My wife says that I click my tongue. It was news to me.

I have this tic as well. I notice I end up with my mouth almost wide open and I blurt out a sound from my throat like “agh,” as though I’m trying to interrupt myself in the memory from saying what I’m saying. I suspect it’s me unconsciously going back in time to save myself, or to teach myself that in these situations, we DO NOT do as I did here.

Mine is soft, starting in the back of the throat, but eventually it pops out into the air. Its a bit like a mediative “Ommmm” without the glottal (?) at the start. The accompanying visual is me pulling my ejection seat handle (the lower one) and being blasted out into a gale (am ex Air Force type). Lots of shame winging around in my skull at the same time.

Triggers … remembering:

… trying to chat up impossibly good looking women when a bit drunk (very old memories these).

… that stag party in the Nomads Sea Angling Club when I ….

… that time when I was walking back from the gym on a cold and quiet morning, listening to my ipod, and did a very loud fart, then turned around to see ten feet behind me my neighbour walking her dog.

I do something similar to what is quoted from Ask Metafilter, but I’m semi-consciously providing myself with negative self-talk in a half-whisper or grunt. It’s usually a single word attack like “dumb” or “stupid,” although it’s sometimes a phrase.

Honestly, I’ve thought about seeing a shrink about it because rationally I know it’s absurd and destructive. I did this recently upon remembering answering 63 as the product of 8 and 8 on my third grade multiplication test. I would like to point out that I am now 31 years old, have a wife and child, am successful, lucky, and definitely know my “timeses.”

I’ve been ruminating on a solution to this, in addition to professional help. Maybe capturing the embarrassing thought would get it out of mind in the same way capturing information for processing does. Do you think if I wrote a journal of embarrassing things it would help or hurt?

Oh, cugel these are good. You could easily be on our podcast.

I make the noise when I remember the time…

…when I was 13 that a big bunch of people were talking about where to eat, and when asked for a suggestion I said, “I’m expendable”…

…when I was in college and asked a simply-heavy-set waitress when her baby was due…

…when I was 12 and customarily wore white painters pants with a striped shirt and “Mork from Ork” rainbow suspenders…

…not three weeks ago when I asked the Borders guy where the books on “improv writing” were located…

Okay. I better stop. My throat’s getting sore.

I would love to hear what Jonah Lehrer has to say about this question.

http://scienceblogs.com/cortex/

With me it might start as a “Hmm” or a grunt or a muttered “Oh, God.” It feels like the sound’s been wrenched out of me.

The problem is that the memory of one stupid, embarrassing thing I did triggers a cascade of other horrible memories. When this happens, I find myself singing or humming quietly in a desperate attempt to distract my brain. It’s sort of like the murderer in Bester’s SF novel The Demolished Man blanking his mind against telepaths by thinking of a catchy commercial jingle.

Musical moments:

On two separate occasions in college I thought my friends would appreciate knowing that their ex-girlfriends had been hitting on me.

Once I tried to bond with a co-worker by noting that we were both “kind of twitchy.” He responded with a long, cold, silent stare.

Another time I…

…oh, God.

There’s no business like show business, there’s no business I know…

Mine is definately a “bleh”… Quiet and almost whispered.

Images of:

13 years old and headed to the school dance in a pink dress shirt with white jacket and slacks. Was I actually wearing pink socks? “BLEH!!”

I saw that AskMeFi post yesterday, and I thought the poster was crazy… and then it got 50 favorites and a ton of replies with people saying they have the same thing. Now I feel like the only one who doesn’t have a secret embarrassing memory noise.

I feel left out.

http://web.mac.com/michael2gc/Site_2/Eject.html

Yeah, I actually consciously changed my little sound to be a copy of the sound that the old Chinese dude says after Corban tells him about his long list of good news letters. ‘ay*Aaahh, that is bad luck’. It’s the ayahh part that I say… every time.

Am I alone in actually creating one of these things and grafting it into my habits?

D’oh!

I thought I was just plain weird for shouting “ha!” or “idiot!” or “come on!” whenever I did this.

Least favourite recent moment: asking the checkout guy at the ice-cream shop if the “FTO” on his T-shirt stood for “fatso” (a gene associated with genetic risk to obesity originally in mice, then truncated to FTO when the human connection was made for PC reasons). Then noticing he was, er, portly.

