Imagined conflicts and arguments

[Chris K]

As I'm tuning in to my negative self talk I have come to realize that there is something I do constantly. I imagine confrontations and have full on arguments with people I know, completely in my head. I really get myself worked up and the person I'm arguing with is not present. It's completely imagined. I predict how they would react and what they would say and play it all out in my head. Is this something common? And what is the best approach to bringing an end to this?

[hanab82]

Yes, I do this all of the time. I have aphantasia so I don't see images in my mind, but I constantly find myself having conversations in my head. For me it tends to be negatively predicting a future conversation or repeatedly going over a perceived negative past conversation. Usually I don't even notice I'm doing it until I realize I'm feeling bad. I don't know how to stop it other than to distract myself and think of something else when I become aware that I am doing it. My constant internal monologue is one of the reasons that I dislike being alone in my own thoughts and when I'm by myself or doing something monotonous (like dishes), I tend to do things to keep my mind busy like reading/researching or watching something.