Two new people joined us at this meeting, including an SLP, Susan, and one of her patients, Tim. We were a total of 6.
One of the main topics we discussed revolved about talking to groups. You would think that we would all be more comfortable speaking one-on-one or with smaller groups, but that is not always the case. For John it is easier to talk to groups because there are fewer opportunities to interrupt and he doesn’t feel individuals judging him or his stutter. There is more pressure when he talks to only one person and worries more about what that person is thinking. We are usually more comfortable around family than around strangers. And of course, talking on the phone is not comfortable for almost all people who stutter!
We talked about anxiety and how it affects our stuttering. If you have a lot of anxiety, do you find that by addressing it, it helps with your fluency? Does the other way around work the same? For example, if you are more fluent, do you become less anxious? We all agreed that anything you do for yourself helps all parts of you. If you focus on exercising it might make you healthier and relieve your anxiety; if you focus on your anxiety it might help you not rely on comfort food and eat better. What do you think?