I am thrilled to find this forum. I’ve never met anyone else who counts letters. My family and friends try really hard to understand, but they just can’t.
I’m 52 years old and I’ve been aware of my letter/word/syllable counting for 22 years. I don’t know how long ago I started counting - I just can’t remember a time when I didn’t count. My number is 6. When I hear or read, I count the number of words, then syllables, then letters in sentences. If the number of words, syllables, and letters doesn’t equal 6 or a multiple of 6, I have to change the sentence to make everything a multiple of 6 without changing the meaning of the sentence. Like, if the sentence has 5 words and one word is a contraction - i.e. “don’t” - I’ll change “don’t” to the “do not.” Or I’ll find a synonym for a word, like using “yucky” instead of “gross.” I do all of this in my head, kind of in a sing-songy way. And while 6 is my number, I can accept multiples of 3 or 9 if I need to keep reading or listening. I hate the number 4. I have to change any sentence where the number of words/syllables/letters is 4, or a multiple of 4 but not a multiple of 6.
I used to work as a proofreader. I started doing it before I was aware of my counting. I’d have to read things 5 - 6 times to count, check grammar, find typos, and understand what I was reading.
It was absolutely exhausting.
