Verbal Fluency / Struggle In Formulating Sentences

[GreekDemiGod]

I have poor verbal fluency, and struggle sometimes to formulate sentences, due to years of social isolation, trauma, chronic anxiety. I am much better than I was a few years back, but still, people notice there's something wrong in the way I talk.
I did very good academically, so it's not an IQ issue.
Like speaking takes a lot of mental efort, whereas for others it just comes naturally. This has hurt my dating life.
It takes longer for me to pickup on social cues, and for my mind to register what has been said, if that makes sense.

I know communication is a skill that can be developed, but can anyone suggest possible compounds / supplements / aminos?

 

[boris]

Just like everything else it is like a muscle that you have to train. I heard toastmasters is good for practising public speaking.
What also helps is just engaging in random short conversations when standing in line at stores/coffeshops/etc. on the parking lot or at the bus stop. "Wow that is one xyz!" Often people will chime in to whatever you are commenting. Or ask directly "How's xzy?". The first one is easier. Just commenting on random things, people don't feel obligated to answer, but if someone is in the mood for a conversation they will say something. And there is no "awkwardness" if people don't respond.

Like peat says concentric exercise. Contract and then relax. Start short conversations and then rest for a while. Slowly build up to longer conversations.

 

[redsun]

I have poor verbal fluency, and struggle sometimes to formulate sentences, due to years of social isolation, trauma, chronic anxiety. I am much better than I was a few years back, but still, people notice there's something wrong in the way I talk.
I did very good academically, so it's not an IQ issue.
Like speaking takes a lot of mental efort, whereas for others it just comes naturally. This has hurt my dating life.
It takes longer for me to pickup on social cues, and for my mind to register what has been said, if that makes sense.

I know communication is a skill that can be developed, but can anyone suggest possible compounds / supplements / aminos?

Raise acetylcholine. I would try to get a minimum of 1g of choline from food a day and look into supplementing B1 and B3. These two will raise acetylcholine levels. No need to do crazy high doses but choline + B1, B3 should help a lot. Making sure protein intake is high to provide raw material for other neurotransmitters as well but acetylcholine is especially important for speaking and mental speed.

 

[yerrag]

I have poor verbal fluency, and struggle sometimes to formulate sentences, due to years of social isolation, trauma, chronic anxiety. I am much better than I was a few years back, but still, people notice there's something wrong in the way I talk.
I did very good academically, so it's not an IQ issue.
Like speaking takes a lot of mental efort, whereas for others it just comes naturally. This has hurt my dating life.
It takes longer for me to pickup on social cues, and for my mind to register what has been said, if that makes sense.

I know communication is a skill that can be developed, but can anyone suggest possible compounds / supplements / aminos?

I think it has a lot to do with being in the present moment. Does your mind drift elsewhere in time and space? If you're not really there, you can't pick the subtle cues in that moment. In a conversation, you may not notice it but are you contributing to the flow or are you frequently disturbing the flow by changing the topic?

I don't know if there's a supplement for that but it would help if you experiment by not having to say anything but to just listen. This keeps you focused on listening and not on thinking on what you want to say.

I think I struggled with this long ago. I pressure myself by wanting to say something even as I struggle to listen. I was also more self-conscious because I wasn't confident that anything I say was worth anything. A very critical dad did that to me. Knowing why I'm like that and wanting to overcome that helped me.

I have an elder sister who is still like that. Her lack of self-awareness and her denial of her state (I would make her aware, but alas she rationalize too much for her own good) makes her a candidate for "you can't teach an old dog new tricks."

 

[gaze]

it’s usually caused by excess serotonin and low dopamine. All the peat things help but vitamin D and avoiding internet/blue light are things anyone can work on immediately. Also I would highly recommend you walk an hour a day, if you don’t already

 

[Mhtro]

Kratom

 

[pepsi]

Im the same way. I can write something and sound like an intelligent person, but I speak very plainly. Are you good at expressing yourself through writing? Some people are just better at communicating that way, but I know thats not much help.

I just started taking pregnenolone a few days ago and Ive noticed a brighter mood and some better word recall. Maybe it can help you.

 

[stsfut]

This is me! Everything I do in the peat universe for the most part revolves around verbal fluency. Usually it is tied to how I feel energy wise. Redsun gave great advice with the choline/thiamine.

Eggs are the best food for me paired with OJ. Paradoxically though my VF improves a lot with alcohol which lowers choline so that part confuses me. But then while hungover (does not happen often) VF suffers ten times worse.

Then there is the thyroid/cortisol side of things. When I feel the worst VF wise, I usually feel that low cortisol feeling. Optimizing thyroid and hormones has helped things tremendously.

It’s still a huge mystery to me but I have improved greatly over the last few years. My job requires presentations and lots of verbal communication so maybe I have improved by necessity.

There is probably an anxiety side to it but I think our VF issues are tied to hormonal/neurotransmitter imbalances.

