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From: John Paskievich
Date: 10 Oct 2009
Time: 20:17:07 -0500
Remote Name: 24.77.216.171
Tom, Ed are interested laymen. Are there any experts here who would like to comment on the notion of stuttering as a form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder? I know that in the past Dr. Woody Starkweather wrote about stuttering being strongly related to PTSD. It as true, as Tom says, that the brain chemistry of those afflicted with PTSD is different from people without this affliction. The levels of stimulating hormones are very high in people with PTSD. Have their been any studies on the levels of stimulating hormones in the brain chemistry of stutterers to see how they compare? A litany of symptoms like guilt, self-blame, shame alienation,lonliness, anger, depression, hyper vigilance, avoidance, self medication and high use of anti-anxiety and anti-depressant drugs are common to those with PTSD and those who stutter. PTSD has been simply defined as "a state where you can't stop remembering". Stuttering can, in the same way, be defined as a state where you can't stop forgetting (that you stutter).