[ Contents ]
From: Woody Starkweather
Date: 10/22/01
Time: 8:37:46 AM
Remote Name: 152.163.197.84
Hi everyone:
Stutterers seem to fall into two groups -- those whose stuttering is made worse by alcohol and those whose stuttering is improved by it. Some stutterers speak always with a sense of control. Maybe they are a little milder and with control can speak better. The type of control varies. These people generally speak less fluently when they drink alcohol, because the alcohol makes it harder to maintain the control. The other type of stutterer is influenced primarily by anxiety or fear. When their fear is stronger, they struggle harder to be fluent and as a result stutter even more. For them, the alcohol lowers the anxiety level, and they don't struggle so much, so their stuttering improves.
There is, in my opinion, a somewhat elevated danger of alcoholism among those whose stuttering is significantly improved by alcohol, and I advise my clients who show this pattern to be particularly careful about their alcohol use. Getting addicted to any substance is no easy thing to deal with. I have had a few cases, but not many, who showed the same pattern with marijuana.
Woody