Logophobia: causes, symptoms and treatment

Anyone during intense excitement can lose their thoughts, not find suitable words and experience speech difficulties. Sometimes, intense anxiety before an upcoming performance or even a casual conversation develops into a phobia. The reasons for this fear should be understood. Are there effective ways to eliminate the disease?

Logophobia (from the ancient Greek logos - "word", phobos - "fear") - panic fear of speech... There is another name for this pathology - glossophobia... Most often, a mental disorder associated with a fear of speaking occurs in people with speech impairments. A person feels uncontrollable anxiety before any communication with strangers. Sometimes he experiences so much stress that he utters completely different words instead of the ones he wanted to say.

Phobia often occurs with stuttering. In this case, it is divided into three types: neurotic, neurosis-like and mixed disorders.

• Neurotic stuttering usually appears as a result of a traumatic situation. Subsequently, spasms appear, provoking stuttering. The logophobe experiences a slight anxiety, which can develop into a panic attack in the process of communicating with a stranger.

The more the speaker is worried, the more difficult it is for him to express his thoughts. He begins to confuse words, abruptly breaks off phrases in the middle, makes attempts to leave. Talking to outsiders is a real challenge.

• Neurosis-like stuttering is a consequence of a weak nervous system. In people with this disorder, when speaking, spasms of the respiratory-vocal muscles occur.As a result, the logophobe cannot utter a single word. He is embarrassed and ashamed of his forced silence. There is a desire to immediately stop communicating.
• The mixed disorder is promoted by severe neurosis. Anxiety disorder occurs with any communication, except for talking with those closest to you. A logophobe may not be able to enter into a dialogue with the seller, the conductor and ordinary passers-by. He experiences extreme stress when an unfamiliar number is displayed on the screen of a mobile phone at the time of a phone call. Such a person prefers to lead a reclusive lifestyle.

Fear of speaking most often appears in people with congenital or acquired speech defects: lisp, stuttering... The reason for the fear of communicating with strangers can be insecurity, complexities. A person is afraid of an unfavorable assessment from others.

Children's ridicule, contempt and bullying from peers contribute to the development of the disease. The shame experienced in childhood for the words spoken, the rude interruption in mid-sentence, the demand to shut up is strengthened in the subconscious of a person and can accompany him all his life.

The reason for the onset of the disease in an adult is the fear that his speech will be misunderstood. The fear of conveying a thought to the audience in a distorted form due to illegible and difficult pronunciation often leads to a phobia.

The fear of speaking is sometimes pushed by impatient listeners who rush, correct or finish the words for the stuttering person. Such communication leads to the fear of becoming an uninteresting interlocutor, pushes the sufferer to seclusion. Some logoophobes themselves do not accept their peculiarity, they do not want to put up with the existing defect. In this regard, they give themselves an installation for silence.

The appearance of a phobia can be caused by an unpleasant odor coming from the mouth, caused by some disease of the gastrointestinal tract.

This phobia is characterized by the following psychological symptoms:

• increased anxiety;
• insomnia;
• unreasonable fear;
• loss of appetite;
• feeling of inadequacy;
• mental stress;
• panic attacks.

There are specific symptoms of the disease, which is directly caused by stuttering:

• spasms of the speech apparatus;
• difficulty in pronouncing phrases;
• repetition of individual sounds, syllables and words;
• articulatory cramps;
• duration of speech pauses.

Along with these manifestations, concomitant symptoms are often observed:

• various facial tics;
• rapid blinking;
• trembling lips;
• muscle tension;
• mimic antics;
• increased sweating;
• lack of air.

According to the degree of manifestation of symptoms, the ailment is divided into 3 types:

• with a mild course of logoophobia, a person is afraid of public speaking;
• with an average, there is a fear of conducting a dialogue with a stranger;
• in case of hard, any thought about communication drives the logoophobe to panic.

At an early stage of the disease, it is easy to get rid of the pathology. In all other cases, the help of a qualified specialist is required. The psychotherapist selects an individual approach to each patient. Complex treatment is most often used.

First of all, the patient needs to stabilize the psychoemotional state and correct speech. The specialist teaches the patient to master new communication skills and acquire other habits in the course of the conversation. The doctor works closely with a speech therapist who eliminates speech defects.

Drug therapy does not help to overcome fear, but it calms the nervous system and significantly reduces the symptoms of neurosis. Most often, the patient is prescribed antidepressants and tranquilizers. Other specialists help to stabilize the patient's nervous state: physiotherapists, massage therapists, acupuncturists and reflexologists.

A person can alleviate his suffering on his own with the help speech therapy massage and daily breathing exercises, eliminating spasms of the cervical muscles. Affirmations, meditations, relaxing baths help to distract from negative thoughts and tune in to positive emotions. Autogenic regular exercise can help you get rid of mental discomfort, unpleasant memories, and deep-rooted grievances.

There are several tricks helping the logoophobe to escape from terrible thoughts and decide to pronounce the phrase in the presence of strangers:

• during a conversation, you should look the interlocutor in the eyes, focus on holding your gaze, and not on pronouncing a phrase;
• you need to pronounce the words on the exhale, focus on the first syllable;
• when words "get stuck" in the larynx, it is necessary to repeat the attempt to pronounce them, while it is not recommended to look away from the interlocutor;
• a successful statement stimulates the continuation of the speech.

When children stutter, parents are required to show special sensitivity:

• in no case should you scold a child for incorrect or indistinct pronunciation of words;
• the child's unwillingness to pronounce words in the presence of strangers can mean the onset of an anxiety disorder, therefore, a psychologist's consultation is required;
• at the first signs of stuttering, you need to contact a speech therapist;
• spasms that occur when pronouncing vowel sounds can be overcome with the help of singing (it is advisable to record the baby in the choir);
• with a child suffering from speech impairment, one should speak slowly, pronounce the words clearly, which will allow the little man to answer without difficulty at a moderate pace;
• a stuttering child must be listened to very carefully and patiently, you must not interrupt him, while you must focus on the meaning of the phrase, and not on its pronunciation.