Content
Speech block when saying my name TL;DR - I have a situational speech block that pretty much only happens when I have to say my name. My throat and tongue freeze up and I am unable to say my name or speak for many seconds. I've tried therapy, speech therapy, taking the initiative and introducing myself first, practice, being upfront about it to people... etc. Wondering if anybody else has dealt with this and if they may have any strategies or advice? \------ So I've been dealing with stuttering/speech blocks for awhile now, it's something I've learnt how to handle for the most part. When it happens, my tongue and throat quite literally freeze up and I'm unable to speak at all. Thankfully, it's mild enough that it doesn't really interrupt the flow of a conversation. I may get caught up on a word here and there, but I can usually get around it quick enough that it's usually not that noticeable. Except in one case: when I have to introduce myself and say my name. It's always awkward when somebody asks me my name and I can't respond, or I say "My name is...." or "I'm..." with a long pause afterwards. I feel like I've tried everything at this point: therapy, speech therapy, introducing myself first, repeating my name over and over to the point it feels like just another word, practicing in front of a mirror, trying to imagine I'm singing my name when I say it, being upfront and telling people I have a stutter when it occurs... I was even put in a situation recently where I had to introduce myself to 50+ individual people in a short period of time, I thought the repetition might help but nope. I've tried a nickname too, which works for a bit, but the stutter eventually happens on the nickname too. Anyways, I was wondering if anybody else has experienced something similar to this and had any strategies/advice?