I’ve spent so much time alone that now when I speak to people, I begin to stutter and say my sentences from end to beginning. It’s almost as if my mind and body are dying to socialize and I mess up by not speaking properly and overthinking what I say. I’ve developed a problem where I see the words but when I try to say the words I see, my mouth says a completely different word. I like being alone but I like to socialize as well. The people who speak to me don’t really care what I have to say. They want me to listen to them and get bored when I speak. I distance myself quickly from people when I realize they don’t care about me as a human being.
4 comments
Get some little practices in with people you come across: bartenders, wait staff, barbers, librarians, grocery peeps; wherever you go. You get the idea. It doesn’t have to be meaningful; it’s just some exercise. And do some talking out loud when you’re alone, exercise.
Take a breathe, don’t over think a conversation. Most of the time a good conversation isn’t thought about, it just happens when two people find something they both enjoy talking about. I swear in my head I’m the smoothest talker but when I try to speak, I mumble and trip over words, but when I get comfortable around people I can not worry about what they’ll think of me.
i really feel the same way a lot of the time. like my brain knows what it wants to say but i can’t seem to verbalize it right. or my speech feels slurred almost (while dead sober). i’m struggling with it currently, but i know in the past i did so well when i was actively practicing daily when i had a customer facing job. WFH makes it hard now…. i wish you the best of luck. our brains are our own worst enemies sometimes and we might just be overthinking how we come across too
I’m socially avoidant and this happens to me. School was the perfect counter. Since graduating/ pandemic isolation, I’m noticing thoughts rooted in loneliness much more.
Hope you can find a solution. Talking with people becomes much better when the conversation isn’t the focus. Chatting with people on a team or others volunteering or something might be more suitable to your preferences.