I am a twenty-year-old student and my problem is taking its toll on me more and more. Each speech, each presentation comes down to stress, which probably makes the whole situation even worse. About the time I entered my teens, I have had a problem with pronunciation. However, it was not that annoying at first, but for about two years the problem has started to grow rapidly. Mainly speaking, it's not that I don't know what to say, it's just that my lips are failing me. Instead of words, gibberish comes out, which only makes my friends laugh and ask them to repeat it much more slowly. I don't know what it depends on, I rather eliminate stress due to the fact that it happens to me not only during public speeches, but also with friends or with a boyfriend. It begins to bother me more and more and I start to wonder where the progress of this problem is coming from. I'm pretty sure that I haven't had it since I was a child, when I talk to my mother, she says that in her childhood she never saw anything like that in me. In addition, I have the feeling that I'm a little lisp. Sometimes I also change letters in a word. I have no problem with writing or reading - only pronunciation. Could this indicate the beginning of some disease?
It certainly does not mean that you are ill, so please be calm. All the problems you describe are nervous and stressful. The tension that arises in such situations may cause disturbances in the work of the respiratory and articulatory muscles, hence the problem with fluency and pronunciation. The older we are, the lower our resistance to stress may be, which is why the disorders become more severe. It is definitely worth consulting this situation with a speech therapist, he would give you exercises to help you deal with the speeches. Additionally, it is necessary to talk to a psychologist, which would give a diagnosis and the possibility of eliminating the cause of all these ailments.
Remember that our expert's answer is informative and will not replace a visit to the doctor.
Katarzyna BąkowiczSpecialist in the field of media communication. She conducts individual therapy with adults and children, workshops for working with the body, voice and breath, training for companies.
More advice from this expert
Word conjugation errors when bilingual [Expert's tip]A four-year-old does not recognize colors. Ascheck if it is developing properly? [Expert advice]Can an adult remove a speech impediment? [Expert advice]Is it possible to cure a speech impediment r in an adult? [Expert advice]Can I correct my speech impediment myself? [Expert advice]Is it Possible to Cure Adult Stuttering? [Expert advice]Will stopper exercises help with a speech impediment? [Expert advice]Why does the child have an open mouth and sticking out tongue? [Expert advice]The child stops talking. Mutism or stubborn character? [Expert advice]How to pronounce "sz" and "cz" correctly? [Expert advice]How to support a child's speech development? [Expert advice]What does speech therapy look like? [Expert advice]How to encourage a child to learn? [Expert advice]Stuttering in a child. Why is there no improvement after exercise? [Expert advice]Correction of an adult lisp [Expert Advice]A short frenulum in a child and speech impediments [Expert's advice]Teen has headaches and forgets words [Expert advice]Slow loss of speech in an adult [Expert Advice]Problem with free speech and forgetting words [Expert's advice]Adult language problems [Expert Advice]I avoid people by stuttering. Where to go for help [Expert advice]Speech development in a three-year-old [Expert's tip]Oxygenation of the letter C in an adult [Expert advice]Oxygenation in adulthood [Expert Advice]Stress and forgetting words and speech [Expert's tip]The three-year-old says very little [Expert's tip]Impairment of speech and lack of progress after exercise [Expert's advice]Pronunciation. A 3.5-year-old child presents sounds [Expert's tip]A protruding tongue in a child. How to prevent it? [Expert advice]Forgetting words and rearranging letters when writing [Expert's tip]