Selective Mutism
- Thread starter Muka
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Piece_By_Piece
Well-known member
I guess what makes it selective is that the person talks in some occasions. So therefore "selective" doesn't mean that it's voluntary. For example, there might be someone who talks normally to his/her family members, but they don't talk at all in school. This is very common when it comes to selective mutism, I think. I'm not an expert, though. These are just my thoughts on it. Someone who knows more about it can perhaps enlighten me (and others) in case what I just wrote sounds very off 
ScaredToBreathe
Well-known member
I don't believe the name should be changed, as selective doesn't mean voluntary it simply refers to mutism happening in specific instances rather than constantly.
I doubt people would really care either way, as most have no clue what selective mutism even is. I went to a psychiatrist once with self-diagnosed SM, and as soon as she met me, without asking about my past or why I think I have SM, she told me I didn't have SM because I talked to her. Next time I visited her I was too nervous to talk and she told me I have "minor" SM... I don't see her anymore. Most psychiatrists are dumba**es and cannot empathize with their patients, especially ones with rarer disabilities like SM.
I doubt people would really care either way, as most have no clue what selective mutism even is. I went to a psychiatrist once with self-diagnosed SM, and as soon as she met me, without asking about my past or why I think I have SM, she told me I didn't have SM because I talked to her. Next time I visited her I was too nervous to talk and she told me I have "minor" SM... I don't see her anymore. Most psychiatrists are dumba**es and cannot empathize with their patients, especially ones with rarer disabilities like SM.
MotherWolff
Banned
Don't all of us Social Phobians have some form of selective mutism?
OceanMist
Well-known member
My answer is usually the same with these type of threads.
I always get attacked but I mean come on, what is the difference between selective mutism and shyness and SA. All of those things are the same to me, I'm sorry.
You can give me your definitions and all that good stuff, but I just see all of this stuff as one correlation.
I believe doctors have coined all these fancy terms for shy people so they make more money. The more people think they have wrong with them, the more cash pharmaceutical companies, therapists and doctors can make, right?
As for mutism being selective. I'd say it's kind of both voluntary and involuntary. A shy person chooses to be quiet because they are more comfortable doing so in many cases, but they also may not want to be quiet but that is their nature which isn't exactly controllable. It's just who we are in many cases.
x Will x
Well-known member
I dont think its a way of making money, sm is quite different for example.. its only in children and its diffrent in the way of sa because the child may be fully confident (often more so) around there family but completely mute (no speaking at all) in the classroom. people with sa can speak in public but with fear. i think there are fine lines but the catagories are a way of meeting the spesific needs of certain individuals. on the other hand i beleive that everyones needs arre going to be diffrent so doctors need to look at the individuals needs... not the name of the condition itself
miserablecow
Well-known member
Maybe it should, but I guess the name given would probably give out the wrong meaning again.
berlingot
Member
selective mutism is indistinguishable from SA, because it's a subtype of social anxiety that makes an important distinction from, say, schizoid children who display the same affect as selectively mute children. i was selectively mute as a child & i've talked (later, obviously
) to shy people who don't relate to the symptoms of odd, stiff body language, blank affect, & at-home tantrums. there's more to it than just shyness & not talking, it is a debilitating fear of overstimulation.i don't want to start anything hostile. in fact, i'm a little hurt by the thought that there are people who don't believe selective mutism is real or serious. all the more reason for me to withdraw into my little shell.
