I have a friend and classmate who does the mouthing words thing and it is the most ANNOYING trait ever. She will also say my last bit out loud. Even worse, when a colleague asks me a question and she’s around she will start saying the answer I’m saying out loud just one word behind me! It’s so bizarre. I know she would be so offended if I call her on it so I just put up with it.

This is a GREAT instructional youtube and why I might try the cup again. I was having problems removing it, but there are some great tips here.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9CBh6cAKapA

The repetition of sounds or just mouthing the words can be a few different things.

On the more serious side it can be an obsessive compulsive behavior sort of like Tourette’s which is usually called “echolalia” which is when you repeat things you’ve already said or things that you’ve heard without being able to control it. That’s similar to stuttering or a vocal tic. It’s not something intentional and some people don’t even know they’re doing it.

Developmentally, “echolalia” and the connected one which is “palilalia” are considered types of “aphasia” where “aphasia” means difficulty with language or expression.

Some people do it because it helps them understand things better. There are people who repeat things so that their brains process the information which means that the way they learn is more dependent on saying it out loud or “echotic memory”.

That’s more similar to when someone will give you a phone number and you repeat it as they’re saying it so that it sticks in your short-term memory. For those people, repeating the syllables to themselves is so that they process the information. Speaking out loud as people write things is also common, because it helps them see the errors in what they’ve written. I imagine that finishing someone’s sentence with them is sort of like an “aha!” moment.

But echolalia can be a symptom of deafness or degenerating hearing as well. They’re mouthing words because they didn’t hear them so well. Some people who are hard of hearing will be listening, and then repeat what you’ve just said to make sure they caught the information. That’s distracting but it’s because they’re trying to listen.

For other people it’s more a symptom of dementia or even Alzheimer’s where the mind isn’t totally working so well with memory. Not that she’s got dementia or Alzheimer’s, but just that it happens with them too.

Though it’s unlikely, it might also be perfectionism. When people are learning a foreign language they imitate what other people say or how they say it to get pronunciation right. Some people practice their words in their head or out loud before saying them. That’s more of a nervous tic, but it does happen and it’s called “rehearsal” I believe. It’s very common for people who are trying to participate in conversations or public speaking but are afraid of stuttering or blanking out. People rehearse information so that it stays in their memories and it’s a way of soothing their nerves but also giving them sort of like mental note cards.

Echolalia or some of the other terms under what people call aphasia are symptoms so it could be a lot of things.

If she does it with other people, then it’s a thing that she does. If it’s only with the writer-inner, then you might have to make sure it’s not a mocking thing. I assume if there’s no mocking faces being made then it’s probably not to unnerve the writer-inner on purpose and maybe it’s just trying to make sure the information sticks.

Other times it’s more like what Elizabeth was saying like helping the conversation out so it’s more like $10,000 Pyramid where you guess words that seem right to show that you’re engaging in the conversation or trying to empathize.

Again, probably not the thing, but aphasia is common with people who have brain injuries or people who have had trauma on the left hemisphere of their brains since that’s where the language recognition and reproduction centers are, but problem solving and reasoning is more on the right side.

Aphasia itself is a really broad term and refers to anything from people being unable to pronounce words properly, who speak in gibberish because language makes no sense anymore, or they can understand what the thing is when they see it but they physically can’t produce that word in a conversation.

My guess would be that it’s just a quirk that she does with everyone and might not even recognize she’s doing it, unless she’s just doing it to you… in which case, there’s more to it than that.

I love my chiropractor. That said, I have only really liked 2 out of the 4 I have been to. I feel like you really need to find one that works for you. I have scoliosis, and am a runner, so I tend to have a lot of hip issues relating to the imbalance in my spine. I’ve been seeing my current Dr now for about 5 years (every 3 weeks) and have avoided a major injury during that time. He is also trained in ART (active release technique) which helps break up scar tissue that’s formed on muscles or tendons, which is amazingly painful, but it works like a mofo. I highly recommend it for folks with soft tissue damage.

Ugh to the daddies that are like teenagers to wake up. I feel your pain writter inner What a pain in the royal behind. We both work full time monday to friday so I only feel that pain on the weekends but that is well enough for me. Very frustrating I have no idea how to change this but am interested if anyone else does.

Looks like people have already covered the mouthing words thing, I was curious if maybe it’s just an intense form of mimicking behavior. Would be so very annoying though!

For the writer inner with the husband who stays at home and is a night owl, I have a dialed down version of that in my house. My husband is a SAH-rockstar and he tends to go to sleep later than I do (around midnight). However, I have set a precedent that he gets up with our kiddo no matter what, the frustrating part is that I’ll often see him half asleep on the couch in the morning. It had gotten worse over the past few months since I was pregnant & in first trimester and going to bed around 8pm, when he was clearly not ready to go to sleep.

Now that I’m going to bed more like 9pm-10pm, I’ve tried to get him involved in my nighttime routine. I ask to cuddle in bed, I make him a cup of bedtime (tranquil dream from teavana) tea when I make mine, etc. About half the time he does fall asleep at the same time as I do.

For us, while we don’t have the issues of him being a jerk in the mornings (though sometimes he’s not the cheeriest person), I was more concerned with his health and making sure he was taking care of himself. So maybe go from that approach and ask for that connection in the bedtime routine? Good luck! And keep on rocking you working mom you.

To the wife with the hubby/teenager SAHD: I suggest hiring a sitter. I am a SAHM and I hate the hours of 5pm-7pm. I have a mother’s helper or my mom-in-law at our house a couple days a week or I drop off my kids with another sitter. I know morning is a weird time, but I think it’s worth finding someone for a couple of hours to let mom get ready/go to work and let dad sleep. Especially if it’s not every day. It could be a grandmotherly type person (who’s up early anyway) or a college student on the days they have later classes. I hope it works out for you because it sounds like y’all are doing an amazing job parenting together and being a couple. Good luck!

So, it seems that people have really covered the mouthing words/finishing sentences thing, but I have a different perspective. I totally used to do this. And to a certain extent I still finish people’s sentences.

In my case, it was completely unconscious. I actually had no idea I was doing it until a really good friend pointed it out to me. I had to really focus to stop doing it. And in the process of trying to break the habit I realized I do it to stay attentive in conversations.

Bottom line, it’s something people can change. I’m not sure if the writer-inner wants to address it with her mom, because that seems like a can of worms best left unopened. However, if the person is reasonably self-aware it’s probably something people should just point out to them. (Wow that sentence has a lot of ambiguous pronouns, but you guys get it).

I know that Andy based his opinion of chiropractors on his experience, but if he based it on the science, he’d probably have the same opinion. I also had assumed it was completely legit; I had no idea that it was controversial and there really isn’t any scientific evidence of its effectiveness (with the exception of manipulating the spine to help lower back pain, but even that isn’t any more effective than other treatments), I don’t want to be a wet blanket, but when it comes to medical stuff, actual proof is important to me. Additionally, in rare cases, it can cause adverse effects.
And comparing a medical doctor to a chiropractor is not correct-chiroprators have a narrower scope, less training and are not licensed physicians. And I also think E answered why many people swear by it: they want to believe it works, and they’ve been told by many people that it does. But there are also thousands of people who call psychic hotlines and swear by that as well. My advice would be to go to a physical therapist instead (or really any treatment that doesn’t have a “Controversy” section on its Wikipedia page.)