Is this Selective Mutism?

For reason, every time I'm alone with my dad, it's hard for me to reply to him. Like I struggle to say anything. I'll be lucky to get one word out. I hate being on an unnatural limbo.

By definition- Selective mutism (SM) is an anxiety disorder in which a person who is normally capable of speech does not speak in specific situations or to specific people.

I don't know the exact situation, and maybe there's something similar to selective mutism...but either way perhaps finding a way to ease some of the tension. Maybe be doing something together to alleviate the stress of directly talking to each other. I find if I have to concentrate on something, I can temporarily snap out of my mutism.

Yes, you do have selective mutism. My best friend has it and he can only speak to either me or his family.

Does this apply to remembering things? I tend not to remember things I should. Like I watched at least 3 movies in the last day and struggle to remember the name of them.

Tornman wrote:Does this apply to remembering things? I tend not to remember things I should. Like I watched at least 3 movies in the last day and struggle to remember the name of them.

Only speech. Memory issues are related to quite a number of cognitive issues. Stress can often cause it too.

Adult selective mutism is rare. I became mute for over one year two years after losing my wife and son. I was hospitalized during the longest part of this condition and I did not speak to anyone, not at all.

I was overwhelmed by grief at the time. Severe depression with raging psychosis. It was within that psychotic bubble that I became, and remained, silent. At the time I had been diagnosed with 5-6 different psychiatric diagnoses, but I was not deemed to have a Selective Mutism disorder.

There are a number of reasons that we seize up when attempting to communicate. Not all are due to SM. Are you currently in therapy? If so, you might want to discuss this with your therapist.

Good luck.