Danger: scary linguistic shift taking place

The following is a tidbit of a conversation I had last night that scared me.

Me: Yes, but scholarly abstention is hardly an admirable solution, is it?
[roughly three sentences go by as Em, my conversational partner, attempts not to grin – it’s a struggle]
Me: Shit. I just said abstention, didn’t I?
Em: Yep.
Me: I didn’t even know I knew that word!

Augh! I’m turning into someone who uses big words without realizing it. While teaching on Thursday, I used the word “microcosm” and didn’t register it until the fifth blank stare. Then I had to back track and explain the example. This must stop. I want my old vocabulary back! The one normal people use.