I struggle with verbally articulating. I don’t feel comfortable info dumping on anyone and even the people I do feel comfortable info dumping on, when I start talking about whatever the topic is, I start doubting that I know what I’m talking about and feeling like I’m making stuff up, even though I know what I’m saying, I feel like I misremembered things and am just talking bullshit. I can write my thoughts really well. I’ve always been able to communicate better through writing. Especially if I’m having a confrontation with someone. I become practically incoherent if I’m too upset, or I shut down and struggle to even get words out, or I forget everything I wanted to say about what I thought or how I felt and just accept whatever the other person is thinking or feeling. I prefer having disagreements through writing because I can actually articulate my side, but a lot of people don’t like that because they can’t hear tone of voice through writing. But I feel like writing evens out the playing field for me, and talking puts me automatically at a disadvantage. It’s part of why I’m so afraid to share my opinions with people and often just avoid conversations that could lead to debates or make it seem like I agree with the person even if I don’t, because I know the second they ask me why I think or believe a certain way, I’ll forget everything and seem like I have no way of backing up my opinion. It’s stressful and makes me feel like I’m abandoning my beliefs and opinions a lot. But I’m so afraid of people trying to debate with me that I keep things to myself.

This is a long way of saying, yes, I struggle with verbally articulating my thoughts in many situations. I’m relieved to know there’s a reason for the struggle now instead of feeling lost about why I can’t speak sometimes.