I'm really sorry to hear that you are struggling. It is probably worth going to the doctors if this in new just in case, though I would add that I have experienced this while stammering for some time to. I am not a speech therapist, this is just my experience. I believe a lot of people experience tension in their body when stammering and speaking when it doesn't come easily can be incredibly draining. The other commentor is right that anxiety only makes things worse. I also notice that in particularly tight stammering moments, I tend to sort of gasp as an attempt to get unstuck, like I'm trying to shake sounds loose. Working on taking a slow breath every few words, or as often as I need to, has gone some way to helping me with this. It does make it obvious that I do not have fluent speech, but I am grateful to have been able to make peace with choosing less discomfort over fluency when speaking to other people. They already know that you stammer, there is no sense in trying to hide it, and for me, techniques that make me feel more comfortable physically when speaking make me feel more confident even if they don't hide the fact that I stammer. I know the self confidence part of stammering can be so hard, and the road to being relaxed about it can be long, but you will get there. I find its also important with the physical tension aspects of stammering to be kind to yourself and take breaks. Tension can be incredibly draining and sometimes distressing, and it seems like not every Stammerer experiences it to a particularly high degree so there isn't that much advice out there. Sometimes a bottle of water to sip on can make all the difference, especially in casual or social settings when you really want to be involved but are struggling. Sometimes having something to fidget with or moving my body a little, like by swaying, can redirect some of that tension too. I also want to add (and some people might disagree with me on this, and I am not a speech therapist remember! ) that it is okay to decline to speak for a moment or two when you are beginning to feel fatigued from the effort of it, particularly when feeling physically tense. Mind you, there is a difference between that and avoiding speaking situations because of fear or shame and only speaking when absolutely necessary (which I'm sure we have all done at some point). I am talking about allowing your self to take a moment or two of not speaking to recharge so that your voice can serve you better on the whole and you can get your point across. When I was particularly struggling with stammering anxiety and wanted to avoid speaking partly because I was self conscious but also because stammering could be so tiring, I found I was more willing and able to try to speak. When I knew I was also allowing myself breaks to recharge when I needed them, it made it easier to fight the urge to never speak at all. Personally I usually take breaks in speaking to breath deeply to myself, (maybe "4 counts in - 2 counts hold- 4 counts out - 2counts hold" or something like that) to diffuse some of that weird physical tension we feel before trying again. Your input is valuable and you deserve to get it out into the world, but only on your terms. I'm sorry that was so long, I hope it is of some help to you! 😊