OCD thoughts when trying to talk.

[fate12321]

Well the title says it all. Usually when I want to say something, I tend to think about what I'm about to say if it's appropriate or not. After that I start to imagine the persons reaction of whether or not they'll agree on my response. Then my mind starts getting flushed with a bunch of ideas of what I should say next or not, and so forth. Anyways this happens to me a lot especially when I want to talk or flirt with some girl. Just in case you don't understand about what I'm trying to say, I found this video a few days ago that perfectly describes what I'm saying.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=786565778041293

Can anyone relate?

 

[jaim38]

Me too! I tend to write emails then delete them, then start over again, only to delete again. I'm so wishy washy like I can't make up my mind. I consider people's reactions (scenarios) and replay them over again in my mind, and I get stuck in decision making a lot. I couldn't decide on anything so in the end, I just delay doing it, or procrastinating on it. I realize I have poor decision making skills and need to polish them.

I've tried googling something along the lines of how to make good decisions and found some good stuff.

 

[cellophane]

I can certainly relate. This is why I'm silent most of the time. I spend my time thinking of what to say and the wisdom of saying it without actually saying anything. My real problem, though, is that it becomes much worse when I meet people's eyes. I'm not sure, but I think I become afraid of them reading my mind or of seeing their rejection in their eyes, so my inability to maintain eye contact is a major social handicap to me. It's giving me some serious anxiety over my thesis defense that is coming up soon.

For some reason, though, I discovered that physical proximity plays a role. So I try to establish my somehow large "personal space" with people I'm trying to have a decent and productive conversation with. But to be honest, after years of struggling with this problem, I reconciled myself to it and sometimes I just tell people "I'm considered socially awkward because I don't speak a lot or because I don't meet other people's eyes." It lowers their expectations and so helps me relax. It also gives me an excuse not to maintain a conversation that I'm bored of, which is most of the time as I find myself really uninterested in what my peers are usually interested in.