MeSci
ME/CFS since 1995; activity level 6?
- Messages
- 8,231
- Location
- Cornwall, UK
I certainly think I have developed a sharper tongue since getting ME/CFS. Although I think I am getting better at using it more judiciously. I think my sharp tongue arises mainly out of my irritability symptoms. Irritability is a one of the CCC listed symptoms of ME/CFS.
In my case, before I taking medication for it, my irritability was so severe, that my tongue would become razor sharp on some days, shooting critical words in all directions, and firing off caustic comments at the slightest provocation! Ask the people I live with! However, since I started taking very low dose amisulpride a few years ago (see this thread and this thread), which is an atypical antipsychotic, it really helped calm down my irritability and propensity to be annoyed at anything that moved. If I stop taking it, wow, I soon turn back into a vitriolic monster!
Irritability is a major problem in autism, and atypical antipsychotics are used in autism to treat irritability, so that probably explains why they worked well for my ME/CFS irritability.
If there is a high prevalence of 'sharp tongue' in ME, it might be interesting to carry out a test on the persons in question to see where they are on the autism spectrum. There seems to be a relatively high prevalence of Asperger's amongst ME sufferers, which is perhaps especially surprising given that the majority of ME sufferers are female, yet most people diagnosed with Asperger's are male. That may be due to a tendency to miss Asperger's in females, as female traits can mask it, and doctors tend not to suspect it in females (as with heart disease) due to a perception that it is rare in them.
People on the autistic spectrum don't mince their words - they speak literally. It has been said that 'people know where they are' with me, which is probably because I am borderline Aspie. I have to think quite hard sometimes to be diplomatic! If I am stressed, it is often hard to think at all, and susceptibility to stress is also high in ME.