Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsSymptomsCausesTypesTreatmentCoping
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Symptoms
Causes
Types
Treatment
Coping
Excessive talking describes the act of overtalking or talking compulsively. Excessive talking may be a subjective opinion or a personality trait. It can also be a symptom of a mental or neurodevelopment condition such asautism,bipolar disorder, orattention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
It is important to distinguish the cause of excessive speech because the approach to dealing with it varies. In many cases, it is not a “problem” that requires treatment; it is simply who the person is. In other cases, interventions (includingtherapy) may be needed if excessive speaking interferes with a person’s relationships, quality of life, and well-being.
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Signs of Excessive Talking
The concept of excessive talking is largely subjective. What one person may regard as “excessive” another may consider “outgoing.” With that said, excessive talking is generally regarded as behavior that is outside the social norm or one that is inappropriate for the situation.
Signs of excessive talking include:
From a mental health perspective perspective, excessive talking may be “normal” or “abnormal.” Normal refers to excessive talking as a personality trait. Abnormal suggests that excessively talking is a symptom of a mental or neurodevelopmental condition.
Personality Traits
Excessive talking can be a personality trait. Personality traits are characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that reflect who a person is.
In psychology, the traits are broadly categorized as:
The presence or absence of these traits describes each person’s personality.
A person who is more communicative and chatty is generally considered to be an extrovert. However, extroversion doesn’t necessarily mean that they talk excessively.
A personality trait should not be confused with a mental disorder. It is only when behaviors cause personal distress, diminish a person’s self-image or self-esteem, or affect relationships and a person’s ability to function that it may be regarded as a facet of a mental disorder.
Mental or Neurodevelopmental Condtions
Talking excessively can sometimes be a symptom of a mental illness or a neurodevelopmental disorder (in which a person’s thinking, behaviors, and thought processes are atypical).
Examples include:
Types of Excessive Talking
Assessing a person’s speech is part of a mental status examination (MSE) used to evaluate a person’s mental status. When excessive talking is involved, the speech is typically described in three different ways:
How to Stop Talking Excessively
People who talk too much may benefit from seeing a healthcare provider in order to explore the cause and find the best possible treatment options. But there are some management strategies you can try yourself.
Self-Management Skills for Excessive Talking
Research indicates that up to 40% of a person’s speech is about themselves.Talking about oneself can activate the reward centers of the brain. So while socially it may be necessary to cease talking excessively, it may be challenging to go against the wiring of the brain.
Here are a few strategies for managing excessive talking:
Therapy Options
Excessive talking can create a burden on social interactions. Therapy may be beneficial as a treatment.
The following therapy options may help with excessive talking:
Coping With Excessive Talkers
Excessive talking may sometimes seem annoying, but there are things you can do to set boundaries and/or help excessive talkers take note of their behavior:
Helping Kids
If your child is an excessive talker, you can teach them self-regulation skills rather than scolding them for poor behavior. This is especially helpful with kids who have ADHD.
There are several ways to do this:
Summary
Excessive talking occurs when a person talks compulsively or excessively. Reasons that someone may talk excessively include mental health disorders, personality characteristics, and personality disorders.
Excessive talking can create a social burden for both the talking person and their listeners. There are things you can do to avoid overtalking, like setting a time limit on conversations, paying attention to social cues, or seeking the help of a mental health provider.
