commentr/StutterAugust 7, 2014

Content

I have a couple thoughts -- 1) stuttering is variable. Not everyone who stutters is going to have the same experiences. You will stutter more in different situations compared to me, and vice versa. 2) You're doing a bit of "mind reading" when it comes to your family's reactions to your speech. It's super easy to do this. Everyone does this. But my point is this-you don't actually know what your family is thinking. ("Resting Bitch Face" and "Angry Listening Face" are real things. Some people just look angry when they are really trying to focus). Which leads me to 3) I wonder if there is a self-fulfilling prophecy here ... The belief that "I stutter more when I talk to my family" may increase your general arousal leading to increased likelihood of stuttering. My baseline speech rate is also on the rapid side. When I give talks my arousal levels dramatically increase (my body feels tense, my blood pressure rises, heart rate increases etc). By consciously reducing my speech rate two things happen 1) my arousal decreases (my body feels much more relaxed) and 2) I'm more efficient with my words (for example I recently gave a talk at a conference a few weeks ago and by reducing my speech rate I got through the material of the talk faster!). So maybe try a little experiment--For 5 minutes or so consciously reduce your speech rate when talking to your family and see what happens. If it works maybe try it for a longer time next time.

Themes

Causes & VariabilityAnticipation & AvoidanceEmotional Experience

Subthemes

Cycles & RandomnessOverthinking & MonitoringAnxiety & Social Judgment