In the US alone, more than 3 million people stutter. When you stutter, you may avoid social situations because you feel insecure about your speech skills. This insecurity can lead to isolation, is harmful to relationships, and can cause performance issues at school or work.

Can overthinking cause stuttering?

Research shows that stuttering is not a mental health diagnosis, and anxiety is not the root cause of stuttering. Anxiety can, however, make stuttering worse. This can create a vicious feedback loop in which a person fears stuttering, causing them to stutter more.

Is stuttering considered a mental disorder?

Stuttering is a psychological disorder. Emotional factors often accompany stuttering but it is not primarily a psychological (mental) condition. Stuttering treatment/therapy often includes counseling to help people who stutter deal with attitudes and fears that may be the result of stuttering.

Is stuttering linked to anxiety?

Recent research has shown a link between social anxiety disorder (SAD) and childhood-onset fluency disorder (stuttering), with a rate of overlap as high as 75 percent.