How are your conversation skills?

[Sweet emotion]

I think I have some kind of dementia or something. I'm only 28, but fuck, looking at the dementia checklist, if the shoe fits. I remember I brought up the term aphasia to my campus doctor like 5 years ago and he pretty much chuckled it off saying it was impossible at my age.
There's no goddamn way it's just psychological. There's no way it's just anxiety and depression. I'll admit, when the anxiety gets piled onto the depression I become some kind of psychological soup-sandwich mess and it just exacerbates shit, but no way it can get this bad. It's gotta be some kind of dementia.
Speaking is very difficult. Can't hold a conversation to save my life. Firstly, I have no enthusiasm about anything and anything I talk about is a hollow distraction/ lie to cover up. And secondly, I can't come up with the right words and I forget and I constantly mispronounce them. I sound fucking retarded (no offense). I feel grateful when I can actually get out an articulate non-fucked up sentence (which is a rare occurrence). Even listening and following conversations/instructions is VERY trying. Hard to understand. Sometimes it feels like the whole world is trying to confuse me. I dunno.
I just minimize contact with everyone, keep conversation to a brief smile and hello and try not to initiate anything and take solace that it may all be over within a month.
This is bullshit.

Are you on any medications that can do this to you? I'm on Lyrica for my nerves because I have the highest ranking pain condition in medical history. But I can strike up a conversation with someone very easily and most of the time you can't shut me up. I've always been very outgoing but being on this medication has made me forget words. I know what I what to say but I just can't get it out. I don't think you can get dementia at your age. Anxiety and depression can do that to you though.

 

[White_Room293]

7/10 initially and then about 5/10 after people get to know me

 

[Chalken]

I'm socially inept. I struggle to find things to talk about and I speak quietly. I speak only when spoken to and I barely utter a word throughout the day. It's terribly lonely having 0 friends, but I think I'd just be a downer to them anyway. Fewer people affected by my suicide too. The only people I speak with is my family.

 

[seekingoblivion]

I'm so useless at conversation. I used to read a bunch about how to talk to people but I've always struggled to incorporate those methods into my conversations. Apparently the reason is that I have to think about them and the process of thinking disturbs my ability to converse normally. Now I'm left wondering what it is like to use these methods while simultaneously not thinking about using them. When I let myself talk without thought what comes out is nonsense and I am blamed for my conversational failures. So what the hell am I to do??

 

[Anathema]

Nil, unless you're a cat

 

[DetachedDreamer97]

Kinda sucky by default if I don't have a concept on what interests other people, though I can pull pff small talk thanks to my job as a cashier.

With women, I'm 100 percent terrible, of course most don't usually give me a chance.

Men: I'd say it's somewhat easier.

 

[BridgeJumper]

Either talking your ear off like Ive done 4 lines of coke or buddhist monk vow of silence mute. No in between,
Mostly just vow of silence mute, with an addition of a hoodie draped over my head, headphones in and hanging out in the restroom to avod eye contact as much as possible

 

[56709]

Poor, probably from lack of practice more than anything else.
People critique me for being vague and indirect but honestly I haven't had an IRL conversation or even voice chat with anyone outside of my family in 7 years now. Even before then I barely talked to anyone and most of my interactions backfired.

 

[mediocre]

zero. In fact my vocal chords are underdeveloped because I've barely spoken most of my life. Couldn't hold a conversation irl to save my life.