 

[LeeLemonoil]

A quick fix for certain situations can be inhaled androsterone-sulfate... only smallest amounts.
It doesn’t work for all, but for those that need to „tap into“ their abilities it works very good most of the time. It’s not a longterm solution though.

Androsterone Sodium Sulfate (RONE-S) Spray

Alleviates social anxiety too. 25mcg per spray is sufficient

 

[Hugh Johnson]

Chances are you are traumatized and constantly dissociate. Look into polyvagal theory, and see it if resonates. Hypnotic regressions and Radical HOnesty followed by body based work have worked well for me.

 

[GreekDemiGod]

I think it has a lot to do with being in the present moment. Does your mind drift elsewhere in time and space? If you're not really there, you can't pick the subtle cues in that moment.

You are very much right, someone has even pointed out to me IRL exactly this. I'm either thinking of being somewhere else or I'm constantly self-aware of how am I perceived by the other person.

 

[Mhtro]

You are very much right, someone has even pointed out to me IRL exactly this. I'm either thinking of being somewhere else or I'm constantly self-aware of how am I perceived by the other person.

Ekhart Tolle has a book called the power of now, I also have his 2019 masterclass but I've not been through it. I think he is a good spiritualist to help you out.

 

[somuch4food]

I was always shy as a kid. My family didn't make a big deal of it thankfully but I lost the childhood opportunity of learning to socialize. I'm now fairly certain that it was all anxiety driven.

I always was the good kid with the good grades doing the right things, but I didn't have friends and was not encouraged enough to overcome my shyness.

I'm finding dietary changes are helping. I recently started 1000 IU of D3 and I feel more socially aware of the people around. I was resisting supplementation all those years, but it can certainly help.

I have an elder sister who is still like that. Her lack of self-awareness and her denial of her state (I would make her aware, but alas she rationalize too much for her own good) makes her a candidate for "you can't teach an old dog new tricks."

My partner is also stuck in that pattern of learned helplessness. I would love to pass on everything I've learned here but he needs to take the first step by himself. I used to be like him, but I started to realize that I did not like who I was and searched for ways to change that did not involve willpower and denial. This forum has opened my eyes to all the wrong things we are doing as a society.

it’s usually caused by excess serotonin and low dopamine. All the peat things help but vitamin D and avoiding internet/blue light are things anyone can work on immediately. Also I would highly recommend you walk an hour a day, if you don’t already

I think that's spot on. All your recommendations have helped me as well.

 

[GreekDemiGod]

All the peat things help but vitamin D and avoiding internet/blue light

You mean avoiding blue light in the evenings and before sleep? I wonder what effect would have except better sleep
Cause during the day I've read it is needed.

 

[shine]

Caffeine + Theanine + Pregnenolone works quite well in my experience. Especially theanine is like meditation in a capsule, it gets you in the Now like 30mins of meditative breathing does. I enjoy conversation a lot more on it.

 

[Such_Umami]

If I just honestly express my emotions, I am fine. If I reherse something or say something I don't really mean, it is bad.

As for listening, it's quite good to be in an environment which requires receiving instructions. I switched to a job that emphasizes this and I've noticed that my listening skills have improved outside of work as well. You could perhaps simulate this skill with a game that requires this kind of skill, "keep talking and nobody explodes" might be a good example. However, if you are drifting off all the time it could be a serotonin imbalance which is tuning you out.

A big problem a lot of people have in social situations is that they try to impress the other person in some way. If you get rid of the need to do this, you'll find people will like you no matter who you are. People want to be around authentic people that aren't trying to one up them or judge them.

 

[methylenewhite]

You have to turn your external world communication on. It's damn easy, just say Hi/Hello to first 3 strangers you meet on the street. Doesn't really matter how they would react. Just say it, 3 times are enough to get yourself up. You will be amazed how good this ***t works.

 

[pauljacob]

Raise acetylcholine. I would try to get a minimum of 1g of choline from food a day and look into supplementing B1 and B3. These two will raise acetylcholine levels. No need to do crazy high doses but choline + B1, B3 should help a lot. Making sure protein intake is high to provide raw material for other neurotransmitters as well but acetylcholine is especially important for speaking and mental speed.

I take peanut butter for breakfast with my morning coffee. How many tablespoons of peanut butter make 1g of acetylcholine?
Does taking B complex, instead of individual doses of B1, B3, OK?

 

[milkboi]

I take peanut butter for breakfast with my morning coffee. How many tablespoons of peanut butter make 1g of acetylcholine?
Does taking B complex, instead of individual doses of B1, B3, OK?

Why would you eat peanut butter?

 

[pauljacob]

It's a quick breakfast for me, but mainly for the Choline to get my neurons started. I'm retired, so I eat another breakfast by 10 a.m. (3-egg omelette in butter or coconut oil). I don't eat meat, fish, or fowl. I avoid saying I'm a vegetarian because many confuse that with vegan.