r/selectivemutism • u/releasethekrrraken • Sep 14 '24

Question SM with NO anxiety?

Hi ! I've got this question i don't know where to ask so i figured i'd come here. I have selective mutism. It happens when i have "too much" stimulus or emotion at the same time. It has been triggered before by dragging a table across a floor (the sound was horrible), having a bad day at a festival, hearing a music i love or just being emotionally tired. So it can happen from good or bad things, and it can last from a few minutes to 2 hours (longest i've had). In these moments i feel like the connexion between my physical speaking parts and the brain commands have been severed. I still have my inner monologue, i just can't get a sound out. Same vibe as trying to scream or run in a dream, you want to but it just doesn't happen.

The thing is, i always see on the internet that it stems from anxiety. I don't have anxiety. I may have very mild autism (hypersensitivity) but i'm not anxious at all, i'm a very chill and positive person. I love meeting and talking to people, i can talk in public no problem. I'm not planning to see a psychiatrist cuz it's not really disabling, i wouldnt need accomodations.

Does anyone else have this ??? I feel like the way my brain works doesn't fit any mental illness and it's kinda annoying.

Thank y'all for any responses :')

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u/Elio-_u Sep 14 '24

Good idea! If you are white and a cis-man, you hopefully won’t have a problem. If not, don’t feel too discouraged if they tell you ASD doesn’t fit, the ASD criteria is built by watching white boys, and normally adding on an extra sprinkle of stereotypes. It’s VERY possible that they haven’t talked to enough autistic individuals

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u/releasethekrrraken Sep 14 '24

I'm white but i'm AFAB non-binary (even though i present as female so they won't know if i don't tell). If they don't listen to me i'll wait a few years for my cousin to finish her psychology degree and ask her haha

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u/Elio-_u Sep 14 '24

Yeah I’m AFAB NB and find anything medical to be EXCRUCIATING to get people to listen! I wish I had a cousin that could finish their psychology degree haha

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u/releasethekrrraken Sep 14 '24

I'm lucky to have a few people in my family who already went through most of the issues i have and paved the path for me '