What was the longest you ever went without using your voice, without having a medical reason (cold, sore throat, surgery, injury, etc.)?
I regularly go about 2 ½ days without making a single audible sound with my voice. Friday through Monday.
I used to talk to myself a bit or sing/hum along while listening to music but I kinda stopped doing that.
The funny thing is, I've recently realizied that the last and first thing I say throughout the weekend are usually the same. I say "Goodbye" to my coworkers on a Friday evening, and then I say "Goodbye" to the cashier near the self checkout at the grocery store where I grab my lunch for the day on a Monday morning. It's sort of ironic that the first thing I say after a long period of time, is something that usually ends a conversation.
56 replies
If it weren't for my cat, it would honestly be weeks without any speech. But she needs to be told she's sweet and perfect.
Duh.
They mustn’t be allowed to forget. It simply wouldn’t do for them to pass more than a few minutes without being reassured of their absolutely perfection.
Same. Mine need to be told not to steal food or do other tomfoolery.
That and reciting lyrics of random songs that get stuck in my head every minute or so.
Yeah, I guess pets force you to communicate.
3-4 days straight, every 5ish months.
I used to work 5 week shifts on a ship, and as an introvert, once I arrived back home my social battery was well beyond spent. Since I was offshore, people were used to my phone being "outside of reception". But the truth was that once I arrived back home it was an important part of my self care ritual:
Upon arriving back home, I sent an SMS to my mom letting immediate family know that I was no longer on the other side of the planet, but back home and safe. I then turned my phone completely off and left it under my bed, and did whatever I felt like doing. After about three days I felt ready to interact with society again.
Not sure, but it was during covid. I remember the first few hangouts with my buddies left my throat sore as shit the next day. And not because of that, you wish.
Sure bud
I can go days without talking to another human but I don't think a day go by without me making any sounds. After all, I'm constantly talking to my pet and house spiders and when outside I talk to birds, squirrels and food delivery robots.
I can go a long time not talking to another human but I talk to myself in the third (second?) person, probably more than a healthy person should.
"Laranis, look what you did now."
"Alright, enough Lemmy, Laranis. Time to get on the chores."
And then there are the dogs. They need engaging conversations to keep them emotionally engaged and happy.
So sounds? Always. Other people are optional.
Does it get lonely sometimes or is it a choice you made?
Well sure, but it still beats being in a bad relationship. Ideally I'd be with someone who I like being with and who likes being with me but you can't have it all. Relationships aren't my #1 priority in life.
Im bout the loudest person I know, probably never been completely quiet more than an hour or two of my waking life.
Please stay away from me.
Sincerely, a introverted Finnish person
Why did you say introverted twice?
I like to labor the point
I talk to myself pretty often, so no more than a couple of hours.
I used to too. I don't even know why I stopped. Maybe at first it was a challenge of how long I could avoid talking to myself. But then it just became the new normal.
I was stuck on an empty cruise ship (as crew) for 9 months at sea during covid. I normally went days at a time without ever seeing anyone. I don't think i talked once during my three 2 week quarantine periods.
https://youtu.be/M067F55j8Rw
Dann that's crazy, never thought about what was going on on cruise ships during Covid.
The longest would probably be something like three months. During CoVID I got tasked with keeping the IT infrastructure running in one of our satellite buildings. I was the only person in my shop assigned to this building and one of two total people in the building on any given day. The other being the janitor who did his rounds at night and then locked up the building.
I also live alone and tend to use the self-checkout at the grocery store. The only person I would have even had any real opportunity to speak to would have been the attendant at the self-checkout and they would have at most gotten the customary head-nod of greeting.
It was the second happiest time of my life, second only to the three weeks immediately following that where I did all the same stuff, but from home.
Not very long, I usually make sounds while thinking
I maybe whisper at most.
I sometimes do bubble sounds with my mouth
So I'm not pathologizing you specifically but from my entry level knowledge in psychiatry I feel like that's gotta do something real weird to a human's neurotransmitters. Not even necessarily bad even I'd just be fascinated to know.
Ive had a lot of jobs where i worked alone. Ive also had a few stints of prolonged unemployment and other random things that kept me isolated. I started talking to myself, just kinda about whatever i was doing. Sure i look crazy but it helps. Now i have co workers and stuff i bs with so its better.
I spend decent stretches of time alone but I usually talk to myself or something. I totally get why crazy hermits who live alone in the woods do it, it's awesome
No better conversation partner for me than myself.
8 months. I was premature.
I'll talk to myself at least once a day, so not very long.
yea, about 2 and half for me too over a weekend. Couldn't get the whole 3 days even on long weekends because I would go out with friends over that weekend.
Sorry I'm over 30, what is this "go out with friends" thing your talking about. /s
I feel like your voice is sort of a use-it-or-lose it type of thing. Even by "nobody likes the sound of their own voice" standards, my voice is objectively very unpleasant. But since I started using it less and less, it became even more nasal, more hoarse and even more high-pitched.
