Do you replay conversations over and over in your head?
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Anonymous
| Anytime I have an embarrassing conversation with someone, I replay it in my mind a million times. I had one recently where I think I sounded like such a loser and such an idiot. The guy was hard to get a good read on, but I think I sounded like such a weirdo and I can't stop thinking about it. |
Anonymous
| Not whole conversations, but yes it’s hard to not think about these moments. I still think about a grammatical error I made during a job interview in 2007. |
Anonymous
| The only ones I replay in my head are the ones where the other person is more awkward than I am....which is pretty hard to do, mind you. I always think....what did I say to make them sooooo awkward? |
Anonymous
| Yes, it sucks. |
Anonymous
hahah yes i relate to this so much too!! |
Anonymous
| Yes, I often figure out what I should have said while staring the mirror brushing my teeth the next day. |
Anonymous
|
Intrusive thoughts. Anxiety?
If it's constant or too annoying, you might want to get help with techniques to turn your mind to other things. |
Anonymous
OP. Yes extremely intrusive |
Anonymous
| I think of things I said like 10 years ago and still kick myself and hate myself for it |
Anonymous
|
Yes. I think about recent conversations a lot but I also sometimes am reminded of awkward or upsetting conversations from years and years ago and can feel intense embarrassment or humiliation as though it is happening to me in the moment. It is the worst.
It happens to me more when I'm under a lot of stress, and it is most likely to happen late at night when I can't sleep. They are definitely intrusive thoughts and they can impact me for days. One reason I try to be kind and thoughtful towards others is that I recognize that hurtful words can have an outsize impact on others compared to positive or neutral comments. I never want to be the reason someone is up at 2am thinking "Oh my god, why did she say that to me?" Even though I recognize I might have done that unintentionally (and people have definitely misinterpreted things I've said), I think a little thoughtfulness goes a long way. |
Anonymous
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Totally. But I never sit around thinking about the times I did something awesome, or hilarious, or when people seemed really happy to see me, complimented me, etc.
Maybe I should start doing that. |
Anonymous
Intrusive thoughts tend to be more fleeting and disturbing - e.g. you think about killing someone or having sex with your brother. What you are describing sounds more like ruminating. I used to do it a lot, and yes, it is a sign of an anxiety disorder. CBT can help. |
Anonymous
| This should be a screening question for social anxiety disorder. I replay conversations too. Back when I went to parties, it could last for days trying to remember the whole thing and who said what. Another time an aggressive driver called me a name and that replayed a long time. |
Anonymous
I think of ruminating as more like regular worrying, about things that haven't happened yet. Replaying conversations is like literally hitting rewind over and over again, usually about an actual thing that happened in real life. |
Anonymous
Agreed... I've noticed I do this a lot sometimes and I try to figure out why. I'm just a really chatty, open person and for the most part I do well in social settings. I just hate when I say something awkward or have a weird conversation and can't get over it |