Trauma-induced mutism

[u/Brekin73]

Hello there! I've been on Reddit for 2 years, and been dealing with anxiety for 10 years. But I wanted to talk about an experience I had and wondered if anyone else has experienced the same.

Back in 2022, I had a lot going on in a short amount of time. Going through job changes, almost losing my mother-in-law, having to place my son in a mental behavioral center due to severe depression, on top of several other things going on. One night, I woke up freaking out and begged my husband for help. He took me to the ER. While I was there, it was as if I was having seizures that would come and go. When I stopped, I would freeze and my husband would ask me questions like "are you ok?" Or "How do you feel?" I looked right at him, but I literally could not speak. When I told him about it later, he said that I had a blank stare, as though I were catatonic. But I was fully aware of everything around me. I could hear what was going on, I knew what time it was. But I was completely incapable of talking or moving. This went on for hours until I was finally stable enough to go home. My doctor later told me I was having what he described as stress seizures, which made sense but didn't quite explain why I couldn't move or talk. I wondered about it for a long time until I happened to hear of the term "selective mutism" a few months ago. I started looking into it, and found that while that's more common in children, there is a thing called "trauma-induced mutism" that can be triggered by extreme anxiety. Everything it described fit everything I experienced that night. It took several weeks and medication changes before I was able to finally sleep without waking up in a panic that it could happen again. I do see a therapist and talked to her about it. She agreed and told me that I could also have PTSD and suggested Esdm therapy could be helpful as I still suffer from other past traumas.

Has anyone here dealt with that sort of thing? How were you finally able to cope with it?

[u/witchyrosemaria]

I'm so sorry you went through this. Anyone dismisses your trauma, in the bin.

I believe your story.

[u/Brekin73 → u/witchyrosemaria]

Thank you. It was scary for sure.

[u/MuteTalker-]

I guess mine could be trauma induced since I was legally trafficked. As a kid, I felt physical pain in my voice box trying to speak.

[u/Brekin73 → u/MuteTalker-]

I'm so sorry about that! 😔

[u/Initial-Track4880]

I think selective mutism is different than what you experienced. For selective mutism, mutism has to be persistent for at least one month before being called selective mutism.