What Is Stammering?

Here are some things that may happen to your talking - things that you might do when you stammer:

• Stammering interrupts talking. It is like tripping up in your own mouth and sometimes, like tripping up, you can "save yourself" and sometimes it feels impossible.
• It feels as if you can't help it - it just happens - sometimes it happens without any warning and other times it happens on particular words or at important moments.
• You may just keep repeating ("p-p-p-p-please"), sometimes the whole word is repeated ("my-my-my-my-my name is") or a phrase ("my name is my name is my name is").
• You may have this kind of repetition, but also find that a sound just keeps on going and you can't move on to the next bit of the word, "ssssssssee what I mean?"
• Perhaps you find that the word or the beginning sound gets completely stuck, and nothing comes out at all "!!!". When this happens, the other person might not even know that you were trying to speak. It can be very frustrating and embarrassing.
• There are all sorts of ways of stammering, most of them are very uncomfortable and upsetting.
• You may have developed clever tricks to stop it happening. For example, finding a different word that isn't so hard or putting an extra word or sound in first. At other times you might just avoid the word or the situation altogether.
• Whatever you do you will be trying to stop the stammer getting in your way.

There are other things that happen because of the stammering:

• Stammering can be very tiring. It takes a lot of energy (both physical and mental), your breathing can be difficult and you may find that you tense up some muscles in your neck, mouth, chest or hands and body.
• It is often embarrassing and frustrating, and you may find that in some situations you get nervous about speaking.
• Perhaps you wonder what other people must be thinking. Maybe you think they will be feeling sorry for you or, worse still, they might find it funny. Sometimes you may even think that you know exactly what they are thinking. That will make you try harder to stop the stammering and of course the harder you try to stop the stammer, the worse it usually gets. This is called a vicious cycle. Most people who stammer will know this feeling.