Pselismophobia (fear of stuttering): symptoms, causes and treatment

The fear of stuttering can develop into a discomfort that requires treatment.

Pselismophobia is the intense and persistent fear of stuttering.. It is a fear that usually aggravates and prolongs the stuttering itself. It is also a fear related to social phobias.

Next we will see what is the psellismofobia, which are some of its main characteristics and causes, as well as the most common treatment of the social phobias.

• Article related: "Types of phobias: exploring the disorders of the fear".

Psellismophobia: fear of stuttering.

The word "psellismofobia" or "pselismofobia" is composed of the term "psellismo" that means "stuttering" and "fobos" that means "fear". In this sense, pselismofobia is the persistent and irrational fear of stuttering (speech fluency disorder). It is a phobia related to various fears of engaging in verbal interactions, such as glossophobia, lalilophobia or lalophobia.such as glossophobia, lalilophobia or lalophobia.

Therefore, pselismophobia is often considered a type of social phobia or a characteristic of the latter. Social phobia, on the other hand, is characterized by an intense, persistent and excessive fear of one or more social situations, as well as the obligation to perform in front of others.

This can occur in front of known or unknown people, but the fear is not the people or the the fear is not of people or the interaction itself, but of humiliation, discomfort, and the possibility of being compared or evaluated. and the possibility of being compared or evaluated.

Main symptoms

In social phobia, the most common feared situations are public speaking, starting or having conversations with new people, talking to authority figures, being interviewed and going to parties. Exposure to them generates anxiety and its corresponding physiological correlate: sweating, increased heart rate, hyperventilation, decreased Gastrointestinal activity, etc., and sometimes panic attacks.and sometimes panic attacks.

Other frequent manifestations are dry mouth, nervous contractions and flushing. Frequently these responses are generated in an anticipatory manner, that is, before exposure to social interactions. Likewise, these responses are a consequence of the activity of different systems such as the autonomic nervous system, the cognitive system and the behavioral system.

In order to counteract the anxiety response, the person generates different behaviors of avoidance to social interaction. The latter ends up having a significant and negative impact on their daily activities. In fact it is this last criterion (the discomfort that interferes markedly in the person's life), which makes the difference between a social phobia and a social anxiety (also called shyness).

When it is about adult people, the intensity and the disproportion of the fear are easily recognized, but when it is presented in children this recognition does not happen.

Causes

Social phobias usually develop in adolescence (frequently around the 15 years). The latter may be linked precisely to this stage of development, where situations involving external evaluation increase significantly. This coupled with the demands generated by new environments and the need to establish certain roles in a social system beyond the family.

In addition, social phobias occur more frequently among women, which may be related to Western values where shyness is incompatible with the male role, but is socially accepted in the female role. On the other hand, it is more common in people of lower socioeconomic status, which may indicate discomfort related to hierarchies and unequal power relations (Bados, 2009).

In the specific case of pselismophobia, it is important to consider that the fear of stuttering itself is one of the main causes of stuttering. is one of the main causes of stuttering persistence.. As such, it can trigger a constant avoidance of speaking and interacting with other people, especially in the situations described above.

In this sense, beyond being a particular phobia, pselismophobia is, on the one hand, one of the causes of stuttering, and on the other hand, it is one of the manifestations of social phobia. Thus, to know the specific causes of fear of stuttering, it is necessary to explore the persistent fear of broader social situations.

Treatment

Among the most commonly used treatments for social phobias are live exposure in the natural environment, imaginative exposure, social skills training, social therapy, social therapy, and social therapy.social skills training, cognitive restructuring, self-instructional training, applied relaxation techniques, virtual reality and simulation (Bados, 2009).

Also, recently, stress reduction techniques from the cognitive behavioral model have been used, such as supportive educational therapy with explanations, demonstrations and discussions about the determinants of phobia. In terms of maintenance program group therapy approaches have also been used, once social interaction anxiety has decreased (ibid.).Once the anxiety before social interaction has decreased (ibidem).

Finally and considering the prevalence, it may be important to explore and work on empowerment from the critique of gender values and socioeconomic inequalities, so that social interactions can flow with greater security and assertiveness.