Shyness

So I've been thinking about how I diagnosed myself with selective mutism. I told my therapist today about it, she didn't argue but she said something like, "oh, well most people get anxious in social settings." But she wouldn't really know if I had the disorder or not. She didn't know me when I was younger.

There's something about knowing I have this disorder that makes me feel better. When I think about it, I see reasons why it could make me feel better or it could make me feel worse. The reason why it might make me feel worse is because it means I'm not unique in being so quiet, which sounds like a good thing, but let me explain. I remember back in 2006, I was at the Amen clinic where they were scanning my brain. They also do an interview to help with the diagnosis. It took a great deal of prodding because I had learned from past mistakes not to talk to doctors about certain things, but the interviewer got me to explain a little bit of my delusions, though not in great detail (come to think of it, I've never really explained them to anyone in great detail). The interviewer said there were a few grandiose things, so he asked me the question he asks everyone, which was: "Why you?" Why would this happen to you? Why are you so special? I knew why me, but I didn't answer this question. Because I'm the girl who doesn't talk. And yes, these were delusions, but as I've said before I've considered the circumstances carefully and I think there was something more than just a chemical imbalance, and so what I'm trying to say is that being unique supports my theory. Which is why I might not be happy about not being unique, but that isn't the case. Because being exceptionally quiet is by far not the only thing that makes me unique!

I don't really feel like ranting and raving about the reasons why there are spirits. Even if I did, I would just dance around the issue because if I were to actually give reasons I would be revealing book secrets. Back to the issue at hand: selective mutism. Now that I have a name to describe what I have, I see it as something more external to me and not a defect of my soul. I also realize that it can come with virtues, which I explained in a previous post.

This is weird and I can't stop thinking about it. I wonder if this has anything to do with why I've been feeling seriously funny lately. I think there's more to it than that, though. If I believed in astrology, I might say that the stars have shifted and they are in my favor right now. But I don't believe in astrology.

Self Diagnoses

So I've been watching my new favorite show The Big Bang Theory. Apparently there's a character on the show who has selective mutism. So I looked it up on wikipedia and I realize that's what I have. I determined this, keeping in mind that I am a hypochondriac. I even have the positive symptoms associated with it, like high intelligence, sensitivity to other's feelings, and a strong sense of right and wrong. Of course most people would probably say that they have these traits, but I feel that I know myself and my strengths and weaknesses.

Contrary to what it's like for a lot of people though it has gotten better over time. I got a little better when I entered college and I discovered that I could make conversation with people, though I still used alcohol to cope. It's gotten even better in the past 2 or 3 years. It's funny, because on the wikipedia article it says that some people talk to peers but not adults. It doesn't mention people who are the opposite. Of course, I'm an adult now, but I'm still a young adult. Here at Innercept, I see fellow residents as peers and the staff are like the adults (even though technically we are all adults). Talking to staff is like the easiest thing in the world. Seriously, I can go up to a new staff I've never talked to before and talk to them about anything and I'm not anxious at all. Talking to peers is different, I can talk to them too but I have to warm up to them, which can be a slow process. It's weird, because I can be shy as fuck but I think I'm an outgoing person at heart. I was outgoing when I was younger. It makes me wonder what the fuck happened.

But anyway, I think about this in the context of my more recent issues, or whatever the hell it was that happened back in spring break of 2006. Are these issues connected? Well, the fact that I didn't talk in school was part of my delusions, I mean it was significant in the context of my delusions. It doesn't mention there being a link between selective mutism and delusions, though I think it says something about schizophrenia but I don't have that. And as I write this, I am distracted by a sudden thought. Maybe I could talk about being a selectively mute person in my query letter. I'm not sure if this makes me more interesting or more boring.

Back to my delusions. They are the kind of thing I attribute to chemical imbalances when I forget the facts and details. Whenever I start really thinking about all the things that happened, I'm like WTF? There's got to be something seriously funny going on here. Basically, spirits.

But anyway, sometimes still what happens is someone does something that bothers me. At least, this happened once. And I got over it, and I forgave the person in my mind. But I became very conscious of what I said around the person, and when that happens it means I don't talk very much.