16 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Weiner L, Doignon-Camus N, Bertschy G, Giersch A.Thought and language disturbance in bipolar disorder quantified via process-oriented verbal fluency measures.Sci Rep. 2019 Oct;9(1):14282. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-50818-5Power RA, Pluess M.Heritability estimates of the Big Five personality traits based on common genetic variants.Translation Psychiatry. 2015;5:e604. doi:10.1038/tp.2015.96American Psychiatric Association (APA).Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition.Washington D.C.: APA; 2022 revision. doi:10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596National Institute on Deafness and Other Hearing Disorders.Autism spectrum disorder: dommunication in children.Leichsenring F, Leweke F.Social anxiety disorder.N Engl J Med. 2017;376(23):2255-2264. doi:10.1056/NEJMcp1614701Visser HA, van Oppen P, van Megen HJ, et al.Obsessive-compulsive disorder.J Affect Disord. 2014;152–154:169–174. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2013.09.004Baskin-Sommers A, Krusemark E, Ronningstam E.Empathy in narcissistic personality disorder: from clinical and empirical perspectives.Personal Disord. 2014;5(3):323–333. doi:10.1037/per0000061Wolraich ML, Hagan JF, Allan C, et al.Clinical practice guideline for the diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children and adolescents.Pediatrics. 2019;144(4):e20192528. doi:10.1542/peds.2019-2528Norris DR, Clark MS, Shipley S.The mental status examination.Am Fam Physician.2016 Oct 15;94(8):635-641.Patel KR, Cherian J, Gohil K, Atkinson D.Schizophrenia: overview and treatment options.PT. 2014;39(9):638-645.University of Texas Permian Basin.How much of communication is nonverbal?American Speech Language Hearing Association.Social communication.Strålin E, Thorell L, Szybek K, Lundgren T, Bölte S, Bohman B.Cognitive-behavioral group therapy for ADHD predominantly inattentive presentation: A feasibility study of a new treatment protocol.Nordic Psychol. 2022 Jan;74(4):325-339. doi:10.1080/19012276.2021.2020683Linehan MM, Wilks CR.The course and evolution of dialectical behavior therapy.APT. 2015;69(2):97-110. doi:10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.2015.69.2.97Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance.8 tips on setting boundaries for your mental health.American Academy of Pediatrics.Communication skills start at home.
16 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Weiner L, Doignon-Camus N, Bertschy G, Giersch A.Thought and language disturbance in bipolar disorder quantified via process-oriented verbal fluency measures.Sci Rep. 2019 Oct;9(1):14282. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-50818-5Power RA, Pluess M.Heritability estimates of the Big Five personality traits based on common genetic variants.Translation Psychiatry. 2015;5:e604. doi:10.1038/tp.2015.96American Psychiatric Association (APA).Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition.Washington D.C.: APA; 2022 revision. doi:10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596National Institute on Deafness and Other Hearing Disorders.Autism spectrum disorder: dommunication in children.Leichsenring F, Leweke F.Social anxiety disorder.N Engl J Med. 2017;376(23):2255-2264. doi:10.1056/NEJMcp1614701Visser HA, van Oppen P, van Megen HJ, et al.Obsessive-compulsive disorder.J Affect Disord. 2014;152–154:169–174. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2013.09.004Baskin-Sommers A, Krusemark E, Ronningstam E.Empathy in narcissistic personality disorder: from clinical and empirical perspectives.Personal Disord. 2014;5(3):323–333. doi:10.1037/per0000061Wolraich ML, Hagan JF, Allan C, et al.Clinical practice guideline for the diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children and adolescents.Pediatrics. 2019;144(4):e20192528. doi:10.1542/peds.2019-2528Norris DR, Clark MS, Shipley S.The mental status examination.Am Fam Physician.2016 Oct 15;94(8):635-641.Patel KR, Cherian J, Gohil K, Atkinson D.Schizophrenia: overview and treatment options.PT. 2014;39(9):638-645.University of Texas Permian Basin.How much of communication is nonverbal?American Speech Language Hearing Association.Social communication.Strålin E, Thorell L, Szybek K, Lundgren T, Bölte S, Bohman B.Cognitive-behavioral group therapy for ADHD predominantly inattentive presentation: A feasibility study of a new treatment protocol.Nordic Psychol. 2022 Jan;74(4):325-339. doi:10.1080/19012276.2021.2020683Linehan MM, Wilks CR.The course and evolution of dialectical behavior therapy.APT. 2015;69(2):97-110. doi:10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.2015.69.2.97Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance.8 tips on setting boundaries for your mental health.American Academy of Pediatrics.Communication skills start at home.