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You're lucky that you can do that! I've never been able to sleep with a voice speaking nearby. I don't think I've ever fallen asleep while watching a movie, eve

by swombat 17y ago

You're lucky that you can do that! I've never been able to sleep with a voice speaking nearby. I don't think I've ever fallen asleep while watching a movie, ever, for example. Even after a big night out, exhausted, wanting to sleep, I had to go and switch off the TV to be able to fall asleep.

fuzzmeister 17y ago
Exactly, I am absolutely incapable of getting my brain not to interpret what a speaking voice is saying.
- petercooper 17y ago
  Oh man, I can't remember ever attending a meeting where I didn't phase out..
  - gommm 17y ago
    Meetings are special cases, on the contrary to podcasts and audiobooks they are designed to be boring :-) But yes I think I'm the same as you, I can ignore what other people are saying to me (my girlfriend hates that) but it's hard to ignore my own internal voice.
    - grinich 17y ago
      Maybe somebody should start a podcast with just tracks of boring meeting talk.
eru 17y ago
It's the same for me. (Only that I do not have a TV.) Interestingly that trait may not be very heritable, or at least the effect of training/environment may be quite high. My anecdote for that is that my mother always falls asleep at audio books.
petercooper 17y ago
You're lucky that you can do that! I've never been able to sleep with a voice speaking nearby. Yeah, but the problem is if I don't, I have a voice in my head talking instead. Literally, my internal voice is "talking" in my head non-stop all day coming up with ideas, figuring out what to do, complaining about crap, etc. Perhaps it's a mental illness but I never considered it a problem (yet). :-)
- swombat 17y ago
  Oh, so do I. But if I have the voice outside my head, that also keeps me awake. The voice inside my head eventually tires out or drifts off, but the voice coming out of the TV is infatigable. It keeps going all night.
  - petercooper 17y ago
    I must just have inherited my dad's skill. My mom used to have entire conversations with my dad and he'd admit afterwards that he "hadn't been listening" and couldn't answer a single question about it. I do the same with my wife.. oops.
    - MaysonL 17y ago
      I used to go into work and have the operations staff thank me for solving last night's problem and have no idea what they were talking about: seems I can perform perfectly rational problem-solving when answering the telephone in my sleep.
- metachor 17y ago
  Perhaps you could take up meditation to help clear your mind. I wouldn't call this a 'mental illness', but non-stop mental chatter is a sign of disease -- in that your mind is not at ease. You might find the symptoms to be relatively useful (non-stop idea factory!), but I think it is already causing you problems if you have to drown out the voices in your head with other voices just to fall asleep at night. Can this state be considered healthy functioning of the mind? Then again, maybe it works for you. :)

by swombat 17y ago

fuzzmeister 17y ago

Exactly, I am absolutely incapable of getting my brain not to interpret what a speaking voice is saying.

petercooper 17y ago
Oh man, I can't remember ever attending a meeting where I didn't phase out..
- gommm 17y ago
  Meetings are special cases, on the contrary to podcasts and audiobooks they are designed to be boring :-) But yes I think I'm the same as you, I can ignore what other people are saying to me (my girlfriend hates that) but it's hard to ignore my own internal voice.
  - grinich 17y ago
    Maybe somebody should start a podcast with just tracks of boring meeting talk.

eru 17y ago

It's the same for me. (Only that I do not have a TV.) Interestingly that trait may not be very heritable, or at least the effect of training/environment may be quite high. My anecdote for that is that my mother always falls asleep at audio books.

petercooper 17y ago

You're lucky that you can do that! I've never been able to sleep with a voice speaking nearby. Yeah, but the problem is if I don't, I have a voice in my head talking instead. Literally, my internal voice is "talking" in my head non-stop all day coming up with ideas, figuring out what to do, complaining about crap, etc. Perhaps it's a mental illness but I never considered it a problem (yet). :-)

swombat 17y ago
Oh, so do I. But if I have the voice outside my head, that also keeps me awake. The voice inside my head eventually tires out or drifts off, but the voice coming out of the TV is infatigable. It keeps going all night.
- petercooper 17y ago
  I must just have inherited my dad's skill. My mom used to have entire conversations with my dad and he'd admit afterwards that he "hadn't been listening" and couldn't answer a single question about it. I do the same with my wife.. oops.
  - MaysonL 17y ago
    I used to go into work and have the operations staff thank me for solving last night's problem and have no idea what they were talking about: seems I can perform perfectly rational problem-solving when answering the telephone in my sleep.
metachor 17y ago
Perhaps you could take up meditation to help clear your mind. I wouldn't call this a 'mental illness', but non-stop mental chatter is a sign of disease -- in that your mind is not at ease. You might find the symptoms to be relatively useful (non-stop idea factory!), but I think it is already causing you problems if you have to drown out the voices in your head with other voices just to fall asleep at night. Can this state be considered healthy functioning of the mind? Then again, maybe it works for you. :)