Oh, and the FTO? Stands for “Fair Trade Organisation”.

There’s a vicious spiral here too: emotional response tends to entrench memories, so every time you haul out the baggage, you’re reinforcing the memory.

As an aside, does anyone else think tennis players suffer from this? They always seem to beat themselves up after losing a point…

Mad props for your inclusion of the scene from The Producers. *Love it. Second only to your linking to the awesomeness that is Bruce Lee…

I also sing/hum compulsively when particularly embarrassing memories surface. Usually the first few notes from “O Christmas Tree”.

I suggest the technical term be: Audio-compunctive Ejaculation

This is one of those articles that gives me the “oh my god, I’m not alone” moment.

I don’t make a specific noise, what I end up doing is muttering some comment about an embarrassing memory, or reciting a bit of an embarrassing conversation, or just blurting out “why did you do that, idiot?” in a low breath at some inappropriate time.

I try to explain it away with “sometimes I talk to myself,” but most of the time I just get more embarrassed.

It’s even worse when people think the “idiot” comment is directed at them, when it’s really just me reacting to spending some time deep within my own head.

I registered just to comment on this one. I knew everyone had embarrassment flashbacks, some as constantly as me, but I didn’t know everyone made audible sounds at the event! I tend to unconsciously repeat part of a phrase I said at the time, or say the thing I wish I’d said at the time, continuing the conversation with myself. Alternatively, I sometimes squint my eyes in a weird way as though I’m trying to pinch off my brain from fulling living out the memory.

Let’s see, example moments:

• Weeks ago, my wife’s coworker expressed some questionable opinions about faith healing and whatnot. I said “Riiiiiight,” in the most belittling, jerky way possible, and turned around to continue the conversation, only to see she’d walked out the door.

• Getting a “Look, I’m not that into you” email from one (actually not-that-significant) love interest in college

• Interesting variation: I had a really good friend and coworker, years ago, who I think grew to like and respect me less over the course of our 2nd year working together. There’s plenty of distinct memories of my individual mistakes and decisions that led to this, but, I get the feeling any time I think about that PERSON, who never did anything wrong. I associate them with judging me for my multiple gaffes.

Yeah, it’s pretty easy to let your mouth run while you’re thinking. I try to make it as loud and drawn-out as possible, like in this Mr. Show sketch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGuT97v4pv0

My vocalization is a humming noise that lasts for the space of a long exhalation.

I’ve always assumed it came from a gestalt therapy technique with which I’m familiar in which one makes a particular sound (e.g., aaaaah, hmmmm) on the exhale while simultaneously doing a body movement (e.g., raising arms overhead, then letting them drop into lap). It very effectively jumps one’s mind off the hamster wheel in preparation for getting down to business.

My most recent use: An attempted social cheek kiss on another, taller woman that somehow went horribly awry and ended up as a firm, wet smacker on the side of her neck hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

I’m a clinical psychologist, married to a neuroscientist, whose father was a psychiatrist with no idea what the cool, scientific name is for this phenomenon. What I do know is my entire family has the same vocal tic and I’m pretty sure it came from my dad’s side. He’d be reading something and then go,”mnm”, a staccato, closed mouthed, guttural hum, to himself, as if to punctuate whatever struck him as noteworthy. I do the same, my sisters and brothers do the same and now I’m going to be watching my children!

Homer does it too. http://preview.tinyurl.com/homer-doh

I suck my tongue and make tssk noise. That sound is normally accompanied by a frown.

Mashedspud Green lasers rulz

I swear I’ve just started to do this recently. Or maybe I’m just noticing it now because my husband gives me a weird look because I’ve just said “late report” or “no way” or “why not?” aloud during a ruminative walk together. cough

Don’t you think it’s a way to either interrupt the cringe-worthy memory (and it’s never during a pleasant one) and update the interaction and therefore, change the outcome?

Well, nice to know I won’t be alone on the ward. See ya in the Arts & Crafts room with the safety scissors!

Merlin =/ expendable.

For me it often involves a memory of some insanely jacktastic statement/”letter”/act I did between the ages of 13 and 21 (40 now) and often (but not always) involved the opposite sex. The bodily reaction is closed eyes, shaking of the head, and a soft “ugg” sound.

I actually whistle when I think of something embarrassing or some other memory I don’t want to remember. Don’t tell anyone!