Another perspective could help maybe you can relate? when I had a cell phone..
A text or an email allowed me to feel comfortable speaking when I normally would say nothing.

It was the equivalent of a kids blanky, the written language allowed a safety net.

I know face to face I would never be able to respond the way I would through text or email, my thoughts jumble my words caught in my mouth and well my brain for whatever reason functions extremely slow to the next person.

Sometimes I don't know how to answer people in emails or texts as the words or comprehension of the words fit my own messed up contextual definition, someone could say something completely innocent and it could come across threatening or vice a versa there are a lot of variables taken away when one writes something down.

The above reasons scare me, the response scares me...I don't know why

As of recently with a mental illness I get worried the email I need to respond to will set off a chain of reactions similar to the butterfly effect and I get silent.

I have issues answering at times, the other side of what I told you is that I just forget to respond, I apologize I know its not right.