Why do we stutter or why do our words get jumbled when we're scared or nervous?
Anxiety (behaving apprehensively) activates the stress response. The stress response (also often referred to as the Emergency Response) immediately causes a number of physiological, psychological, and emotional changes that enhance the body's ability to deal with a threat - to either fight with or flee from it - which is the reason the stress response is also often referred to as the fight or flight response.
A part of the stress response changes include a change in brain function where the areas of the brain responsible for dealing with danger increase their activity and the areas of the brain responsible for rationally processing information become suppressed. This change is designed as part of the body’s survival mechanism because it’s better that we react to danger quickly rather than remain in the middle of danger trying to figure things out.
Recovery Support members can read more about the exact physiological, psychological, and emotional changes in the ‘Hyperstimulation And Its Effects’ section in Chapter 14.
As a result of these emergency response changes, our awareness and sensitivities to danger are heightened and our ability to rationalize, think clearly, and act clearly are diminished. This is often the reason people seem like they are stunned or like a ‘deer caught in the headlights’ when they are in dangerous situations and/or when overly anxious. It’s not because they are experiencing some sort of mental issue but that being afraid has caused this emergency response change in brain function.
When stress responses are active, we can experience a wide range of abnormal actions, such as mixing up our words when speaking. Many anxious and overly stressed people experience mixing up their words when speaking. Because this is just another symptom of anxiety and/or stress, it needn’t be a need for concern. Mixing up words is not an indication of a serious mental issue. Again, it’s just another symptom of anxiety and/or stress.
Similar to how mixing up words can be caused by an active stress response, it can also occur when the body becomes stress-response hyperstimulated (overly stressed and stimulated). So even though you may not feel anxious or stressed, this symptom can still occur if your body is stress-response hyperstimulated.
Again, Recovery Support members can read more about why anxiety symptoms occur, persist, and why they can take so long to get rid of in the ‘Hyperstimulation And Its Effects’ section in Chapter 14, among other chapters in the Recovery Support area.
Anxiety (behaving apprehensively) activates the stress response. The stress response (also often referred to as the Emergency Response) immediately causes a number of physiological, psychological, and emotional changes that enhance the body's ability to deal with a threat - to either fight with or flee from it - which is the reason the stress response is also often referred to as the fight or flight response.
A part of the stress response changes include a change in brain function where the areas of the brain responsible for dealing with danger increase their activity and the areas of the brain responsible for rationally processing information become suppressed. This change is designed as part of the body’s survival mechanism because it’s better that we react to danger quickly rather than remain in the middle of danger trying to figure things out.
Recovery Support members can read more about the exact physiological, psychological, and emotional changes in the ‘Hyperstimulation And Its Effects’ section in Chapter 14.
As a result of these emergency response changes, our awareness and sensitivities to danger are heightened and our ability to rationalize, think clearly, and act clearly are diminished. This is often the reason people seem like they are stunned or like a ‘deer caught in the headlights’ when they are in dangerous situations and/or when overly anxious. It’s not because they are experiencing some sort of mental issue but that being afraid has caused this emergency response change in brain function.
When stress responses are active, we can experience a wide range of abnormal actions, such as mixing up our words when speaking. Many anxious and overly stressed people experience mixing up their words when speaking. Because this is just another symptom of anxiety and/or stress, it needn’t be a need for concern. Mixing up words is not an indication of a serious mental issue. Again, it’s just another symptom of anxiety and/or stress.
Similar to how mixing up words can be caused by an active stress response, it can also occur when the body becomes stress-response hyperstimulated (overly stressed and stimulated). So even though you may not feel anxious or stressed, this symptom can still occur if your body is stress-response hyperstimulated.
Again, Recovery Support members can read more about why anxiety symptoms occur, persist, and why they can take so long to get rid of in the ‘Hyperstimulation And Its Effects’ section in Chapter 14, among other chapters in the Recovery Support area.
