No Talking!

Today, I went outside. Such a dramatic intro but I’ve been in the house for a week straight. I had 4 of my wisdom teeth removed. The surgery was rough so my recovery time has been longer than expected. Rough is really an understatement. I’ve been in unbearable pain, can’t talk, eat or think without hurting. I've felt quite disconnected from the world especially cooped up in my dudgeon of a loft. For the first few days, all I could do was text/write to communicate with others. Sometimes small sounds and head shakes would work but would often come off as the opposite of what I intended.

We often focus on the basic aspects of communication like words, body language etc. But the secondary level is also important. With my restricted communication, I struggled slightly with getting things across. Things like tone, personality, and facial expression are some of my key components when I communicate with friends and family. Having a numb face and no mouth, it was hard to even crack jokes at first. Yes, even in pain I’ll still have something funny to say. I love to laugh. I couldn’t give tone or facial expression but my aunt definitely caught the double meaning of when I said, “I can’t suck”. The meds had definitely boosted my sense of humor by then. It was the personality that made that joke communicate well. All jokes asides, going without a few ways of communication really makes you think more about how you communicate overall with the things you do say and don’t say. How is my tone perceived? Will this sound wrong because this person knows my personality? Do I have my RBF on still? It truly makes you think. Communication can be tricky but the best way to get it right is to make sure the person knows exactly your intent. Just ask them. Of course, that’s not always easy. But hey what do I know?