commentr/StutterJanuary 8, 2018

Content

As far as the evidence shows to date: no. Do I personally believe it's possible? Idk, maybe. Personally, I find that stuttering is a very psychologically driven phenomenon. Yeah, I fully agree there's a neurological component that initially creates the stutter in childhood, but the sheer embarrassment and feelings of verbal inadequacy over the course of many years is what shapes the true mechanism behind blocks and stops. If I feel unsure about someone's reaction to my statement—which is 99.999% of the time—I'll unconsciously tense my throat and neck muscles not enough to notice, but enough to disrupt my speech, causing me to most likely stutter on that statement. I suppose this could be classified as a type of social anxiety, though I'm in no rush to get medication or preferential treatment for it. Backing my speech/sentence with insufficient air (not taking deep enough breaths when talking) is also a cause of my stuttering as well, I think. If there isn't enough force to dislodge my vocal chords when they get "stuck", then I stutter much more easily. But this only applies to throaty syllables like "ka" and "guh". Teethy syllables like "sss" and "fah" are complete wild cards—despite picturing the action very clearly in my mind, I can't simply force my mouth to make the shape of a syllable if I'm blocking on it. I can certainly try, though I end up sounding like a—no offense—complete retard. This remains a mystery to me. So to answer your question, if someone were to put me through rigorous bouts of psychedelic therapy (i.e. 4 sessions per week with licensed psychiatrist using MDMA, acid, shrooms, DMT, etc.) with specially designed positive reinforcement exercises exploring and reinforcing my self-confidence in my ability to communicate clearly and without worrying about ridicule, then I could see that working, even if it just has the unintended effect of making me an all-around more well-adjusted and cultured human being.

Themes

Emotional ExperienceCauses & VariabilityCoping & AdvocacyMeds & Substances

Subthemes

Anxiety & Social JudgmentStress & Fight/FlightMindfulness & BreathingPsychedelics & Microdosing