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EstherJ
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27 Apr 2013, 10:14 pm

I have been experiencing a weird symptom when under stress. It's been going on for about a year now.

When I get stressed out, over-stimulated, or pressured, I lose the ability to form words correctly and speak well. Sometimes I can't get words out at all....other times I can get words out but I keep repeating words over and over. Sometimes I can't get more than a couple out at a time.
It's baffling. I can only really explain it with examples.

If I'm stressed out I usually am verbally fluent until I have to explain the situation to someone. Then I start losing words, can't look at the person, start over-gesturing, and all my thoughts rush at me so fast that I can't sort them out and form sentences with them. I repeat, stutter, halt, and get very frustrated.
On a more severe scale I will become non-verbal and my thoughts will slow down. Words run into my mind really slowly, and I notice things slowly.

If I'm over-stimulated by any kind of physical stimulus I won't find myself non-verbal until it's too late to get away to a calm place. I will be so focused on the pain of the sensory problem that I don't realize that I'm unable to speak.

If people pressure me to answer quickly, I can't organize my thoughts quickly enough to formulate a coherent answer. Often I get only a little bit out; in extreme situations I go nonverbal.

I don't think its selective mutism because I cannot predict it; it can happen when I'm by myself or when I'm with people. My psychologist called it involuntary mutism because I can try to talk but can barely do so.

I'm not sure what this is. Everything, including my synesthesia, is screwed up when this happens. Perhaps it's some kind of shutdown?



MjrMajorMajor
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27 Apr 2013, 10:31 pm

I've experienced this too occasionally. I just think of it as part of an overload, and do my best to retreat to somewhere quiet. I don't get the repetition, but words become very difficult to form coherently.



PsychoSarah
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27 Apr 2013, 10:33 pm

I pull out my eyebrows in response to stress. It sucks.



Marybird
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27 Apr 2013, 10:34 pm

Involuntary mutism? Sounds like a shutdown. Maybe that's what the psychologist meant by involuntary mutism.



EstherJ
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27 Apr 2013, 10:34 pm

PsychoSarah wrote:
I pull out my eyebrows in response to stress. It sucks.


I've done that occasionally.



Tyri0n
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27 Apr 2013, 10:38 pm

Sounds like a form of anxiety to me, possibly in response to sensory overload. I used to get stuff like this A LOT as a child and young teenager but ultimately grew out of it. I still am "at a loss" for words and my affect goes super flat in these situations, but I'm not nonverbal anymore.

I think my sensory processing got better as I got older. Is it possible yours has simply gotten worse?



Kjas
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27 Apr 2013, 10:52 pm

EstherJ wrote:
I have been experiencing a weird symptom when under stress. It's been going on for about a year now.

When I get stressed out, over-stimulated, or pressured, I lose the ability to form words correctly and speak well. Sometimes I can't get words out at all....other times I can get words out but I keep repeating words over and over. Sometimes I can't get more than a couple out at a time.
It's baffling. I can only really explain it with examples.

If I'm stressed out I usually am verbally fluent until I have to explain the situation to someone. Then I start losing words, can't look at the person, start over-gesturing, and all my thoughts rush at me so fast that I can't sort them out and form sentences with them. I repeat, stutter, halt, and get very frustrated.
On a more severe scale I will become non-verbal and my thoughts will slow down. Words run into my mind really slowly, and I notice things slowly.

If I'm over-stimulated by any kind of physical stimulus I won't find myself non-verbal until it's too late to get away to a calm place. I will be so focused on the pain of the sensory problem that I don't realize that I'm unable to speak.

If people pressure me to answer quickly, I can't organize my thoughts quickly enough to formulate a coherent answer. Often I get only a little bit out; in extreme situations I go nonverbal.

I don't think its selective mutism because I cannot predict it; it can happen when I'm by myself or when I'm with people. My psychologist called it involuntary mutism because I can try to talk but can barely do so.

I'm not sure what this is. Everything, including my synesthesia, is screwed up when this happens. Perhaps it's some kind of shutdown?


This is one of many forms of selective mutism. This particular type is usually called situational mutism - when there is a factor that repeatedly causes mutism in particular situations.
I get it too. Usually when going to the doctor, some other professional, having to make public speeches, or like you said, when stressed or overwhelmed - being pressured socially or being overwhelmed emotionally, or too much sensory stimulation, etc. My thoughts stop converting to speech, no matter how hard I try.

Just because you cannot predict it does not mean it is not selective mutism. If you find you cannot convert thoughts into words, if that part of your brain that "translates" them has temporarily "crashed", then that is still selective mutism. It can and does happen during shutdowns as well, although shutdowns are not always required, you can have it with them, or without them.


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Anomiel
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27 Apr 2013, 11:19 pm

Sounds like alogia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alogia
Or some other kind of aphasia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphasia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought_disorder#Possible_signs_and_symptoms_of_thought_disorder wrote:
It has been suggested that individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) display language disturbances like those found in schizophrenia.



oftenaloof
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27 Apr 2013, 11:26 pm

PsychoSarah wrote:
I pull out my eyebrows in response to stress. It sucks.


Odd, I do this too.



EstherJ
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27 Apr 2013, 11:31 pm

Does selective mutism go along with catatonia?

Because when I shut down I can go catatonic, but if I try to stave off the catatonia then I lose speech.



Kjas
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27 Apr 2013, 11:52 pm

EstherJ wrote:
Does selective mutism go along with catatonia?

Because when I shut down I can go catatonic, but if I try to stave off the catatonia then I lose speech.


As far as I know, they can be separate or together. There is not much official literature on shutdowns, catatonia or selective mutism in autism.

Some things that you might want to read through:

http://www.autismawarenesscentre.com/ar ... -in-autism

http://everything2.com/title/shutdown?a ... #Zifendorf

I found this interesting as it states having trouble answering questions or having trouble speaking is indicative of a meltdown or shutdown:
http://www.aspergermanagement.com/managing-meltdowns


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whirlingmind
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28 Apr 2013, 8:01 am

It sounds like the effects of anxiety. I get some of this.


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