Inability to create questions in speech

[wondering11]

Hi.

Lately I've noticed I have trouble formulating questions in conversation.

I can be speaking to someone I know very well and with whom I'm comfortable discussing any topic, but if they tell me to ask them a question my mind goes completely blank and I literally can't speak - I can't think of a subject to ask them a question about, and if I can, I then can't formulate what I want to ask them about that subject. I also can't express to them what's holding me back and causing my inability to form a question - I just stay silent.

This sort of thing also happens when someone asks me to tell them "something" or "anything". In that case, I don't know what to choose to say or where to start, and my mind sort of spins round and round in the void even though I know there are endless possibilities.

As I've said, it happens even with people I'm comfortable with but it also affects my ability to connect with new people because I can't think what to ask them to get to know them. I have a perfectly normal if not excellent command of language and no problems expressing myself in writing, but I seize up when I have to speak. I have a very quiet voice and I do generally get a feeling of intellectual paralysis when trying to make small talk or speak in a spontaneous way; I definitely feel "safer" if I've predetermined or scripted what I want to say in a conversation.

Is this a symptom of a neurological disorder or just some form of social anxiety?

As far as medical history, the only potentially suspicious past event I can think of occurred when I was about 6 and had a couple of episodes where I found myself suddenly on the floor, unable to move or speak for about 10 seconds each time, but it was chalked up to stress caused by my parents' divorce.

I hope someone can shed some light on this and point me in the right direction for treatment, as I find it very crippling in terms of interaction with others.