3, 4, 5, 4, 3, 2, thumb. Or while walking down a road, each footstep is a syllable, and I try to make the sentence end right at a crack in the sidewalk or something. I’ll use different inflections in my head. Sometimes I’m focused enough on something else that I’m not doing it, but when it strikes me, I totally disappear into it, and will totally miss part of a conversation or movie or whatever.
It could be a name I see, or a slogan, or just a random snippet from an earlier conversation, or words that I thought about using, in a hypothetical conversation.
These are not negative thoughts; I don’t think anything bad is going to happen if I don’t; they don’t really repeat, because they’re pulled randomly from nowhere, rather than a specific thought.
I do a bunch of other mental things that I can’t tell other people about, because it doesn’t really sound like OCD but it does sound crazy ... Like forcing myself to create valid math equations out of phone numbers or license plate numbers. Imperceptibly squinting my eyes, correlating with the lines on the road I’m driving on, etc.
So, yeah. Super cool to know I’m not alone. Well, maybe on some of it.
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