Anxiety when talking?

[SuicidalChick]

Does your anxiety get so bad to the point that you dont wanna talk?

When im nervous i will stutter and mix up my words and this is terribly embarassing for me. I always anticipate it happening,so it happens! Or sometimes my mind will blank and i dont know what to say,or i end up saying something completely stupid and regret it afterwards. Sometimes i just feel like giving up on talking!!!

Anyone else feel this way?

 

[Danfalc]

Yeah im exactly the same, i find it so hard to speak sometimes,and like yourself when i do manage to open my mouth somthing stupid normaly comes out :lol:

I kinda stutter and mumble aswell and my voice comes out kinda feeble, so yeah i feel like its easier to keep my mouth shut so your not on your own with that.

 

[thugaveli]

I can relate you anticipate its going to happen
I try and make a conversation as short as possible and just agree with everythin lol
If you push yourself a little further into a conversation and think a bit more positive it does help in the long run as you become more confident
I know its hard to see but my speech and communication has really improved

 

[maggie]

SuicidalChick....that is me exactly....OMG..first of all, my voice is so quiet when it does come out....and seriously, i'm not stupid, but i must appear to be cause..sometimes the words is my sentence are jumbled...or just come out wrong...or, the worst..is when i can't respond at all 8O ....one time this loud rude customer said to me..."YOU HAVE THE VOICE OF A QUIET LITTLE MOUSE..I CAN'T EVEN HEAR YOU!!"...it really upset me, but, of course, i said nothing to her.....but there was lots i wanted to say :twisted:

 

[black_mamba]

Last night me and my partner played a game of ask each other pointless questions for fun. One of the questions I asked him was what film/tv programme has influenced him the most...when he asked me it back I was stuttering my way through the words. I was stumbling over all the exciting stuff I wanted to express, but it just came out as an absolute mess.

That was really dissapointing; 1 because I wanted so badly to express myself and couldn't because all the focus was on me (he stared at me intensely the entire time) and 2 because my boyfriend is the only person I feel almost 100% comfortable around.

"YOU HAVE THE VOICE OF A QUIET LITTLE MOUSE..I CAN'T EVEN HEAR YOU!!"...it really upset me, but, of course, i said nothing to her.....but there was lots i wanted to say

You should've just mimed your insults, maybe the customer would've thought he/she was deaf. :lol:

...Also does anyone else find it very difficult to repeat themselves if someone complains that they can't hear you?

 

[Toad]

...Also does anyone else find it very difficult to repeat themselves if someone complains that they can't hear you?

Yeah...I do. I get real mad when people ask me to repeat myself...just want to shout it...dunno why. Funny thing is I always make people repeat what they said cause normally I'm to busy worring about stuff around me and not really paying attention, or because it gives me more time to think up my response.

 

[maggie]

black_mamba...i find it very difficult to repeat myself if asked to....and i either can't spit the words out right, or they come out the exact same volume as the first time :roll:

 

[TheLioness9345]

Oh my gosh.. I know exactly what all of you are saying. I feel the exact same way. I don't like repeating myself, i can't find my words most of the time, I talk really quietly, i get my words mixed up...and it feels like all of it makes me sound stupid but i really am a smart person. but the thing is that I dunno if it's my anxiety that makes me do that... i just thought i had a speech problem. I guess not because if I'm just talking and not thinking about it i talk perfectly, and lately i've noticed that when i talk to someone i can not look them in the eyes it just makes me freeze up and make me soooo nervous...

 

[DJ_Guvana]

This happens to me , i stumble or talk VERY fast.

 

[Travis88]

I avoid talking at all, i mumble or nod.

 

[kj]

whats the point in going out!

i have got to a point that when i actually go out to a party and people start talking to me my mind goes blank and all i can think about is i dont know what to say, this makes me uncomfortable which then makes other people around me uncomfortable which makes me more uncomfortable and it just repeats itself, then i think people think im boring and i think that because i dont know what to say its like my personality is been erased before everybodys eyes, then i'll excuse myself and go have a smoke in the toilet and get even more feed up, its a visious circle im in, and i really want to get out of it.

Anyone else like this?

 

[IcanDoIt]

This happens to me , i stumble or talk VERY fast.

arhaha, i was exactly like that..

and now the webby is a much better site with improved interface, good job

 

[blubs]

I often talk really fast in a mumbly breathless kind of way.
I'm trying to make a concious effort to slow down and take my time over what I say.
After all...I don't speak very often....so I may as well make the most of it when I do

 

[gale]

yeah people i dont know what will i say next and i cant even look at the person to whom im talking with ...and this ...i feel uncomfortable with my coworkers eventhough we've been coworkers for a long time isnt it strange?anybody with the same experience ?please let me know

 

[Mozzer]

I can never seem to say the right thing

 

[marki]

besides my problem with speaking, I also have bad ears and i have hearing aids, and mostly i dont even dare to say What?, because im afraid people lose their patient with me (wich happens sometimes) because the have to repeat so much what they say whenn they are talking to me, so i mostly pretend like i heard it and give a wrong answer wich is even more stupid and embarrassing..

 

[mike_sp]

yeah its so annoying trying to talk and everything comes out just wrong and you look like a fool.

sometimes I also run out of breath while talking and cant help to swallow uncomfortably.

valium kinda has helped with some of these physical things though, like my face doesnt freeze up as much.

 

[qipuqipu]

I know this exact feeling. I often mumble or pronounce things wrong, making me feel really stupid. Sometimes, I'll say something too quietly, and I suddenly lose all confidence. Even if someone pressures me to repeat myeself, I'll point blank refuse to say it. I'll think they must have thought what I said was too stupid, and that's why they thought they misheard it. Either that, or someone will put me on the spot, waiting for me to say something witty or interesting... and I'll just blank out and smile stupidly, watching the smile drain out of their face... it's unbearable sometimes.

 

[Faith]

...Also does anyone else find it very difficult to repeat themselves if someone complains that they can't hear you?

Yeah...I do. I get real mad when people ask me to repeat myself...just want to shout it...dunno why. Funny thing is I always make people repeat what they said cause normally I'm to busy worring about stuff around me and not really paying attention, or because it gives me more time to think up my response.

Sheesh! I get frustrated when people ask me to repeat myself too! *HUGE SIGH* Usually I stare at them blankly and wish they would go away!

And I do the same thing, ask the person to repeat themself so I have time to think of something, ANYTHING! HAHA! Also, there's times when I'm so focused on what my response will be, that I totally forget what the person was saying in the first place! Yup, it's a vicious cycle... :evil:

 

[redlady]

black_mamba wrote:

stuttering my way through the words. I was stumbling over all the exciting stuff I wanted to express, but it just came out as an absolute mess.

I do that too and i hate it. I have done it during a presentation once - i just rambled on with the most nonsensical crap - everything i needed was in my head but it was just beyond me to speak it in a coherant manner. The sympathetic look i got from the lecturer almost made me cry.
Needless to say i was grateful he did not ask me to clarify.