postr/StutterNovember 20, 2020

My stutter is getting worse

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Content

My stutter is getting worse Hi! When I was 7 years old, around the time both of my grandmas had passed away, I started developing a stutter. My parents were very stressed about it, and throughout my childhood they tried all kinds of methods to try and cure me. In middle school it was really bad, I remember I could barely read a short little text in one class without stuttering and making faces, and of course my classmates started imitating me and making fun of me, which hurt a lot. It affected my social life horribly, because I was too anxious to meet new people or talk to my crush, I resented my classmates for poking fun at me and consequently, I basically had no friends. During my first two years of high school it got a little better. My grades dropped even though I could finally be active in class and talk without stuttering after every word, but I wasn't stressed about it. My new friends were great, and I genuinely think they didn't even notice I had a stutter because even if it started happening I could disguise it easily. But, during my third year it started coming back. I was forced to switch classes, and although some people from my previous class came along, I wasn't that close with most of them and it was still a whole new environment. My grades started getting better, but... my stutter was also coming back. The reason why I'm mentioning these details is because I'm wondering if it has something to do with overworking myself? I genuinely feel like trying to fix my awful grades in first and second year was more stressful than maintaining my excellent grades in my third year, but I don't know. I'm currently 18 and attending my fourth year of high school, and it's still here. Except now it's less of a stutter and more of a...blockade. I start speaking and I just can't say some random words out loud, causing an awkward pause to appear as I speak and my face to get all weird and scrunched up. It has really made me anxious to speak and be active in class again. I had an online presentation recently and I could barely get through it... The worst part is I know everyone was aware of my stutter, but no one mentioned it. I feel like they're all silently judging me, but then again... What are they supposed to do? It has gotten to the point where I'm wondering if the stutter ever even went away. I've missed out on so many opportunities in these past 2 years alone just because I didn't want to make a fool of myself and it's preventing me from pursuing my dreams(which would require public speaking...) Sorry for the long text, I tried to shorten it but at the same time I wanted to include some necessary details in cass anyone had advice, or even wanted to share their own story. Sending love to all of you and stay safe 💞

Themes

Causes & VariabilityAnticipation & AvoidanceSpeech & Stuttering

Subthemes

Stress & Fight/FlightAvoidance & SubstitutionBlocks & Stoppages