Stammering, also known as stuttering, is characterized by disruptions in the flow of speech. These disruptions can happen in various ways. For example, repeating sounds or words, blocking on a word or phrase, or stretching out a sound.
But stammering is not just about these physical aspects of speech. It also encompasses the psychological and emotional aspects and how it affects someone’s daily life.
Interiorised stammering, also known as covert stammering, is a specific type of stammering that involves certain key features:
High Levels of Avoidance
People with interiorised stammering often avoid situations or words they believe they will stammer on. This avoidance can be detrimental to their social and professional lives as it limits their ability to communicate freely.
High Levels of Fluency
Interiorised stammering is often characterised by high levels of fluency. People may have high levels of natural fluency and they may use avoidance strategies, such as replacing words or speaking less than they would like to, to maintain this fluency when they think they are likely to stammer.
Thoughts and Feelings About Speech
Interiorised stammering often leads to strong emotions and thoughts about speech. People with covert stammering may feel ashamed, anxious, or frustrated about their stammer. They may have thoughts about how others perceive stammering and beliefs about they will be seen if they stammer openly. These thoughts and feelings can cause high levels of stress.
Is stammering therapy useful for interiorised stammering?
Therapy can be highly beneficial and liberating for individuals experiencing interiorised stammering. Group therapy for interiorised stammering is often particularly helpful as you meet others with the same type of stammering.
Here's how therapy can help:
1. Understanding Your Stammering Pattern
Through therapy, individuals can gain insights into their specific stammering patterns, triggers, and the associated thoughts and feelings. Understanding these aspects is the foundation of change.
2. Managing Thoughts and Feelings
Through therapy, individuals can gain insights into their specific stammering patterns, triggers, and the associated thoughts and feelings. Understanding these aspects is the foundation of change.
3. Reducing Avoidance Behaviours
Therapy can assist individuals in gradually reducing the avoidance behaviours they employ to maintain fluency. This might involve desensitisation to feared words or situations and gradually facing them in controlled settings.
4. Addressing Physical Tension
Therapy can assist individuals in gradually reducing the avoidance behaviours they employ to maintain fluency. This might involve desensitisation to feared words or situations and gradually facing them in controlled settings.
5. Introducing Mindfulness
Mindfulness practices can be beneficial for individuals with stammering. Mindfulness practices can help people with stammering to notice how they speak, reduce speaking anxiety, and improve communication skills.
Interiorised stammering is not just about the physical manifestations of stuttering. It also involves psychological and emotional factors that can significantly impact someone’s life. Therapy for interiorised stammering aims to address these aspects by providing a comprehensive approach. This involves understanding and managing thoughts, reducing avoidance, addressing tension, using mindfulness techniques to help people feel more at ease when communicating and fundamentally, through developing a different relationship to stammering; a relationship that is characterised by openness as opposed to fear and avoidance.
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