Bipolar Disorder and Brain Chatter

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Bipolar Disorder and Brain Chatter

Hi Julie,

On your radio show from a few years ago, you spoke of your “brain chatter”? Can you explain what you mean by this?For myself, sometimes I just run the same words over and over in my head when I am anxious, maybe in a group of people. I do not believe it to be psychosis (i.e. audio hallucinations), or even a delusion, but one thing I do know it to be: annoying. It is even as if it exists in a certain physical location in my skull.

Weird—huh?

I told my sister about it who said, “No you don’t!”

I lied and agreed with her, “You’re right, I don’t.”

Hi C.

Ah, brain chatter. This is what I call the brain in a blender feeling I get when I’m sick. I have so many thoughts and sounds in my head I have trouble functioning. It’s like having a group of people following me around while talking to each other through my ears.

I get it with agitated depression – the opposite would be catatonic depression where I don’t really have thoughts at all.

Agitated depression is noisy- there are often comments about what you’re doing wrong and how you’re never succeed. You can hear conversations you have already had or ones you’re going to have.

The brain chatter is really bad when I’m psychotic as the noises are distorted and very confusing. They just won’t be quiet. Sometimes I hear someone talking to me or feel like I’m at a very loud party where I’m not a welcome guest.

You can have manic brain chatter as well.

I simply use the term brain chatter to mean the thoughts, sounds, noises, voices, music, etc in your head that you don’t want there. You didn’t ask for it and you want it to go away so that you can think clearly.

When I started to get a lot better last year, the main improvement was LESS BRAIN CHATTER.

My book Get it Done When You’re Depressed has techniques for getting rid of it.

That’s funny that you had to lie to your sister! We can’t expect everyone to understand our weird brains!

Julie