As with most OCD's, stuttering is also genetic. Stuttering is caused by a neurological predispositioning resulting in perceived stresses. **1. Trigger:** Firstly, our instinct constantly says 'I will stutter now' (we cannot eliminate this trigger because it's a system thought/feeling \[a strong automatic trigger created by the instinct\] **2. Attachment:** Then, our old habit is: we deliberately ask ourselves 'Will I stutter now on this specific letter?' 'Do I need a technique or easy onset?' in order to prepare for a stutter (this is called: attaching importance), the old habit is making the system thought/feeling (from our instinct) important enough to expect a stutter into doing the compulsion. As with most OCD's, with stutter-OCD the main way one attaches himself to the trigger is by 'checking' for a stutter coming (he justifies predicting a stutter in order to prepare for a stutter). A habit is mostly unconscious and unquestioned until you start observing your perspective and response). The result of attaching importance to the trigger is expecting a stutter: right before we stutter, we know or feel a stutter coming. **3. Compulsion:** The result of this stutter expectation is, we tense our speech muscles (we stop moving our tongue or jaw to the next letter) OCD (obsessive compulsion disorder) is a broad term and encases a large amount of people with different problems. What these people have in common is, the causal relationship of trigger, attachment and compulsion. OCD therapy states, that we should not focus on a cure to eliminate the trigger 'I will stutter now'. According to all psychology books 'triggers' can't be eliminated. This is consistent with neurological predispositioning: we can't eliminate our stutter trigger. Researchers state that 60% of stutterers don't stutter when they feel comfortable. In my case, I don't stutter when I'm alone. I stutter when I speak to someone. So then the question is: if I am alone, I don't stutter. Is it because I have eliminated my stutter trigger? The obvious answer is 'no', because the instinct constantly puts this system thought/feeling in my mind even when I'm alone. Then why don't I stutter when I'm alone? Apparantly, we don't react to the stutter trigger which basically means, we don't make the trigger important enough to do the compulsion (whenever we are alone). So what can we learn from this? OCD therefore argues, instead of eliminating the trigger, we should change the way of our response and perspective that we have about the trigger: \- observe and always expect the stutter trigger \- learn to not react to it \- don't do compulsion (interrupt, delay, limit doing the compulsion) \- not giving meaning/importance to the stutter trigger and this results in learning that this trigger doesn't have power, isn't fearful or scary, isn't your identity, isn't a fact/true \- stop justifying or making conditions to do the compulsion \- stop making the trigger important enough to expect (be convinced) that you are not able to stop the compulsion \- The result is: 1. we build resilience against the trigger 2. we disconfirm expectancy 3. we detach importance. Note: if you read this, please learn these three goals from memory. \- don't do anxiety-reducing activies like distracting yourself from the trigger by focusing on breathing, on the present (mindfulness) or on other people. Because if you stop focusing on the trigger like this, then you are not building resilience against the trigger which is the goal of OCD Exposure Response Prevention. Only by observing the trigger while not doing the compulsion, you learn that the trigger doesn't have a meaning for example, you learn that the trigger doesn't have power over you