Sudden loss of speech: Has anyone else experienced this?

Over the last few months—honestly, maybe even the last couple of years—I’ve been pretty much obsessed with picking up a few different languages. Between reading books every now and then and going through about six or seven news articles a day in English, I thought I was doing fine. But lately, I’ve noticed my ability to actually speak fluently is just tanking. It’s strange because I have a massive vocabulary; I can pull out some pretty sophisticated words when I need to, yet I’ll find myself right in the middle of a conversation feeling completely lost, unable to even summon basic words a middle schooler would know.

It’s reached a point where it’s genuinely frustrating to be mid-sentence and just stall out. Writing a blog post is a totally different story since I have all the time in the world to structure my thoughts, but speaking is another beast entirely. What’s the move here? Should I start practicing in front of a mirror 🤣 🤣?

It isn't really a matter of vocabulary... clearly 😉

The rest is up to you... you have a functioning brain, I suppose... though you certainly have enough of your own complications to keep you busy 😬... just keep at it 👍

I’ve been noticing a pretty similar pattern over the last few years, ever since I transitioned into a field where my brain is basically running at redline for several hours every single day—think heavy-duty mathematics, probability theory, statistics, and that constant high-stakes decision-making that comes with all that pressure.
I’ve also started to feel like my memory isn't quite what it used to be, though I can't help but wonder if that might be tied to the depression I've been dealing with, since I've heard how much that can mess with your cognitive retention.

It’s the exact same story for me, really... though I suppose I actually have a reason for it. Back when I was navigating my college years, whenever I tried to express myself using more precise, sophisticated vocabulary, people would just laugh at me... most of them couldn't even grasp what I was trying to say if a sentence contained two words they didn't recognize, and then the whole conversation would spiral into these pointless speculations and debates, and frankly, who has the time or the mental energy for all that nonsense these days?

You really need to stop overthinking things when you speak, because if you do, it’s just never going to happen 🙂

Thinking too much about it just ends up fueling your anxieties

William Chavez5 said:It’s the exact same story for me, really... though I suppose I actually have a reason for it. Back when I was navigating my college years, whenever I tried to express myself using more precise, sophisticated vocabulary, people would just laugh at me... most of them couldn't even grasp what I was trying to say if a sentence contained two words they didn't recognize, and then the whole conversation would spiral into these pointless speculations and debates, and frankly, who has the time or the mental energy for all that nonsense these days?

That started happening to me around age 14 or 15 too, haha. Man, what a dull and uninspired place this country can be sometimes!

copperpanther27 said:You really need to stop overthinking things when you speak, because if you do, it’s just never going to happen 🙂

Thinking too much about it just ends up fueling your anxieties

That’s solid advice. Honestly, you also need to be well-rested—speaking from experience here... 😁

Lawrence Bailey77 said:It isn't really a matter of vocabulary... clearly 😉

The rest is up to you... you have a functioning brain, I suppose... though you certainly have enough of your own complications to keep you busy 😬... just keep at it 👍

👍

darkwolf19 said:I’ve been noticing a pretty similar pattern over the last few years, ever since I transitioned into a field where my brain is basically running at redline for several hours every single day—think heavy-duty mathematics, probability theory, statistics, and that constant high-stakes decision-making that comes with all that pressure.
I’ve also started to feel like my memory isn't quite what it used to be, though I can't help but wonder if that might be tied to the depression I've been dealing with, since I've heard how much that can mess with your cognitive retention.

Yeah, depression hits your memory pretty hard. Just like general stress does. If you throw sleep deprivation into the mix, the result is pretty much a disaster.