My social anxiety makes me mumble when i talk?
Being under stress, overly tired, or having any extreme emotion can make stuttering worse or make it start if you are prone to stutter. Make sure you are getting plenty of sleep; try to destress your life as much as possible; try to avoid situations that cause emotions like anger. The Stuttering Foundation is a great source for information and help. They have information for all ages, online videos, free e-books, and downloadable brochures.
How can I stop mumbling?
Mumbling is usually something that’s done subconsciously rather than conscious. If you’re actively trying to tell someone something and it comes out as just mumbles, you may have a problem, and, as Carson suggested, you may want to visit a speech therapist.On the other hand, it is possible that you are losing focus and awareness as you speak because your mind wanders somewhere else. This could be anything, from daydreaming to having anxiety overtake you as you speak. Depending on what the actual cause of the issue is, your solution to the problem will be different.If you’re trailing off at the ends of your sentences, you may want to take a step back and observe how good your focus is. Practice fully delivering your entire thought in front of a mirror, with conscious effort on not wandering to some other thought. It can be a habit that is unfortunately easy to pick up, and I’m familiar with this because this is how I spoke for a long while prior to formal speech classes. After practicing, make sure you also apply the practice by consciously making note of how you speak with others. It might be awkward at first, but this temporary awkwardness is far better than a lifetime of mumbling.On the other hand, if you have crippling anxiety or some other emotion is getting in the way of your thought process and subsequently your speech, you may want to visit a counselor or therapist. It’s hard to answer any more specifically without actually hearing you or seeing you speak. Hope this helps.
Do you suffer from social anxiety, like disliking phone calls?
I'm not sure if I do suffer from social anxiety but I get anxious and scared around people I'm not close to, even if there's just one person. I definitely disliked phone calls. If I have to make a call to someone, even my family and close friends, I'll have to like prepare what to say in mind. I'll repeat that over in my head till I think I'm good to go before dialling but this method ain't effective since I often jumbled up everything and went mumbling uncontrollably. It was so embarrassing :x I found that writing out what to say is more effective. I never mixed everything up anymore though I end up speaking rapidly till the other person can't catch anything. For incoming calls, I only accept those from my family. Other than that, I would give them all a miss and reply with a text afterwards. If it's a landline, then that's too bad. I get frightened sometimes when people call me, just the incoming call ringtone scares me so I always turn off the sound on my phone.
High social anxiety is ruining my life. Please help...?
This is long, but please read it. I have high social anxiety, depression, low self esteem, etc. I've learned how to adjust my mindset to help with depression, but I have extreme social anxiety/nervousness that I cannot seem to calm. I have only one friend whom I talk to occasionally on MSN and hang out with once every couple months at night (we go for walks at night in the dark; that's the only way I can handle hanging out with/talking to someone). Other than that, I have NO friends and I don't hang out with anyone or go to restaurants or anything like that (I wouldn't have anyone to go with in the first place). If I have to go to an appointment, I get really nervous when I have to talk and I shake, blush, feel nauseous, my mind goes blank so I have nothing to say, etc. It's awful when people ask me questions and try to have a conversation with me. I feel like I'm put on the spot; I get really embarrassed, feel frustrated, I even cry sometimes and feel faint and nauseous. I spend all my time at home, mostly in my room by myself, which adds to my depression and isolation. (I used to go to regular school, but had to drop out because my anxiety rendered me suicidal. I home schooled myself and finished high school a few years early.) I've always been painfully shy and unable to adjust socially because I feel like I'm being criticized/misunderstood and I've always had different interests from the other kids. I hate feeling like I'm wasting my life away. I feel like I'd have a lot to offer the world if I could just get rid of the social anxiety/nervousness. I'm an introvert so I probably won't ever be the life of the party, but I just want the anxiety gone. I want to enjoy my life, I want friends. I'm 16, I should be out having fun. I've considered getting a job, but there's no way I'd make it through an interview, let alone the job itself. Please, please help... does anyone have any steps to overcoming this? I've seen a lot of therapists in the past for issues like depression and I don't want to ask my parents to see another one because they don't understand, and they already spend a lot of money on me for other things. They think I like to "play the victim" and I want someone to pity me. Besides, therapists never helped much in the past. I find I do much better with issues when I coach myself through them. Thank you.
