Avoidance Strategies

What?
PWS often avoids stammering in many different forms as explained below. Not all PWS do all the avoidance strategies of course. This avoidance is totally natural and the motivation behind it is to avoid pain. The pain which is in stuttering; physiologically and psychologically.

This avoidance of pain causes much more pain and fear because the more you avoid, the greater your fear becomes of stuttering. So you should be welcoming this kind of pressure from the root, find techniques, face these situations and practice to desensitize yourself about stammering. I know it is very hard to practice it rather just saying it but we have no other choice, we are alive and we must live on!

Sound Level Avoidance
PWS sometimes anticipates when he stammers and then adds some sounds that he thinks it will help stammering to be less apparent such as ums, ers, coughing, backtracking

Word Level Avoidance
PWS sometimes anticipates when he stammers on a word, then tries to replace the word e.g. you want to get a chicken sandwich but you order a turkey sandwich.

Speech Level Avoidance
PWS sometimes is in a situation and he stays quiet because he doesn't want his stammer to be apparent.

Situation Level Avoidance
PWS sometimes avoids going into a situation at all because of concerns about stammering e.g.

• Not going out for a party
• Not making a phone call

Relationship Level Avoidance

PWS sometimes doesn't get involved in a relationship because of his concerns about stammering e.g.

• Not intimating relationships
• Not maintaining friendships
• Not establishing friendships
• Not communicating with authority figures

Feelings Level Avoidance

PWS sometimes doesn't let other people know what they feel.

Role Level Avoidance

PWS sometimes doesn't want to be a PWS. In this level, he doesn't want others to see or know about this aspect of him and he tries to adopt a more fluent role with tricks.

Next?
Now that you have realized this, you can practice not to avoid stammering and improving your courage to face situations no matter you stammer or not.