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Weiner L, Doignon-Camus N, Bertschy G, Giersch A.Thought and language disturbance in bipolar disorder quantified via process-oriented verbal fluency measures.Sci Rep. 2019 Oct;9(1):14282. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-50818-5Power RA, Pluess M.Heritability estimates of the Big Five personality traits based on common genetic variants.Translation Psychiatry. 2015;5:e604. doi:10.1038/tp.2015.96American Psychiatric Association (APA).Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition.Washington D.C.: APA; 2022 revision. doi:10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596National Institute on Deafness and Other Hearing Disorders.Autism spectrum disorder: dommunication in children.Leichsenring F, Leweke F.Social anxiety disorder.N Engl J Med. 2017;376(23):2255-2264. doi:10.1056/NEJMcp1614701Visser HA, van Oppen P, van Megen HJ, et al.Obsessive-compulsive disorder.J Affect Disord. 2014;152–154:169–174. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2013.09.004Baskin-Sommers A, Krusemark E, Ronningstam E.Empathy in narcissistic personality disorder: from clinical and empirical perspectives.Personal Disord. 2014;5(3):323–333. doi:10.1037/per0000061Wolraich ML, Hagan JF, Allan C, et al.Clinical practice guideline for the diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children and adolescents.Pediatrics. 2019;144(4):e20192528. doi:10.1542/peds.2019-2528Norris DR, Clark MS, Shipley S.The mental status examination.Am Fam Physician.2016 Oct 15;94(8):635-641.Patel KR, Cherian J, Gohil K, Atkinson D.Schizophrenia: overview and treatment options.PT. 2014;39(9):638-645.University of Texas Permian Basin.How much of communication is nonverbal?American Speech Language Hearing Association.Social communication.Strålin E, Thorell L, Szybek K, Lundgren T, Bölte S, Bohman B.Cognitive-behavioral group therapy for ADHD predominantly inattentive presentation: A feasibility study of a new treatment protocol.Nordic Psychol. 2022 Jan;74(4):325-339. doi:10.1080/19012276.2021.2020683Linehan MM, Wilks CR.The course and evolution of dialectical behavior therapy.APT. 2015;69(2):97-110. doi:10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.2015.69.2.97Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance.8 tips on setting boundaries for your mental health.American Academy of Pediatrics.Communication skills start at home.
Weiner L, Doignon-Camus N, Bertschy G, Giersch A.Thought and language disturbance in bipolar disorder quantified via process-oriented verbal fluency measures.Sci Rep. 2019 Oct;9(1):14282. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-50818-5
Power RA, Pluess M.Heritability estimates of the Big Five personality traits based on common genetic variants.Translation Psychiatry. 2015;5:e604. doi:10.1038/tp.2015.96
American Psychiatric Association (APA).Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition.Washington D.C.: APA; 2022 revision. doi:10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596
National Institute on Deafness and Other Hearing Disorders.Autism spectrum disorder: dommunication in children.
Leichsenring F, Leweke F.Social anxiety disorder.N Engl J Med. 2017;376(23):2255-2264. doi:10.1056/NEJMcp1614701
Visser HA, van Oppen P, van Megen HJ, et al.Obsessive-compulsive disorder.J Affect Disord. 2014;152–154:169–174. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2013.09.004
Baskin-Sommers A, Krusemark E, Ronningstam E.Empathy in narcissistic personality disorder: from clinical and empirical perspectives.Personal Disord. 2014;5(3):323–333. doi:10.1037/per0000061
Wolraich ML, Hagan JF, Allan C, et al.Clinical practice guideline for the diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children and adolescents.Pediatrics. 2019;144(4):e20192528. doi:10.1542/peds.2019-2528
Norris DR, Clark MS, Shipley S.The mental status examination.Am Fam Physician.2016 Oct 15;94(8):635-641.
Patel KR, Cherian J, Gohil K, Atkinson D.Schizophrenia: overview and treatment options.PT. 2014;39(9):638-645.
University of Texas Permian Basin.How much of communication is nonverbal?
American Speech Language Hearing Association.Social communication.
Strålin E, Thorell L, Szybek K, Lundgren T, Bölte S, Bohman B.Cognitive-behavioral group therapy for ADHD predominantly inattentive presentation: A feasibility study of a new treatment protocol.Nordic Psychol. 2022 Jan;74(4):325-339. doi:10.1080/19012276.2021.2020683
Linehan MM, Wilks CR.The course and evolution of dialectical behavior therapy.APT. 2015;69(2):97-110. doi:10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.2015.69.2.97
Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance.8 tips on setting boundaries for your mental health.
American Academy of Pediatrics.Communication skills start at home.
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