Expressing yourself/ finding the right words

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Does anyone else struggle like all hell with this? I even have trouble on the internet finding the right words of phrases to get my ideas across. It seems I can't express things with power like most people, or I say things in a way that most people don't. The ideas are there, but they're always expressed in an unconventional way. There's gotta be someone out there who understands.

I have a very hard time expressing my feelings or wishes in a conventional manner. I'm not as assertive as most people are. I'm more passive and I'd rather avoid confrontation, at all costs.

Something gets muddled between brain and mouth. I'll often even confuse myself by what I'm saying. I'll stop halfway through something and wonder "what was it I was trying to say again?", or "no, that isn't right, I'll start again". Sometimes I'm just blank; a thought or feeling must be in there somewhere, I'm sure, but it's just too elusive.

Then again, at times I feel I've been crystal clear in my explanations yet people give me a strange look as if "what the hell are you waffling on about?".

Definitely. I don't usually think in words, and things tend to get lost in translation.

It bugs me. I know what I want to say and how I want to say it, but a word or phrase will elude me. I end up talking or writing in these long, drawn-out passages when I could say the same thing with a few choice words.

Ive always struggled with this, and most people think Im heartless and dont care about anything. Its not that I dont care, its that I dont know how to say or show that I care.

Yeah this is difficult for me, too. It's like the gestures or images are there, but I have to search for the words and sometimes I feel like I don't ever find that ones I want, so I have to find some circumlocutory blah blah blah.

Wow. Looks like I'm not as alone in this problem as I thought. I especially related to that post on how people interpret your silence as indifference. Nothing could be further from the truth.

My brother is language impaired, supposedly because his AS is more severe than mine. He never really talks about anything besides engineering related stuff but he always seems to understand what people say, though sometimes he doesn't respond even when asked a question.

I myself have no problem expressing myself more so than any other 20 year old male and in that I mean that I express ideas just fine, it's feelings that are more difficult, I won't show them unless they are anger.

[quote="Pistonhead]I won't show them unless they are anger.[/quote]

though I am not a 20yr old male but a 21yr old female. This I find to be very true for me.

you're not a natural communicator. Natural communicators express their ideas in the simplest and most effective way possible. You cant do this. You compensate for your inability to express yourself in a simple and effective manner by being precise in your language choices. If the precise words are not available to you at the moment, you're left high and dry with no way to improvise. and an awkward silence. You probably wont use a word unless you're sure that it means what you mean it to mean. You'll dictionary.com it even if your 75% sure it will work

and people will think you're just speaking out of your arse. They'll think you're trying to sound smart. They may accuse you of not knowing what a word means and because you dont know the exact websters definition of that word you wont argue with them. You will look it up later on and feel satisfied because you were correct but no one will be there to share in your moment and they wouldn't care anyway. Your high school music teacher may insult your intelligence in front of the class because he doesn't know that "formulaic" is the correct word to use to describe that which sticks to a formula

and they will feel threatened by you because your big words make them feel small. And you will be envious of them because they dont have to consult the dictionary several times during a two and a half paragraph message board post