How can I stop mumbling / being too softly spoken & sounds more assertive when I speak? My friends, family etc say it's one of the main traits I need to improve on (Bearing in mind Im no super extrovert but don't have social anxiety either.)
Try to concentrate when you speak. If you can’t change yourself, try attending a speech therapist, speech or drama coach. They will teach you how to project your voice and be clear. It’s a good investment in a future career where you might have to do public speaking, in meetings or at conferences.Naturally it will help you socially too.My first husband attended a public speaking course with a group called Toastmasters, who promote public speaking skills. It helped his career.
For those of you with social anxiety/agoraphobia, what's your life like right now?
I'm at an all time low internally as a result of it at present. My life is in ruins....I have to live at home cause I can't work (believe me I've tried) I'm 21. I've neglected education which I miss so much, but there are so many people :'( I get so over stimulated and can't handle it. Getting rides from people (other than family and close friend) is one of my phobias so evvvverything is a strain for me not having a car the last couple months....the thought of dating is terrifying and I'm constantly, dodging, running away and pushing people away. I used to push myself to go places and see people when I had a car, but getting trapped is my worst fear so getting picked up and bumming rides is not an option, having my car was my way out, my comfort zone...as a result of losing that I've had to resort to seeing very few people, hardly going anywhere ever, I spend all my days at home and only being able to take short walks around the neighborhood and its been killing me! I feel like I'm going insane now. I miss the little bit of the outside world I had before and the control I had over how much I could take and not take. People are constantly on my case and in my face about not having a job, but they just do not understand the magnitude of the situation...that idk why I feel this way or how to stop. I need to go to therapy to get a handle on this, but I can't cause I have no flipping car! I've always struggled with anxiety in one form or another since I was a young kid...but my triggers would shift over the years but in the last 2 years or so, its gotten sooo bad and become a full blown uncontrollable disorder where almost everything stresses me out, and a lot of things I can't deal with at all. We should form a support group....
How to be at ease in social situations?
I also have had a similar problem with social anxiety which came from being shy as a kid andnot really forced into social situations. even with family id sit there silently unless asked a question, and sometimes could count exactly how many times id spoken by the end of the night. argh! im a bit better now but it comes and goes, especially if i dont know many people. oh how i hate walking into a room of strangers. yes alcohol helps... a lot lol. but if u dont want to go down that road then: you just have to keep at it,keep trying to initiate conversation and gain that confidence. it will get easier! i sometimes cant think of anything to say and dont know how some people have so much stuff in their head to talk about! think of it as learning a new skill, which is what it is really - socialising. you need to practice until you become good at it. but yeah just dont think that everyone else is more superior and youre not worth listening to cos that will do nothing for ur confidence. Fake confidence dont sit in a corner looking nervous! think of ideas prior to the occsaion to talk about, if you know ur seeing someone in particular think of a few things u want to ask them - make them do most of the talking to take pressure off you. im sure ur a really interesting person, but no one is able to see that cos you dont let them in! so let them in! everyone has a right to talk and be part things :)
I'm 100% sure that I have social phobia, but my parents can't understand, and just tell me to stop overthinking. How can I convince them to help me?
Your parents cannot be a cure-all. I suggest that you shop around for a counsellor whom you hit off well, and see him or her for at least once a week for a year. Dont just go a few times and then slacks off. That was my mistake when I was teen. On a philosophical level, why should one be so social so early on in life. Maybe its better for you to be not social. Too many bad things can happen coming from acquantances. Maybe your soul in its infinite wisdom wants you to hold back. Why know so many names, attend so many gatherings, eat and drink so often? How is that a VALUE? This is just my attitude after trying and trying to be social all my life.