Does anyone else think in a very narrative way?

[darkaris7]

Hello all, ive recently (yesterday) been diagnosed with Aspergers at the very late age of 20. it wasnt rly a shock to anyone cause of my general awkardness when it comes to being around people, but its a huge relief to finally have a name for it.

Now, this is something i always wondered but was afraid it would sound wierd to others or they would think im just looking for attention.

After a certain age, i think 12-13 i started thinking in a very bizzare way. I would observe the stuff happening around me, people talking, cars speeding about, anything rly that happened to cross my field of view and i would narrate it in my mind. it was like writing a book in my head about everything happening around me. Also the wierdest thing about it is i did it in a different language (english) than my native one (greek). It was so intense i couldnt pay attention to classes or my parents or other people and i came off as being inconsiderate to them. Thankfully i got over it 3 years later without too much damage done to my early education.

So has anyone experienced this? I still feel kinda wierd talking about it. Honestly i decided to make this thread just cause i read somewhere aspies "verbalize" their thoughts.


PS. im new here and i noticed many people using the word NT when referring to "normal" people. What does it stand for?

 

[Warmheart]

I think in sensory experience images/scents/motions/energy/sound.

Example: "I should go to the grocery store" happens in my brain as a sudden flash like in a movie trailer, of
Bright flouresent lights glaring off polished beige flooring tiles in a narrow supermarket aisle
Powerful, sweet scent of fruit, dust, mildew, earthy fertile scent of tubers (produce dept.)
The motion of my body swinging along behind a shopping cart-- the oomph and swish of wrangling the cart handle when walking
The clamor of chaotic hiss (produce misters) babble of voices, squeak and creak of carts, tik-tik-tik of registers
The energetic radiance of the plants, spiky flares of vibes from the people, energy swooshing, spiking, radiating from anything living.
The emotional register of anxiety, sharp and tangy, tight throat, hammering heart, sweating palms, nostrils flaring, breathing quick.

From the above, is how I think: "Gotta hit the grocery."

PS-- NT stands for Neurotypical. This refers to people not on the spectrum, though nobody is simply "typical." Each NT is unique and special in his/her own way.

 

[DogwoodTree]

I usually have a "narrator" voice that tells about my life as it happens. Sometimes it's just a word or a phrase, sometimes I get distracted from what's happening because the narrator goes off on an entire tangent, telling the background story and maybe telling what is about to happen, just to see how it might sound, lol. Sounds really crazy writing it, but I actually feel disoriented when the narrator is too quiet (which sometimes happens if I'm confused or unsettled...lately that's been a common aftereffect of therapy sessions).

 

[Sagigirl14]

I also think that way, a lot sometimes. Which is why I've always loved to write stories, when I'm motivated. I joined a fan fiction site and started writing a story a few months ago. I'm still writing it, but I always have new ideas popping up in my head. I guess it's just a way of escaping reality and into fantasy. Then, sometimes I think about what people always used to say, "It's ok to talk to yourself, as long as you don't answer". Which I think makes you want to ask yourself why you didn't answer, lol! Idk, I guess I'm just weird like that.

 

[Pondering]

Seriously? I thought I was the only one. Sometimes it honestly feels weird keeping that narrator voice only in my head. The voice isn't really mine. Its a voiceless, noiseless, toneless voice that describes what I'm doing and how I'm doing. Sometimes even what I think is happening. It sounds more like a book than a real person's life. Strange, yet familiar. I only have that narrator voice sometimes, usually when I'm feeling thoughtful, analytical, or vocal. But never when I'm drawing, observing, or being creative. And the narrative voice is a lot like a conscience, only it doesn't tell me what to do. It just the.L's me the options in front of me - a kind of Captain Obvious, if you will. Glad I'm not the only one with narrator voice.

 

[Suzanne]

You make me chuckle really with being 20 and learning late How about 40 and others, even later?

I find your experience to be fascinating, even though I do see how you felt about it.

Not quite like you, but when I have to go out of my comfort zone, I play it all in my head, to calm myself down and to see that I am making things into a bigger hurdle than they might be, but inevitable, rarely works out like that. Something goes wrong. I find that lights get brighter and smells stronger and want to take flight.

Many times, I image the worst case scenario, in order to create a sense of. Nothing as bad as that, can happen. I know a lot of my issues is extreme self doubt.

I have downloaded an app for a free trial, called: plastic mind and, so far, brilliant. It is how the brain works.

 

[Judge]

You make me chuckle really with being 20 and learning late How about 40 and others, even later?

LOL...or much later.

 

[Balkan1996]

Actually, something very similar was happening to me.
It even has a name, it should be some form of maladaptive daydreaming.

Pretty common for people with autism, ADHD and similar. Usually comes when you're very young, and goes away when you enter puberty, but I believe some parts of it remain forever. I think it's STILL NOT classified as a disorder...
I had it till I was about 15 years old, but I still daydream quite frequently.

 

[darkaris7]

You make me chuckle really with being 20 and learning late How about 40 and others, even later?

from what i learned from wikipedia and other sources about aspies is that its usually diagnosed at an early age. I see those assumptions were wrong. I kinda feel lucky now

 

[Cinnamon115]

I''ve got this a bit too, only my mind is a little different. I'm not sure how to describe it, but it's a little bit like "The Secret of Walter Mitty" yet still different. I love having my mind this way, but the tough part is is that I can't control when I retreat into my mind. This was really tough in elementary school because I would completely zone out in class and not even realize it. It's because of it that I'm terrified of driving a car, because once I zoned out for a few minutes while driving. Fortunately, no one else was around, but I'm really afraid of it happening again.

I can understand about the narration being in a different language, because that is sort of what happens to me. I like to read historical fiction books about europe in the middle ages, and I'm starting to think in the type of way they spoke, things like instead of "I think" I'm thinking in my head "methinks", or i'm thinking "what be that" instead of "what is that". I really need to find another time period to read about.

 

[Etzelaire]

I describe mentally everything happening and I also calculate lots of random things. When I walk through an unknown street I kind of scan all the area to get all the useful intel, such as comercial places I like, or maybe remember them to tell others. Also, I spot the places with cameras and the angle they have, in case of being robbed.

 

[armedlove]

i do this thing where as im listening to music. i like to form a detailed story in my head. as if i was directing a video

that or i picture myself seeing the band in a live music setting. in my own imaginary venue

 

[Chris34]

I also do it a lot!
I'd say that mostly happens when I'm about to do something new or that changes my routine. But it also happens when I'm sitting on my own and watching people around me. I'm very good at getting unnoticed.
It goes somehow like this: "I should take the other route to get there but it must be full of people and the hallway must be crowded too, and you hate crowded places, don't you? Unless we walk fast or check our phone while walking it should be fine. People are not going to bite you, right? They don't even know you. This place surely is big. The walls have that awful color you can't stand nor watch, keep walking, nothing to do here buddy"
It feels like another me inside my head talking to me, like the aspie inside me, giving directions and asking questions. I've learned to accept that. It kinda makes everything funnier and easier to deal with.

 

[watersprite]

I also do it. And agree with Chris34, in that it can make stressful hard things a bit funnier & therefore easier. The daydreaming (maladaptive daydreaming) sneaks upon me, and while driving I have to be extremely careful. The narrative helps my driving a lot, and having some coffee or tea beforehand too. It occurs to me that my inner voice is mostly a helper type voice - it's positive and maybe I could use it to change some of the old, negative beliefs just like I use it to help when I'm cooking or driving, etc. It's a habit I have to narrate outloud for my cats sometimes - while fully aware I do not like anthropomorphizing animals. Perhaps, except my self.