Anita, thanks very much for your reply.
I’m sorry I took so long to respond, I’ve just had a lot on.
I think you may be on to something: I dismissed Tourettes outright as I believed it’s always congenital, but if you’re right that it can be brought on throughout life, and even triggered by some medicines, then that fits with my suspicion that my involuntary vocalizations may have been caused by the pill I was taking when mine started.
I don’t know about other tic disorders though – I’d need to research that.
I also don’t recognize the medicines you list, but perhaps mine is a culprit.
It’s not likely to be anxiety, as that doesn’t fit with my situation then or now; and it can’t be OCD, as OCD sufferer’s carry out their compulsions knowingly and willingly, whereas my vocalizing my tboughts is purely involuntary. I also know three people with OCD, and one of my best friends is a CBT therapist on the NHS, so I’ve learned a bit about phobias, OCD, etc. from him.
I have wondered about ADHD but only regarding impulse control: I’d never heard of it linked to vocalizing thoughts.
But I thought that unlikely as I generally don’t have trouble concentrating; certainly not to the extent that I’ve heard described as typical for ADHD.
My only problem now is getting access to a specialist such as a neurologist. I finished working a few years ago with the specialist who treated me for the chronic condition for which I was prescribed that pill.
And my GP didn’t want to know when I suggested that I thought that pill could be causing this.
And I can’t afford private treatment, but even if I could, I still couldn’t access it without a GP’s referral.
So it’s going to be tough.
But I’ll pursue these avenues you’ve suggested anyway, as these problems are far too serious to let go.
So thanks very much for your help!
🤙

Hi Alessa, thanks for your reply.
I didn’t say that pill caused the thinking aloud problem, just that it started while I was on it. But I DO believe it did. It’s not a known side-effect, and the specialist who treated me for that condition said he hadn’t heard of such a thing, but didn’t say it couldn’t happen. My otherwise great GP didn’t want to know – I think he may have been afraid I’d try to sue the company and call him as a witness.
Either way, no matter what caused the problem, I want to be rid of it.
Chewing gum doesn’t help.
I am glad it’s not an issue for you, but I find it often involves me thinking of serious personal issues, and about arguing with people about private matters, so it is a great concern to me.
And yes, it happens often.
Humming a tune may help – if I remember to do it! 😀
I didn’t handle the optician thing well, as it was a reaction rather than a considered response. It was just lucky for me it was a positive one. Also, she wasn’t so much trying to help, as being impatient and taking control in an aggressive way.
But that’s only one of countless examples over my life where people treat me like a doormat – something which would happen far less if instead of reacting, I was able to consciously choose how to respond. And I’d pick assertiveness over aggressiveness every time!
The only answer I see to that one is training, but there’s currently no way I can facilitate that right now. I did attend an assertiveness course in 1999, but I wasn’t managing to socialize much then, so as to practise outside of class.
I haven’t slept well since 2015, and my GPs couldn’t offer any help there, but it did start to improve a lot last year.
I was put on beta-blockers for a benign tremor, but they didn’t help anything – including that.
I wouldn’t try antidepressants – for one thing, you need a psychological problem to be given them here in the UK; but I’ve known people who take them, and none of them have gotten better as a result.
Thinking of how to respond in a situation beforehand is a good idea, but I often find (several) unexpected things arise which derail you, and leave you feeling even more overawed. So I don’t believe in the Fake-it-till-You-Make-It / “As-If Principle” school of thought.
Tried it and had it fail too many times, and seen too many others fail with it too.
As for hitting things, just like me reacting to other people, it often happens before I know it, so there’s no chance to disengage.
But I agree it IS a good idea to be aware of my moods!
And I’ll look into the L-theanine too.
Thanks, Alessa.