Poll Does PTSD Influence Your Verbal Communication?

[safenow]

Sometimes I think no one likes me,

I like you :)

 

[Changing4Best]

Awe, thank you Safenow, that made my day!

 

[goa way]

I like you too, strange, I like virtual reality people,just not the real thing. I like you too,Safenow. Damn,this is getting all mush now.

 

[safenow]

this is getting all mush now.

Thank you, goa way, I like you as well.

 

[Changing4Best]

Yes, I LOVE virtual people in general more than real folks around here. I am considered an outsider here, never quite fitting in. I'm one of those dang Yankees, as they call us folks who came from the northern parts of the USA. Now that I live in the south, I get this a lot. Folks here are still back in the civil war in their minds, sometimes I think. That was in the mid-1800s for cryin' outloud!!! I hate this, and I had NO IDEA when I chose to move here (as God had called me here) that it would be like that!

 

[goa way]

Sometimes you can't see the forest for the trees. Looking back, you can see how the big picture works. I beleive there is a force greater than us that can guide us,which is probably just as well,cause sometimes I don't evan know what day it is

 

[anni]

Ohhh my goodness Sheila, that is hysterical, and do not mean to make light of your Yankee Ship in Southern waters. My terrifying Yankee matron of a great aunt once moved to Virginia, bought a house, lasted 6 months and came HOME. She said everyone was still fighting the Wayah of Northern Aggression ( Those words require capitolization to signify their extreme importance, ask anyone south of the Mason-Dixon line ). Since she was under the impression it'd been decided plus wasn't quite old enough to have actually voted for Lincoln she thought perhaps coming home would be the best course to pursue. To be fair, I come from a knock down, drag the heck out, Yankee family which has probably been re-fighting the war on its own terms ( but would deny it ) for the last 150 years.

I triple-dawg dare you to put an Obama sticker on your car. :) If you ever wish to just allow yourself a few minutes of bugginess on the subject, feel free to debug my way via PM. Before anyone goes poof, am not picking on all who hail from the south. There really IS a 'thing' when Yanks ( Yanks isn't an abbreviation, it's the whole term ) attempt to transplant in SOME areas down there. Talk about being sterotyped because of your speech, oi! Tough crowd.

Yes, back on thread, swear. I think my verbal communication is getting worse. There's this rapid-translate 'filter' which seems to kind of pop up in my head, especially when speaking with people I do not know well. Whatever is presented to 'it' which I wish to have come out of my mouth, has to first be inspected for clarity, a kind of 'kook-proofing' station for alllll spoken communication before exiting. It's automatic, bizarre, and impedes things dreadfully. I do at least know where the whole set-up came from in the first place and yep- it'd be the friggin PTSD. Without the slightest intention of coming across as paranoid ( I'm not ), I have SOOOO many individuals following me around at the moment that if I stop suddenly one of them has to turn around and give me my tonsils back. It does not-good things to the PTSD head, although surprisingly am not setting up camp under the house with a Rotweiller and a semi-automatic. I've just become even more pendantic in movement and speech, awfully, awfully contained across the board, and very distant towards others. Hence this wierd filter/speech thing. Don't get me wrong. I do not come across as shy 'out here'. Probably more like elusive. Hee- anyone who knows me knows I almost never leave the house without one of my trusty visors. It's not a fashion statement, it's a wall. You can get away with a ton of not really looking at folks when you speak with them, wearing one of those.

I didn't say any of this is a good or bad thing. There's so, so much to get to at the moment in the hour with the therapist that I've never asked. To be honest, I don't spend much time deliberately investigating myself other than that hour. My own head invented this filter thing, and the visors make it possible to deal with the outside world. Whatever works, I'm too busy for anything else.

 

[Changing4Best]

Yes, Anni, I can relate to that filter you have to have. I have one too, for all my Yanky terms that almost pop out of my mouth, were it not for my filter! In a sense, if I were not PTSD, I'd probably not give a dang, but since I don't want to have to deal with the anxiety of someone looking at me askance or worse when I say something like YOU GUYS, I quickly am reminded by my filter that it is YA'ALL hereabouts instead!

 

[safenow]

When I am in severe pain, my voice stops working. I know it's not a flashback, but the mind tries to go back to how we handled it when we were little. That way we can endure what is going on right now. That is one of the blessing of being a multiple. I have so many insiders that know pain. At least one of them can help me. LOL. So, today, I'm taking a print out of the spoon theory with me. In case you don't know what that is, Google it. I"m also taking my small ptsd first-aid kit with me. I put Velcro on a spoon and my teddy bear, then sprayed perfume on the teddy. So I have the 5-4-3-2-1 game all in that little hand full. Sight: Brown, black, red, white, silver. Touch: bear, spoon ribbon, eyes. Sound: People talking. Taste: A mint from my purse. Smell: the perfume, and some sea salt nasal spray. I'm all set to leave the house. Ooops. I guess I'd better get dressed, eh?

Sorry to ramble.

 

[Changing4Best]

That is a great idea, Safenow. Thanks for sharing and you can ramble any old time your heart desires!

 

[Orglethorp]

I didn't vote, because my answer is "yes, completely at random, and it irritates me to no end!" Ever since my diagnosis at age 18, I will randomly lose words. I'll be speaking with someone about anything at all, and mid-sentence I'll suddenly lose the word "red" or "dog" or "it." Sometimes the word is gone for hours, and sometimes I'll have it by the time I've finished re-wording my sentence to avoid revealing that I had forgotten such a simple word. I was much more pronounced when I was on medication (which I have refused since I was 21 because of this and other side effects), but it still happens, and it doesn't seem to be linked to any of my other symptoms. It'll happen on both good days and bad ones.

 

[goa way]

Yes, its pretty bad when you can't find words. I also forget the meaning of words now. I also have a lot of difficulty looking people, anyone, in the eyes whilst talking to them. I can go all day at home with my hubby, and not even know what he,s wearing as I won't look at him.