postr/StutterJanuary 29, 2018

Social anxiety and stutter getting worse

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Content

Social anxiety and stutter getting worse First time posting in this sub so howdy everyone. 30 year old male and I've stuttered all my life. I never really cared about it up until when adulthood really settled in and the responsibilities that come with it. As my social anxiety got worse, my stutter got worse, and because of those two, my drinking got way worse. It was a vicious cycle and I absolutely had to quit drinking if I was ever going to have a chance of a happy life. I'm doing great health wise and my mind has never been sharper but my social anxiety has never been worse and it's as if I'm a completely different person at 30 than when I was 25. At work, anytime I'm asked a question, need to explain something, or get put on the spot, I just crumble. It's gotten to the point where I've thought about quitting my job but I'm terrified of interviewing somewhere else. I know most people don't care that I stutter but it's me that cares. I'm so tired of seeing people feel awkward when I have a huge block and it's depressing. I've started speech therapy but I'm not very optimistic that it will alleviate my anxiety. I try to breathe in through my nose and slowly exhale but I just tense up subconsciously when I have to speak. In the back of my brain during a block, I start thinking "Uh oh. You're totally stuck on this word," and it seems like that prolongs my block but I can't help it. I could keep ranting but I'll end here. Anyone else experience a similar situation?

Themes

Emotional ExperienceCauses & VariabilityAnticipation & AvoidanceCoping & Advocacy

Subthemes

Anxiety & Social JudgmentStress & Fight/FlightAvoidance & SubstitutionOverthinking & MonitoringFluency Techniques

Codes (1)

emotional_state