My mind anticipates my stutter

[Geoff]

When I was younger, my stutter was different. I never actually knew if I'd stutter or not until I spoke. However, now my mind is trying to anticipate what words I will stutter on before I even speak. And this is becoming a problem, because a lot of the time I 'feel' as if I'll stutter before I speak, and often I won't. So it appears over the years my mind has adapted to my stutter, and its being more of a hindrance than helpful really.

In other words, my mind is deciding for me that I'm going to stutter before I even try. And it often predicts wrong. It's a strange feeling, it's as if I say the words in my mind, and I stutter in my mind. My tongue tightens up as if its preparing me to stutter before I even speak.

I've noticed when I speak spontaneously, or have a question bounced on me that I'll usually speak fluently. This is because this 'pre-speaking state' I've developed hasn't got time to kick in.

So does anybody else feel this? What could I do to remove this mentality. I feel my mind is tricking me into stuttering from habit and that I'll never improve with it in place.

[GregC]

I experience what you've been experiencing although with a slight twist. For me, my mind will anticipate what words I will block on a few seconds before I say them. Unfortunately for me, I will psyche myself out and proceed to block on the words my mind had anticipated a few seconds before. Sometimes I can work through the blocks, but most of the time I am stuck. I am not sure how to work through my blocks on a consistent basis.

I also notice when a spontaneous question is bounced my way, I can answer with no difficulty for the reason that you mentioned.

If you can normally avoiding stuttering over the words that your mind anticipates you stuttering over, maybe you can use that as positive reinforcement to hopefully get over the initial anticipation.

[Dinasaur]

A lot of stutterers experience this. I know I used to a lot. Still do but much less. It has a lot to do with what/where/when/ with whom you tell yourself you will stutter more or less with. It involves feared sounds and words too. Like, if you know that you have trouble saying D’s, your mind will anticipate it and as a result you can easily end up stuttering over it. The trick is NOT to think about what you’ll stutter over or what you won’t. Just say whatever comes to your mind, and most importantly, DON’T AVOID because of feared words/sounds. Because it’s not your mind that’s anticipating your stuttering, it’s you, telling yourself that you usually stutter over these certain words/sounds. When you’re suddenly called on, I guess you just don’t have enough time to worry about whether you’ll stutter or not and you end up not thinking about it and not stuttering. That’s happened to me before too.

[howeee]

the more you obsess about your stutter , the more you will stutter of course.
The more you obsess about how,why and when, sure you will stutter more.

Accept the fact that you are a person who stutters, go on with your life and you will probably stutter easier and maybe less.

After I accepted the fact I will stutter the rest of my life, rejected all therapy, stopped obsessing of when,why and how I will stutter, I went from a severe stutterer with all kind of freaky secondary symptoms to a mild to moderate stutterer with almost no secondary symptoms.

[Steven]

When I was younger, my stutter was different. I never actually knew if I'd stutter or not until I spoke. However, now my mind is trying to anticipate what words I will stutter on before I even speak. And this is becoming a problem, because a lot of the time I 'feel' as if I'll stutter before I speak, and often I won't. So it appears over the years my mind has adapted to my stutter, and its being more of a hindrance than helpful really.

In other words, my mind is deciding for me that I'm going to stutter before I even try. And it often predicts wrong. It's a strange feeling, it's as if I say the words in my mind, and I stutter in my mind. My tongue tightens up as if its preparing me to stutter before I even speak.

I've noticed when I speak spontaneously, or have a question bounced on me that I'll usually speak fluently. This is because this 'pre-speaking state' I've developed hasn't got time to kick in.

So does anybody else feel this? What could I do to remove this mentality. I feel my mind is tricking me into stuttering from habit and that I'll never improve with it in place.

hi,

i really liked and appreciated your posting.

that is you brought up something I had forgotten about.

you are absolutely correct in that first when you are younger you never know when you are going to stutter (for the most part though) and then as you get older your mind starts to predict when you will stutter or at least it seems that way.

i have been thinking about these things for years mostly to get at when my stuttering first began trying to piece it together and I will think carefully about this and get back to you

however off the top of my head I recently was amazed to find out that our intellectual part of our brain is not fully developed until we are in our early 20s or so so if this is the brain that is "deciding" which words to stutter on then it would make sense that as you get older it gradually starts to pick up more and more which words to stutter on. at the same time I think that the same mind is also being conditioned by all the previous stuttering incidences and/or might just be "spitting out " the words you will stutter on automatically like a computer or something.

however i think i should be able to come up with an answer for you i will look at your other posts to see the kinds of things you write about and will get back to you asap

hey that was a brilliant observation and thanks for reminding me!!

Steven

[DayDreamSlacker]

Hello Geoff, i do have a somewhat familiar experience too.When i talk i can also predict which words im going to stutter on.Like when im saying a sentence and i want to say "deer" I can say the sentence fluently but when i get to or get close to saying "deer" My mind is telling me" damn im going to have a time with this word" my body tensions up and i get blocked.I try sometimes to pretend that i dont know i stutter.Like i get amnesia by the fact that i stutter... it helps me a little bit but it may help someone else more as wierd as it sounds soooo ... yeah.

[0000]

yes i always feel like i will stutter on certain words, but i've noticed that the more you think about it the more you will stutter/have a block. get sidetracked in doing something else until it's time to speak. hope this helps

[adamo]

i have sort of the same situation i think. do you find yourself blocking the stutter from happening? like trying to replace the word with another one before speaking? my mind feels like a big ball of cluttered thoughts in which i can't speak fluently.

[nerrad]

My therapist says you should use that to your advantage and use a stuttering modification technique to stop the blocking before it happens. But it's actually harder than it sounds.

[Steven]

Hi,

I thought it over and you might be around someone where you had to /have to watch what you are saying, so to make it easier to be around this person and , since you are older and are doing more things on your own, you and your mind may have started to automate it so that you automatically monitor what you are saying instead of being younger and having to think it thru.

Are you around people where you have to watch what you are saying?

Steven

[Steven]

well, did you try a stuttering modification technique on the word you block on or did you just assume it won't work?

we would all be inspired by you if you try it out and tell us how it worked!