Is anyone on here mute or near-mute?

[Anarchy]

I am near-mute.

 

[lv-gras]

Nods, depends on meaning but yes.

 

[Anarchy]

Depends what you mean by it

Mute: never speak at all (e.g. someone with mutism)
near-mute: speak so little that you may as well be mute (e.g. someone with selective mutism or progressive mutism)

 

[Tiburcio]

I used to be extremely shy and any social contact paralyzed me to the point I couldn't say even a single word, does it counts?

 

[Anarchy]

I used to be extremely shy and any social contact paralyzed me to the point I couldn't say even a single word, does it counts?

Yep, that counts.

 

[Sundayafternoon]

Near mute. At work anyway.

At home, I'll talk myself and the cat to death.

 

[CRM]

I only speak when spoken to, and my thoughts are never conveyed correctly in my speech, making me look like an idiot. Thank you, Asperger's.

 

[Laura]

Yes i am near-mute.

 

[weedoge]

Fortunately not but I did stop speaking entirely for 3 days straight back when I was 17 for probably some mental illness induced reasons. Not really sure.

 

[lastsummer]

Today I asked a cashier at supper-market for a bag, she didn't even hear what I say. No bag :/
It happen almost every time. I just have to speak louder, but I cant. Don't have energy.

 

[KCN]

Selective mutism with people I can't stand
A rational choice to avoid pointless discussions

 

[Roulette]

I used to be mute, to a point where I couldn't make a sound when I was in agony. Nowadays I can talk, but I pretty much respond to questions. For the life of me I cannot think of anything to say in social situations. It sucks.

 

[FadedMemory]

I barely talk outside of home. Some of my teachers used to think i was deaf, that's how bad it was.

 

[Journeytoletgo]

I'm basically mute at this point

 

[FuneralCry]

In real life I rarely talk. I hate physically talking, there is nothing I have to say. I do have forced conversations with family members sometimes, but it is mostly just them talking and me hardly saying anything. Nothing good can come from talking too much in my opinion.

 

[combatcuteness]

Can't say lol

 

[Journeytoletgo]

I'm now realizing how people find it awfully "off" and "odd" that you don't talk, socialize and are too quiet. :(

Yikes

 

[littlelungs]

I rarely ever speak because I'm too ill to handle the strain that comes with it. On the rare occasion that I do have to talk a little bit, I get such a bad headache afterwards that feels like my brain is trying to break through my skull and like I have strep throat, on top of feeling even more so like I'd been hit by a freight train. What might be a short, simple conversation or interaction for many people is days upon days of absolute hell for me. As a result, whenever I do have to communicate with someone, it's almost always been in the form of writing or gestures for the past couple years.

There have been a couple of times over the past few years where I've had to go out (almost always to a medical centre for some sort of procedure or appointment) and I've written down the address for the place I need to go for the taxi driver, and I've gotten so many weird looks for it, despite prefacing the note with something like, "I'm not trying to be rude, I understand everything you're saying, I just can't speak, thank you for your service." Some have tried to talk to me anyway, despite the note, and then I'M the asshole. I've also had medical staff talk to me, but I've been unable to respond or grab my "I can't speak" note quickly enough, and then they ask me all irritated if I speak [the language that's spoken here]. Then I show them the note and they clearly feel bad about it, but god damn. My MIL also takes it personally when I don't speak, despite her knowing how sick I am and what talking does to me... so as far as I'm concerned, that's not my problem.

It sucks ass because people automatically negatively judge you for not being able to talk, regardless of the reason why. You never really realize just how much people rely on spoken language until you're unable to utilize it yourself.

 

[Manaaja]

When I'm under a lot of social stress I get selective mutism.

 

[Ah.ow]

I rarely ever speak because I'm too ill to handle the strain that comes with it. On the rare occasion that I do have to talk a little bit, I get such a bad headache afterwards that feels like my brain is trying to break through my skull and like I have strep throat, on top of feeling even more so like I'd been hit by a freight train. What might be a short, simple conversation or interaction for many people is days upon days of absolute hell for me. As a result, whenever I do have to communicate with someone, it's almost always been in the form of writing or gestures for the past couple years.

There have been a couple of times over the past few years where I've had to go out (almost always to a medical centre for some sort of procedure or appointment) and I've written down the address for the place I need to go for the taxi driver, and I've gotten so many weird looks for it, despite prefacing the note with something like, "I'm not trying to be rude, I understand everything you're saying, I just can't speak, thank you for your service." Some have tried to talk to me anyway, despite the note, and then I'M the asshole. I've also had medical staff talk to me, but I've been unable to respond or grab my "I can't speak" note quickly enough, and then they ask me all irritated if I speak [the language that's spoken here]. Then I show them the note and they clearly feel bad about it, but god damn. My MIL also takes it personally when I don't speak, despite her knowing how sick I am and what talking does to me... so as far as I'm concerned, that's not my problem.

It sucks ass because people automatically negatively judge you for not being able to talk, regardless of the reason why. You never really realize just how much people rely on spoken language until you're unable to utilize it yourself.

can I ask if you found helpful labels?, or if you heard of Adam maker Clayton's especially his youtube and maybe Facebook? I related alot to him, but he ctb, and your comment reminded me alot of him/me. your comment felt more articulate, elaborate, and less traumatized than my writing-silence too, so I wondered if you had posted more on this or might/could?

 

[Throwawayacc3]

I am near-mute.

I have to apologise if this sounds bad (I try to do this on most posts as my autism comes across as too blunt/rude sometimes). Is that due to something brain related or voice box? Were you born like this or did it happen later on?

 

[mysadstuff]

yes

 

[cgrtt.brns]

near mute. i was a loud kid, opposite of mute, ig trauma and mental illness changed me a lot. as a teenager i spoke less and less until the point i never spoke and had to write on a white board in school. now i rarely talk, mostly bc i never know what to say especially in casual social situations, but i can have conversations about stuff i care about, i just rarely ever find anyone that wants to talk about the stuff i want to talk about. if someone asks me a yes or no question i will just nod or shake my head or shrug my shoulders if i dont know (which for some reason ppl find rude but i dont understand why bc its just another way of communicating), i wave hello instead of saying it, i just prefer not to use my voice. i think it partly also stemmed from being trans and having a rly feminine voice, i was told once in school that someone thought i was a boy until i spoke, but now i get told i sound male enough to pass so i feel more comfortable with my voice but i still speak as little as possible more bc i just hate talking/never know what to say rather than hating how ppl perceive my voice gender wise if that makes any sense. its annoying bc i want to be more witty and fun to be around with friends but i think being mute as a teenager as well as isolating myself rly stunted my social development so i just freeze in social situations and my brain just gets stuck and i cant think of what to say, its rly annoying.