# Counting syllables



## Learn to Fly (Feb 28, 2013)

I don't know if this started just because I needed to find a way to occupy myself when I had nobody to talk to, but I count syllables. When I hear other people talking...teachers, people on tv or radio, or sometimes even someone I'm actually talking to...I am constantly counting the syllables of their words. They have to add up to either 10 or a multiple of 10 syllables. And if the sentence doesn't work out to fit my pattern, I repeat phrases in my head to make it work out. My favorite example, and the one that is constantly going through my head is that song from bedknobs and broomsticks. "Eglantine, Eglantine, oh how you'll shine. your lot and my lot have got to combine. Eglantine, Eglantine, hark to the stars. destiny calls us, the future is ours." 40 syllables...a perfect fit. Anyway, I thought this was like super-weird...but I googled it and it seems like a lot of people do this, so I guess it's not so weird. I just wondered if it could have to do with the SA. 
Also, I had a different habit before this one developed. I used to stare at my feet when I walked. I would always have to start my walking with the left foot. I would kind of roll my feet. So I would go from heel to toe on the left, then heel to toe on the right. And if I stopped walking, I had to stop on my right toe. If I didn't it drove me crazy. I would take a couple little baby steps and make sure I ended on the right toe. I think that when I finally stopped this habit was when I started the syllable counting. Are these kinds of habits common to people with SAD?


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## sebastian1 (Feb 7, 2013)

Ever heard of obsessive-compulsive disorder?


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## wrongnumber (May 24, 2009)

Learn to Fly said:


> Are these kinds of habits common to people with SAD?


Not unless they have OCD as well.


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## Learn to Fly (Feb 28, 2013)

Alright. Yeah I thought OCD, but I just wondered if OCD and SAD commonly went hand-in-hand. I was just curious.


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## Buerhle (Mar 6, 2006)

Ya, I do some weird stuff ... Like that


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## DarkIceDragon (Apr 20, 2013)

I don't think OCD and SA go hand in hand, but your anxiety could lead you to do something repeatedly to ease the anxiousness, (like I start tapping my foot), and it may or not become a habit, which, given time, may or may not evolve into some type of OCD.


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## Zack (Apr 20, 2013)

Quite utterly insane, but charming.


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## tehuti88 (Jun 19, 2005)

Yep...this all screams OCD to me. (I'm diagnosed...I don't count syllables or do the walking thing like you did, but I've done some equally insane-sounding things. ;_; )



Learn to Fly said:


> Alright. Yeah I thought OCD, but I just wondered if OCD and SAD commonly went hand-in-hand. I was just curious.


I haven't anything to back it up, but it's reasonable to me that they could often go hand in hand, seeing all the obsessive thinking and avoidance compulsions that go along with social anxiety...sometimes SA feels almost like social obsessive-compulsive disorder to me. :?


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## Learn to Fly (Feb 28, 2013)

tehuti88 said:


> sometimes SA feels almost like social obsessive-compulsive disorder to me. :?


That's a very interesting way to look at it. With that view, it does make a lot of sense that some people with SA could also end up with OCD.


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## paul oakenfold (Jan 15, 2012)

if you want a real 100% truthful answer...i would have to ask you first..who diagnosed your SA?

NOTE: i am not naturally born american. so, for me, the answer is not pills. because i have seen other people who get cures with out any pills...here in america....the only answer is drugs....which don't cure you at all....100% truth...they only get you drunk or confused even further.


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## Learn to Fly (Feb 28, 2013)

I'm self-diagnosed. I haven't gone to a doctor and don't really plan to. I don't want the pills. I'm hoping college and my speech class will help me get better.


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## Samtrix (Aug 22, 2011)

I do something similar with both the syllables and walking. Sometimes when someone is talking to me, I imagine typing out what they're saying, but with my feet...cause using my hands would look weird. I'd also stare at my feet when walking, so I wouldn't step on cracks, and I had to have the same number of footsteps inside each 'block' of sidewalk (if that makes sense). I've done the baby steps too.
I don't have OCD, but it does run in my family, along with SA. I guess I just like to be in control of certain things, since I can't seem to control anxiety.


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## Learn to Fly (Feb 28, 2013)

Samtrix said:


> I do something similar with both the syllables and walking. Sometimes when someone is talking to me, I imagine typing out what they're saying, but with my feet...cause using my hands would look weird. I'd also stare at my feet when walking, so I wouldn't step on cracks, and I had to have the same number of footsteps inside each 'block' of sidewalk (if that makes sense). I've done the baby steps too.
> I don't have OCD, but it does run in my family, along with SA. I guess I just like to be in control of certain things, since I can't seem to control anxiety.


Wow, I do things similar to both of those too. I type out things, but I actually do it with my fingers. I also play the piano, oboe, and saxophone. And if I get a song that I can play stuck in my head, I play it on an imaginary instrument. And I try to have the same amount of steps between sidewalk squares too. OCD doesn't run in my family, or SA, but other mental disorders do. I don't think I have OCD, maybe I just don't want to admit it. I like to think I'm just quirky


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## karras (Dec 13, 2011)

I do this. I use my fingers, one word/syllable per finger, so mine always have to have 10 too. I don't use words that I hear people say, I just invent sentences in my head. They are usually insults or have cuss words in them. Ive done this for about 2 years. Maybe 3.


