Why Do Some People ‘Stutter’ When Nervous?

When people are nervous, their brain gets busy trying to think and speak at the same time. It's like having too many cookies in a jar, your brain can't pick just one cookie (a word) to say clearly, so it starts repeating or skipping words. This is why some people stutter when they're stressed.

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Examples

A kid gets nervous before giving a presentation and starts repeating the same sentence over and over.
Someone freezes when asked a question on the phone, unable to say more than one word at a time.
A friend speaks normally until they’re introduced in a crowd, then their words start jumping around.

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Categories: Psychology · stuttering,anxiety,brain function