Is there a cure for thinking too much?

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For me, this means i'm thinking too emotionally and so quickly that i become silent. It happens in a social situation. I'm not sure if this is 'selective mutism' or not? It's generally accompanied by a feeling that i must speak but can't actually think of anything to say. It's not that i can't speak, i can. it just makes me feel terrible because i know i shouldn't be quiet in a social situation.

Okay, maybe not a cure, but perhaps something to help me find something to say...

My solution:
Have scripted behaviors ready.

"How are you today"
Me, pre script: <thinks about day> <ponders possible interest points> <filters what is thought to be inappropriate> <Looooong pause> "Functional". (weird looks follow)

Me, post script: "Great, and you?"

Obviously, this example is one of the 'easy' ones, but the more scripts you store that cover more situations, the less you will find yourself in this quandary. Keep memorizing and storing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobotomy

Agreed. Think of some NTish phrases and have them ready, like 'I'm fine, how are you?' or 'Good thanks' etc.

This makes me a hypocrite; I hate doing that. I can never bring myself to edit my natural, innocuous behaviour patterns that don't harm anyone, just to seem more NTish. It just feels weird and dislocatory. I can do it for about 2 minutes, then I either end up zoning out or being hyper and out of control. Not out of control as in destructive or disruptive, just weird, I don't edit myself at all.

Mechanical Girl brings up a good point there also that many aspies may not care to edit their behavior for NTs at all, considering the condition to be a 'difference' rather than a 'disability'. But if this isn't bringing you happiness or at least satisfaction, then putting on a good cloak is the next best thing.

If it helps, think of me as your cheering squad*! GO URANUS!

Viper

*only much hairier

This is the story of my life! I've got the usual repertoire of short vague responses, and I'm an expert at smiling and nodding

But what always stops me cold are questions like "What have you been up to?" or "What do you do?" or other "essay questions" with no specific topic to focus on. I freeze and get panicky. The only way out for me is to say something lame like "nothing" or "not much" or other short vague non-response... and then turn the focus back to the questioner by asking them the same or similar essay question. (Having a repertoire of these is handy, too.)

That's one cure that works for me - deflecting the focus quickly back to the other person with an essay question and hope they'll like talking about themselves enough that they'll forget about me!

Another thing I can do is, if at all possible, aim the talk at a specific topic or specific question so I have something to focus on, which gives me something to say.

Whenever someone asks me "What do you do?" I always think, "Be more specific! What do I do about what? What do I do when?" and so on...

actually, yes- flower remedies are really good for this.

i have a HUGE tome with them all listed, and there are a few for autism (but ha! my aspergers procrastination means i havent tried any yet. i just read all about it!!). also for associated symptoms- foggy thinking, rapid thought, etc.
i have tried homeopathy before, and was super super sensative to it, so flowers remedies work well on me- rescue remedy stops my meltdowns!! !
i was also immensly sceptical about it, so there was no placebo effect on me, esp considering that i had a negative reaction to lots of homeopathy. since i have teh annoying a.s trait of being sensative to noise, touch, pressure etc this may account for it- im sceptical about the rationale behind it, but they do work on me. oddly i am freakishly resiliant to general aenesthetics and codine.

anyway- google- flower remedies- 'confused thought' and whatever you are looking for- confused thought etc and see what comes up.

if you try any, do please PM me- it might get me down to the health food shop... good luck.

Concentrate on computing pi to thirty places in your head. You probably won't say too much when you are doing that. After you have done pi, do Feigenbaum's Constant.

ruveyn

do you seem to think much faster than what time would allow or start thinking about multiple things at the same time? i do this sometimes, it always ends up with someone repeatedly clicking their fingers in front of my face or something

Yes, i'm probably thinking faster than what time would allow, and yes, i'm probably thinking about multiple things, i'm usually doing some kind of physical work while it happens.

I came across these....
Focus-outward-to-win-friends-and-improve-your-people-skills
How-to-make-a-great-first-impression
18-ways-to-improve-your-body-language
10-ways-to-change-how-you-feel
Do-you-make-these-10-mistakes-in-a-conversation
5-conversational-mistakes-that-can-make-you-look-dumb
7-ways-to-move-beyond-procrastination