"*Stuttering could be referred to as a voluntary response that acts to relieve stuttering anticipation.*" I've always noticed many similarities between OCD **compulsion** and stuttering. Compulsions are often associated with premonitory urges. I think that the physiological manifestations such as basal ganglia dysfunction (resulting in a brake in motor movement) can be rooted in the need to relieve oneself from pressure or rather perceived threat like stuttering anticipation. If this is the case, then stuttering might manifest as an unconscious response to relieve oneself from, example, stuttering anticipation. The question is then, how exactly is the response considered voluntary? Maybe it becomes voluntary after we become consciously aware of it? (but then it would mean, if it's unconscious, then it's involuntary)? Are there elements that can make this response involuntary (a switch from voluntary to involuntary), such as, cognitive fusion, denial, perfectionism, etc - or is it always considered a voluntary response regardless? By the way, here is a definition of "**Compulsion**". **Compulsion** definition: "Compulsions, sometimes known as [rituals](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK56483/def-item/glossary.gl1-d58/), are behaviours that people feel pressured to do to reduce anxiety, guilt and distress, or to prevent harm from occurring. Compulsions are often repeated, conducted according to strict rules, and time consuming. Although the goal may be to reduce anxiety, performing them can also lead to distress and frustration. The pressure to engage in these behaviours can prevent people from doing other things that they wish to do and cause significant impact on their lives and the lives of those around them. Compulsions can take almost any form but common forms include washing and cleaning, checking, hoarding, ordering and arranging, and repeated questions. Many compulsions are overt, that is, they could be observed by others, for example, hand washing rituals. However, other compulsions are covert, that is, they could not be seen by others because they are of a mental nature, for example, mentally repeating sentences. Although many people may try to resist these behaviours, they may find themselves unable to do so either because of the distress caused by resisting them or because they believe that the consequences of not performing the compulsion are unacceptably dangerous." Source: [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK56483](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK56483)