Is avoiding 'stuttering' really bad? Or is it a myth
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Is avoiding 'stuttering' really bad? Or is it a myth In one viewpoint, avoidance techniques might become a negative coping mechanism. I think, for some individuals it can still be useful to swap words for example to prevent traumatic experiences (which could in the long run make stuttering worse). We are basically in a lose-lose situation either way, in this viewpoint. So, these avoidance-workarounds are just practical ways of avoiding being traumatized by severe overt stuttering. They provide on-the-spot symptomatic relief, but they are not enough on their own. Also, the essence of this approach is something completely different than commonly believed. It involves changing your beliefs about yourself and about your stuttering e.g., faith in your ability to speak with a more or less normal degree of fluency and to enjoy speaking - so that one "forgets to stutter" i.e., teach the brain to work in such a way that one stops experiencing blocks or the pressure or sensation is reduced. This is in stark contrast to simply using avoidance techniques to hide stuttering/errors (which can make the problem more covert). Practically all people who stutter harbor some major false beliefs about speech and stuttering. These false beliefs need to be identified and corrected if one is to overcome the problem in a way that lasts and prevent the tendency to relapse back into severe stuttering. That's one reason why its better not to use any technique. But once you've got stuck what do you do? do you push? do you avoid? Pushing is itself a "technique" - but its a bad technique because it traumatizes you. Avoidance is better than pushing, but it undermines your confidence and fails to get your messages across. So, what other options do you have? What are the least unnatural least weird options? If you want to get your message across, you've got to do something. So you have to decide for yourself what is most acceptable and most effective. The solution might be different in different situations. \~\~ Your thoughts?