My strategy to improve stuttering - with the goal of outgrowing or naturally recovering from stuttering

My strategy to improve stuttering - with the goal of outgrowing or naturally recovering from stuttering This is my attempt to elaborate the strategy that I apply. The goal of this strategy is that I try to achieve subconscious fluency and put stuttering into remission. **Intro:** * After analyzing my stuttering, I experience that I block because of the unhelpful attitude: "*I wait out executing articulation, because I first need to sense whether the air pressure against my lips, tongue and larynx have the perfect air pressure or tension"*. In other words, my **timing** to execute articulation is wrong because of said '*unhelpful timing method*', whereas if I perceive too much/little air pressure, then I stop moving my speech muscles (*aka I block*). In other words, what I'm doing wrong is: "*Timing/measuring the air pressure to decide whether to initiate speech movements or not*". Ask yourself: "**Do you notice, during a speech block, that you demand (or need) to feel tension, or rather glottal air pressure against the speech muscles to decide whether to hold back speech?**" Answer: Yes, for me I do need to locate, and feel it. Argument: because this gives me the feeling that I still have (at least partial) control over executing motor movements, and gives the impression that my speech muscles are not stuck. The only downside of applying this **unhelpful timing method** of '*waiting out speech to measure the perfect mouth pressure*' is that it creates a stutter disorder (*in compensation for more 'imagined' control, when of course in reality I go further away from control*). This unhelpful timing method doesn't result in a win-win, rather in a lose-lose situation. Because in both situations (1) if I replace a helpful with an unhelpful timing method, and (2) perceive too high/low air pressure, then in both cases I reinforce inhibition of executing speech movements * Another way to look at it, is that I rely on sensory feedback to delay articulation. **Result**: a speech block * Non-stutterers use the **helpful timing method**: "*I execute articulation immediately whenever I instruct/decide/desire this*". **Result**: not a speech block * In this post, let's refrain from using vague and ambiguous words such as 'stuttering' and '**fluency**'. I find it easier to adopt more precise terminology. Because by distinguishing, we could start to perceive what we can and cannot control * I have learned (from family, friends, SLPs, stuttering community) that I should not have a desire to speak **fluently**. As explained before, let's refrain from ambiguous terms like **fluency**. Another way to look at this, is that I have learned to not instruct/decide/desire to immediately execute articulation (which made me sensitive to immediately instructing motor execution). In other words, I experience that the **helpful timing method** of non-stutterers is now a 'trigger' (to activate fight flight freeze fawn) * the noun **desire** means: "*a strong feeling of wanting to have something to happen.*" * the verb **desire** means: "*strongly* ***want*** *something*" * the verb **want** means: "*should or need to do something*" * What is my own terminology of **desire**? Answer: the noun **desire** is a feeling. But the verb **desire** is not a feeling. In this post, let's perceive **desire** not as a feeling, instead it means '**should or need to do something**'. Argument: because in my strategy, I immediately execute motor movements regardless of feelings. In other words, we should aim for executing articulation immediately whenever we have the urge or desire to say a word (*without relying on any feeling, thought or sensation*). Note that regular people also (1) don't have this feeling of desire to speak fluently, instead (2) they have the urge to immediately execute articulation. Therefore, my definition of desire leans more towards (2) (the urge/the need) * So, in this strategy I will instruct my brain to immediately execute motor movements (to replace 'measuring air pressure'). I experience, that I am not applying this **helpful timing method**, because of the six triggers (shown at the bottom of the post) * In my experience, the current '*articulatory starting position*' is my trigger. For example, if I am about to pronounce the letter /B/ then my mouth position (that I start out with) starts with closed lips. This articulatory starting position then triggers me to "*time or measure the perfect air pressure against my lips*" **Strategy:** 1. only rely on fluency laws that non-stutterers apply such as not relying on anticipation, thoughts, feelings, sensations and stutter beliefs/attitudes to initiate speech movements 2. replace the unhelpful attitude: "*measuring glottal air pressure against my speech muscles*" with the helpful attitude: "*instructing to execute motor movements*". Notice the absence of air pressure in the new speaking style. Self-confirm that this is the only cause for inhibiting execution of motor movements (aka a speech block) (*note: self-confirming is important so that I don't use my old stuttering mindset/behavior as a distraction or escape to avoid the root cause of inhibiting execution of motor movements*) 3. instruct/urge to immediately execute motor movements. But, always combine this with consciously fully closing the lips if I pronounce the letter /B/ (*this letter is just an example. Each letter has articulatory starting positions. So, don't avoid articulatory starting positions when applying this helpful timing method. Note, I often avoided this during the unhelpful timing method 'measuring air pressure' because by waiting out air pressure, the articulatory starting position would be established automatically - which doesn't work with the helpful timing method*) 4. interrupt tension/pain/adrenaline program (from the brain). Note, it's not about the physical pain that I feel now, rather the sudden pain to-be. Label/associate this physical pain as '*I need to measure air pressure*' (because if this unhelpful attitude is truly my most root cause of speech blocks, then it makes sense that this causes the tension/pain. In contrast, if I blame genetics, focus on fluency-shaping strategies or focus on secondary characteristics then I'm practically distracting myself from said root cause, which is of course what I don't want to do. Because it would bring me further from reality and therefore reinforces the vicious cycle) 5. Stop adopting the unhelpful terminology '*I sense the inability (to execute motor movements)*', and replace this with the helpful terminology '*I need to measure air pressure*'. Argument: because the '*sense of inability*' is imagined and not true, after all, I do have control over this ability to execute motor movements (*e.g., if I replace 'measuring air pressure' with 'instructing execution of motor movements*) 6. interrupt the 'measuring air pressure'-program (in the brain) 7. observe/accept my triggers (*that activate the neurological pathway towards the program of "measuring air pressure"*). My triggers are: 1. articulatory starting position 2. fear of interruption not working 3. fear of 'instructing to execute articulation' (which makes sense, because I have learned to not have trust in this helpful timing method, and therefore I lack confidence to instruct execution of motor movements) 4. feeling air pressure 5. high voice 6. feeling annoyed to not wait out air pressure (which makes sense, I have been using this unhelpful habitual attitude for years) 7. I'm not allowed from myself to immediately execute speech movements **The goal of this strategy is to learn that I truly possess the skill to control each of above elements to manage the forward flow of speech and apply stress management.** [**Here**](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eabYvGuO9vQTV6Ycp1XYcupEtcIhjWCDTRfL_kOzcYY/edit?usp=sharing) **is the PDF (extended) version of this post.**