postr/StutterJanuary 24, 2023

Can someone explain/help me understand this experience?

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Content

Can someone explain/help me understand this experience? Hi everyone A while back, I had a strange experience. I am still trying to understand it. I had a panic attack for the first time (I believe this was due to stress related to my studies). 20 minutes before and up till the panic attack, I somehow was able to consistently speak fluently (no blocks or stutter). I didn't struggle with my speech even once during that 20 minutes conversation. During this time I also felt strange motions in my mouth (similar to a tingling sensation). The panic attack happened and then afterwards my stutter and speech blocks returned. I'm really confused. Why did my speech become fluent 20 minutes before the panic attack and then return to normal afterwards? My speech fails when I anticipate/fear disfluency. However, in this case even when I anticipated and feared it, I was still able to speak fluently. It felt like a miracle. Unfortunately it was short lived miracle. Has someone had a similar experience before or can help me make sense of this experience?

Themes

Anticipation & AvoidanceEmotional ExperienceCauses & Variability

Subthemes

Anticipating StutteringOverthinking & MonitoringAnxiety & Social JudgmentStress & Fight/Flight