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## Learn to Fly (Feb 28, 2013)

Karras...sometimes what I count isn't spoken words, sometimes it's just my thoughts. 
NoSocialButterfly...I've never heard anything like the ankle thing. That's pretty interesting. If I'm going down the steps at school, I'm always scared I'm going to fall forward onto my face...cause it's happened before. So I'm really careful and hold the handrail tight. I don't know if that's the same kind of thing as yours though.


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## Learn to Fly (Feb 28, 2013)

NoSocialButterfly said:


> \
> 
> My therapist thought the ankle thing was some obsessive thinking. It all started when I twisted my ankle and fell in front of the camera at work. It's just a thought that pops into my head, especially when I'm feeling particularly stressed. I will think about twisting my ankle and even cringe imagining what it would feel like and the sound.
> 
> I also look at numbers and try to see how many numbers I can make from adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing.


Yeah I guess it makes sense that that kind of thing starts when you have a bad experience. And the numbers...I don't do anything like that. Except clocks...when I see a clock, I try really hard to make the time into a math problem. And sometimes I do the same with dates.


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## FerociousFleur (Oct 30, 2012)

I do the syllable counting thing, too, except I try to divide sentences into equal sets of syllables. Like this:

I do the
syllable
counting thing
too except
I try to
divide sen-
tences in-
to equal
sets of syll-
ables.

And if it doesn't work out, I think of the "period" as another syllable. LOL. Yeeeah... weird I know. Guess it might be good for writing poetry?

I also do the sidewalk thing, where I have to have the same number of footsteps between each crack. I try not to look at the ground, so it doesn't bother me if I have unequal numbers


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## ladyhagrid (May 26, 2013)

I divide syllables too! I do it in pairs of two and try to make it to where they end on an even number. Like, if the sentence has an uneven number of syllables I run it into the next sentence until it ends evenly. I tap out the syllables with my fingers and sometimes chomp or grind my teeth. I mostly do it when im watching movies or tv or listening to a lecture at school.
And I do the sidewalk thing too where I have the same amount of steps between each crack in the sidewalk(i hate walking across driveways lol).


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## ToucanSam (Mar 22, 2012)

Learn to Fly said:


> I don't think I have OCD, maybe I just don't want to admit it. I like to think I'm just quirky


as long as it's just a quirk, then there's no reason to worry about it.

However, OCD and anxiety don't always just remain harmless quirks - they can grow bigger and bigger and start swallowing chunks of your life. The important thing is to stop before it reaches that point, because once a person has developed a full-fledged neuroses, it can take years and lots of effort to erase.

Your college probably offers free counseling to students. OCD and anxiety are common, so it's not like they're gonna be shocked if you call and make an appointment. And, it's not likely that they'll prescribe medication for you unless you're issues have reached critical mass.


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## ravens (Aug 31, 2011)

I've done things like counting words on a sheet of paper that's hanging on a wall when I'm at the doctor's office. Riding in a car I'll sometimes count the number of white lines passing by.


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## Tmheller (Feb 19, 2018)

Learn to Fly said:


> I don't know if this started just because I needed to find a way to occupy myself when I had nobody to talk to, but I count syllables. When I hear other people talking...teachers, people on tv or radio, or sometimes even someone I'm actually talking to...I am constantly counting the syllables of their words. They have to add up to either 10 or a multiple of 10 syllables. And if the sentence doesn't work out to fit my pattern, I repeat phrases in my head to make it work out. My favorite example, and the one that is constantly going through my head is that song from bedknobs and broomsticks. "Eglantine, Eglantine, oh how you'll shine. your lot and my lot have got to combine. Eglantine, Eglantine, hark to the stars. destiny calls us, the future is ours." 40 syllables...a perfect fit. Anyway, I thought this was like super-weird...but I googled it and it seems like a lot of people do this, so I guess it's not so weird. I just wondered if it could have to do with the SA.
> Also, I had a different habit before this one developed. I used to stare at my feet when I walked. I would always have to start my walking with the left foot. I would kind of roll my feet. So I would go from heel to toe on the left, then heel to toe on the right. And if I stopped walking, I had to stop on my right toe. If I didn't it drove me crazy. I would take a couple little baby steps and make sure I ended on the right toe. I think that when I finally stopped this habit was when I started the syllable counting. Are these kinds of habits common to people with SAD?


Hi, I think alot of us do these things to relieve anxiety but nobody talks about it. I read about OCD counting and she said that for her it was about balance, in her head. I recall playing ping pong as a kid and I would click my back teeth a certain number of times before I could hit the ball back. I felt weird for that. Also I type in my head and try to make an equal number of keystrokes with each side of the keyboard. If they didn't equal then I would add punctuation. Haha! Stress and anxiety I guess. Nail biting too. Counting by twos and threes I do alot too.


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## CrazyAnimalGirl (Feb 28, 2018)

I do something every night that most people wouldn't understand. I count as many last names I can think of or words that start with certain letters. I don't have insomnia but very odd sleeping patterns due to my pills I have been on for 10 years.


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