The main point that I (and Sun) tried to tell is that you can practice crutches all you want in a comfortable environment but if you don’t put yourself gradually in more complicated situations, how can you cure ?!

Also, I don’t agree with the idea that stuttering is a crime that you should never commit so you should avoid every situation where you might stutter. That mindset just reinforces the fear of that kind of situations. And when you find yourself in a situation that you can’t avoid, the result is terrible.

If you might stutter heavily, I am not saying you should go make a presentation in a TedX and make a fool of yourself, I am just saying that GRADUALLY you should put yourself in slightly “risky” situations in order to : 1/ have the opportunity to practice your new style of speaking when it matters. 2/ lower that crippling anxiety and “holding back” threshold (not completely get over it because that takes a long time after curing).

Finally, I think that WSSA should not be a sect, and it is very important to keep an open mind to other people’s ideas. Personally I read books and testimonials of people who cured mainly thanks to a radical shift in mindset and beliefs + exposure. They stuttered of course in the beginning in those “risky” situations, but slowly they became more fluent, until they cured. I am not saying that this is the way to go, but why automatically dismiss those stories just because they do not exactly fit with one of WSSA’s concepts ? We should look for anything that can help PWS, anywhere.

Hi Leah,

Thank you for your answer.

It is interesting to see that in my message, I mentioned the word “fear” ZERO times, while you used it TEN times 🙂 It is is very important to define “fear” here. You say that fluent people would stutter if the fear caused stuttering, which is wrong. Fluent people do not fear saying the words, they fear the situation, like someone who has fear before an exam. Two very different concepts.

You mention your example too, you had fears a year after becoming a PWSS. Again, it is very different from what I was talking about in my message. I too manage to be fluent sometimes while feeling some fear. But above a certain threshold of fear / anxiety / apprehension, the “holding back” becomes way too strong, I totally and completely fuse to it and it is impossible to be fluent then. In your case (the year after becoming PWSS), you certainly felt fear but not the kind of fear that paralyzes you, and puts you in an extreme “holding back” mode.

Now about exposure. I think that no one has the perfect answer. And that is the case for stuttering overall. Lee has his methods, other people cured using other methods, etc. It is not a science. I know exposure helped many people to cure. Again, it is important to define what is exposure. What you talk about (the case of the guy in the retail business) is not exposure, it is being exposed. Very different ! Being exposed is being forced to face a feared situation and approaching it like it is some kind of torture. Exposure is WILLINGLY engaging yourself in an activity in order to desensitize yourself and expand your comfort zone. It must be done gradually and with the right mindset which is : willingness, open mind, without judgment, and in the case of stuttering while using a new style of speaking (crutches can help here).

PS : I saw Faris’s SS and for me he was not what I would call a shutdown blocker, just a heavy blocker 🙂 Shutdown blocker is when (in certain situations) you can’t manage to say any word or even any syllable without blocking / repeating / forcing.

When I say exposure, the goal is to desensitize the shutdown blocker so that the extreme levels of anxiety / holding back that he/she feels will decrease over time. In a lot of other psychological issues, exposure (again, done the RIGHT way) has been proved to be very effective. So I wonder if it can be implemented in stuttering too.
Of course, exposure alone is not enough. But exposure + mind training and crutches might help.

Hi Leah,

Thank you so much for your answer. I am convinced ! And it makes sense. In fact, I am reading a book written by our well-known psychologist and yesterday I stumbled upon this sentence that confirms what you are saying. : “in 99,9 % of the time, our emotions do not control our behavior”. The fear just creates a tendency to act one way or another, but it doesn’t force us to do anything. The choice is still there. But it comes with practice. The next step for me is to focus all my attention on crutches when speaking. I’ll definitely let you know for the Zoom meeting, it is very kind of you 🙂

Amine

I read your response twice because I found it very interesting. It makes sense.

I personally see the fear as both a cause and an effect of stuttering. If I stutter, I will fear next possible stuttering situation. And if I fear a situation, my brain will more likely be in a fight / flight response mode, so it will be more likely for me to hold back, plan my words and stutter.

About the crutches, for example the humming / singing / linking one that Lee advised me to practice, how is it possible to use it at work ? I stutter mainly when I have to explain something complicated or sometimes when I have to give a very specific answer or ask about a very specific thing, so I can go for days without having to stutter. It would be ideal to practice crutches at work, but it is difficult to use extreme ones (like humming / singing) in a serious environment like this.