postr/StutterMarch 8, 2021

Can a Stutter become worse with isolation?

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Content

Can a Stutter become worse with isolation? I’ve been stuttering my entire life and while I have a few techniques to work around the speech blocks I get. I’ve noticed recently that my speech has been worsening and I wonder if it has something to do with the isolation. I live alone and even though I work in an office my coworkers rarely talk to me. I haven’t seen my family or friends in about a year. While I talk to my mother and sister about once a week on the phone and I message my friends via texts I rarely say more than 100 words to another person outside of my weekly familial phone calls (or at least it feels that way). I used to be much more social and both see and interact with more people, but since COVID any interaction has been minimal. While I do talk to myself (I don’t stutter when I do), I’ve noticed that when I’m talking to another person I feel like I’ve been having a harder time getting words in general out. I’ve kept the same stutter blocks, which is already frustrating, but the rest of my speech pattern has kind of made My words come out... I want to say choppy or forced sounding that it’s kind of giving me this awkward accent . As a result it’s begun to make me feel self conscious and concerned as if feels like something new that has to be managed. Is there any information on people’s speech deteriorating when there is little to no social interaction for a long period of time or is this simply just anxiety worsening my ability to speak?

Themes

Anticipation & AvoidanceEmotional ExperienceSocial & Relationships

Subthemes

Avoidance & SubstitutionAnxiety & Social JudgmentLoneliness & Isolation