Why am I not typing exactly what I mean to say?

Are you distracted by other matters perhaps?

Predictive text.

I suspect typing too fast. It’s when you start suspecting flaws in the keyboard or computer that I would worry.

Do you know your personality type?
Intuitive perceiveing types are more about ideas and free association while sensing judging types are about literal and detail oriented communication. I am an intuitive perceiving type and have to pay attention as I tend to wander off into the back forty, with one thought triggering another related situation and it can take me awhile to actually get to the point. haha
SJ’s are get to the point types with as few words as possible and IP’s are story tellers, it may be as simple as these basic communication styles.

@Coloma definitely the story teller type. LOL But on occasion, I just like to get to the point. It really depends on the mood I’m in and the type of question.

I find that writing influences what I think, because putting something in words forces you to think through what may have previously been a vague notion. It is not all that unusual for me to change my mind on something through writing. Additionally, I may find a better way of expressing an idea. With all these revisions, there can be missing words or sometimes there may even be repeated words. I don’t think there is anything wrong. You are just thinking faster than you can type.

GA @LostInParadise I think that hit the mark. Thanks.

If it’s a new pattern and you are concerned about it, I would discuss it with your doctor.

Is it only with typing? What happens if you go old school and write with a pen and paper?

I’ve noticed that recently I’ll leave out the article “a”, or the preposition “to”, or most frequently “that” and “which” out of a sentence, which can change the whole meaning of what I’m trying to say, or even make it nonsensical. Not being able to find just the right verb, adjective, or adverb is something new as well. Sometimes I’ll get lost in a sentence, which never has happened before. I’ll just stare at the page for minutes in frustration.

Some of it might be fast typing, but my typing speed hasn’t changed significantly. This is something new and it bothers me a bit because of a recent episode of severe physical exhaustion and resultant chronic fatigue. Slow comeback. Not sure if it’s related, or what it is, if anything, but since there’s no doctor near here—and I’m not sure if one can really do anything about it as it just might be age finally catching up—I’m taking a wait-and-see attitude and not letting it bother me too much. I think I just need to take it easier for awhile, eat right, and sleep well. I’ve suddenly become a great fan of the afternoon nap.

Maybe you’ve not been getting enough sleep, or drinking too much coffee, or are simply preoccupied by an increase in stress or activities.

In this world of auto correct I think we tend to relax our standards thinking that Big Brother Auto Correct is going to fix us.
I’ve noticed an increase in typos myself.

On the iPad, sometimes there is a serious lag between what I type and what I see. Sometimes I will skip words or write words twice because I can’t see what I’m typing and try to remember what I last typed.

@Stinley, only when typing.
@Espiritus_Corvus Oh, yeah. I’ve messed things up by typing is, when I meant to type isn’t. It can totally change what I’ve meant. But so far most people seem to understand from the context in the sentence or paragraph, what I meant to say. It could be lack of sleep as well. Lately I’ve been getting on 6 hours a sleep a night but I feel fine. No lack of energy.

@janbb I was getting concerned but I took a few free tests online for Alzheimer and dementia and it seems I am more than fine in that perspective.

@Dutchess III I’ve never relied on auto correct. Only to notify me if I spelled something incorrectly. Even when I do, I actually look up the word if I feel it may be correct and the spelling they give me is for another word. I feel it helps me to remember the word if I look it up.

Speaking for myself, I find my mind outpacing my language centers quite often, and it takes me a noticeable lapse between the thought and being able to express it in words. As my anxiety level rises and more thoughts cross my mind at the same time, the speed mismatch gets worse, sometimes to the point of being unable to speak.

When typing, I generally am more mindful of my words as actually seeing them makes it easier to see what’s wrong, but I wind up making more use of the arrow keys to edit various parts of my text. I edit as I go, and the constant going back and forth and double-checking what I typed makes my posts more coherent, but I can see how someone who is less of a perfectionist may not spend as much effort proof-reading and editing their work as I do.

How stressed or anxious have you been lately?

I don’t feel stressed even though I haven’t been getting my regular 8 hours of sleep at night, because even though I don’t sleep long it has been a sound sleep.I find it annoying not being able to go to bed before3 am but when I do go to bed, I fall asleep quickly. I wait till I’m ready for bed rather than forcing myself to fall asleep earlier and toss and turn.
I am surprisingly sleepy right now and it’s only 10. Maybe a few nights of good sleep will get my mind on track.

Stress and anxiety are related, but they are different, and not all anxiety is caused by bad things. For instance, I’m not stressed about the upcoming Deus Ex:Mankind Divided video game, though I am anxiously waiting for it to come out.

Of course, there are also other things that could lead to those symptoms that aren’t related to either anxiety or stress. I was merely taking an educated guess.