postr/StutterFebruary 7, 2021

Should I tell work?

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Content

Should I tell work? I have always had a stutter, severe as a child and more mild as I've got older. However, recently my speech has deteriorated significantly, especially in the past year. I have started a new job within the last 6 months and usually I am good at hiding any difficulties when talking, especially with masks due to covid! They have been a lifesaver as I am someone who usually blocks at the start of a sentence, but with a mask no one knows that I have tried to speak and it gives me the freedom to either give up on what I was going to say or push through the block and no one is aware that there was a block in the first place! With my speech worsening it is becoming more apparent and my blocks are starting to appear frequently and often mid-sentence. This is proving to be an issue when chatting to colleagues, talking on the phone and occasionally when talking to patients as I work in a hospital. Although it doesn't affect my work, I do notice people wondering what's going on, why I'm taking so long to say things, why I've stopped mid sentence etc and I think the fact that my boss and colleagues are unaware of my stutter makes it feel like this big secret that I'm keeping but also is confusing to my colleagues as they don't understand why I'm talking a bit weirdly, which is giving me anxiety. My main worry is that usually when I disclose that I have a stutter to someone it makes them more aware and they notice it more than previously, but I'm also worried that my colleagues and bosses will look at me differently if I tell them about it, especially as I didn't tell them when I got the job. I'm worried they will see me as unfit for my role. I struggle really badly with the letters b, d, w and y and when speaking to patients as a screening question I ask if they have diabetes, which with the D is proving very difficult and seems to be confusing to patients when there is no sound coming out of my mouth mid question! I wouldn't want to sit my boss or colleagues down formally and tell them but I don't know how else to go about it as it is not a casual topic of conversation, or whether I should at all and actually I'm worrying about nothing? I'm not sure if it would be a positive or negative thing? Anyone else experienced anything similar at work that could shed light?

Themes

Speech & StutteringAnticipation & AvoidanceCauses & Variability

Subthemes

Blocks & StoppagesFeared Words & NamesHiding & ConcealmentStress & Fight/Flight

Codes (2)

ordering_service_encounteremotional_state