I just really don't have a lot reasons to speak, neither do I really want them. I think everything I say throughout the entire week fits on a single sheets of paper. Which sucks when I inevitable do have to hold a meeting or presentation, and I permanently sound like I got a lump in my throat. I have a coworker who's voice literally sounds like nails on a chalkboard, it's unbearable and I feel like mine is not far removed from that.
I really envy people that have a nice crispy deep voice or a beautiful singing voice. I feel like your voice carries way more power and attractiveness than your physical appearance despite being the hardest to significantly influence.
Yes its partially genetic and your health, but good voices come from training. All those celebs and ted talk people? They had years of voice training. Its very rare someone naturally has a perfect speaking or singing voice with zero training. this stupid Internet age makes everyone think everyone else is better than them with zero effort.
I doubt your voice is as bad as you think. And actually, not using your voice gives it a rest. Many vocalists actually dont talk at all on show days to preserve their voice for the show.
Even if your voice is annoying, your cadence and delivery can be changed with training. If youre likeable, your voice can be annoying as fuck and it wont matter.
I disagree. It is definetly survivorship bias. Yes training can give you a bit of an edge, but the ones with unpleasant voices simply never make it to stardom, or any speaking roles in fact. The only ones I can think of are Kristen Schaal and Zack Hadel (probably the closest example to my own voice) who are essentially reserved for voicing weird cartoon characters and don't exactly have the stage presence of Shohreh Aghdashloo or Christopher Judge.
You get the range you're born with, that's it. Otherwise everybody could train to be Freddie Mercury.
Look at David Hayter, he's one the most famous voices in video game history and even he can't bring himself to do his iconic Solid Snake voice for long periods of time despite being professionally trained. One of the reasons why Joji retired his Filthy Frank persona was because it was to taxing to do his voice and had an negative effect on his music career.
Your voice is directly proportional to your likeability and cadence for the same reason they don't make shit brown or piss yellow Ferraris.
I agree with this person's suggestion but want to put another spin on it. The goal doesn't have to be giving you a brand new voice, just use it to exercise. At the very least, the muscles will be "ready" to speak when you have to so you'll have more confidence about it.
Do you like music? Try singing or even just humming. Play around with your mouth, throat, and posture to hear how it changes the timbre. I won't over promise here but people have WAY more control than they realize. Say "aaahhh" and move your head forward and back, it's crazy what a big change it makes.
I don't think the character voices you gave are fair, though. Filthy Frank and Solid Snake both sound like they've smoked two packs a day since birth. Mimicking that damage is kind of damaging in itself. A similar thing happens with singers who only use falsetto - that is ROUGH on your body.
Point taken about Kristen Schaal. She does have a cute voice that works well with cartoons. But I would absolutely take her seriously in a serious role, too! She's just really funny so she mostly does comedy
May I suggest trying one of those voice training apps? I hated my voice too… so I changed it lol. It took a while but I spent an hour every day for a few weeks practicing and then it became habit
I talk to myself a lot, and I also use Siri a lot. Not to mention how much I talk to my cat.…
Now, I may go several days without interacting with another person… but I eventually have to go out and buy cigarettes.
Well I got an aquarium, and let's say fish are not exactly good listeners.
My cats would miss our talks.
I could probably go for quite some time if I was all alone, but eventually I would speak out loud while thinking about a conversation I'll probably never have.
Yes, but I have this sentiment that even if I'm all alone in an empty apartment, nobody wants to hear me talk. So I resort to whispering, which technically isn't using your voice.
I meow to my cat every single day.
Hey fellow human, I get that as I work from home. That being said I put effort into going out / finding people to talk to and it really helped my mental health. If that's not for you, or if there is something preventing it I get that but please make sure you're taking care of yourself.
I thought about this, I think its impossible for me. Especially because I'd be talking to my dogs or cat, or I'd be singing. The longest, not including sleeping, is probably like 3 hours.
The obvious would probably be when I was 4 years old. Went 4 whole years from birth without speaking, Lol. My parents said I was “selectively mute” and put me in a class with a lotta differently abled kids, which ended after they realized I just didn’t like speaking.
Im married and even when I walk my dog I talk to her. I never shutup :) (actually most people consider me rather quiet).
I can go a week, easily, if I am on staycation.
"Staycation", I'm so stealing that.
Do you ever notice that, when you do finally speak, your voice has changed/is different? To me it feels my vocal chords have forgotten what they're supposed to do and my throat oozes this garbled, rasp around my bloated tongue.
I'll have to try speaking to myself out loud more often, just to keep in shape
Yes, this exactly how it feels.
I think my record is about the same, about 2 or 3 days. Makes for a cool voice afterwards.
Cool voice, Really? Mine is so much worse afterwards.
I like the rasp
nasal rasp ≠ throat rasp
i don't think mine was nasal at all