postr/StutterFebruary 10, 2019

How do I rewire my compulsive personality?

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Content

How do I rewire my compulsive personality? You may be wondering, how does this title relate to stuttering at all? Well, I want to start off by saying that I have coped with my stutter by becoming a very compulsive individual. This means that to offset the anxiety, pain, hurt, humiliation, etc. from stuttering, I resort to acting brash, irrational and making bold decisions with not much thought because the decision ***"feels good***". ​ As a result, I had and continue to hold a lot of vices in life. Some beneficial and some detrimental. For instance, I became a weightlifting addict because I felt I would be able to compensate for my speech with my physical appearance. This worked for a while until I realized how impractical it was to maintain a 5% BF all year round while working, etc. This was good for my health, but became obsessive and resulted in lots of injuries and f'd up hormones. ​ Another example is my addiction to weed. I am approaching a time in my life when I am expected to have things going. My speech has been at it's worst for about a year now and i've been getting high a lot to "compensate". This implying that I nullify whatever negative emotions I have by getting high. ​ My speech is weird and unpredictable in that I don't stutter with my friends or GF, but I do with my family, strangers and important situations like interviews. ​ I have clear anger problems and am pretty vulnerable to the emotions caused by stuttering. I have never been suicidal nor have I felt sorry for myself for having a stutter. The only real emotion it drives is pure anger and frustration. Clearly not healthy, and I want to change how I approach this and aim to improve myself. ​ Thanks. ​ ​

Themes

Anticipation & AvoidanceCauses & VariabilityEmotional ExperienceIdentity & Disability

Subthemes

Avoidance & SubstitutionStrategic Swearing/CursingStress & Fight/FlightFrustration & AngerAnxiety & Social JudgmentAuthenticity vs. Masking