A team of researchers has found that psychedelics could help people who stutter to speak more fluently.
- A study suggests that psychedelics could help people who suffer from stuttering, a speech disorder that affects around 600,000 people in France, both children and adults.
- Analyzing posts on Reddit, researchers examined the effects of psychedelics on stuttering. A majority of users (74%) reported positive effects, particularly related to behavioral and emotional changes, such as reduced stuttering and anxiety.
- One of them explains that “psilocybin was a key factor in not only increasing my fluency as a speaker, but also in better understanding who I was as a person.” [et] the lens through which I see life.”
They could help fight addictions, depression, diabetes and even loss of sexual appetite: the health benefits of psychedelics, such as psilocybin in magic mushrooms or LSD, are increasingly documented.
A team of social science and psychology researchers suggests that psychedelics may even help people who stutter, a speech fluency disorder. which affects around 600,000 people in Franceboth children and adults.
What impact do psychedelics have on stuttering and speech?
“Given the positive effects of psychedelics on conditions such as anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which share symptoms with stuttering, we believe that the potential impact of these substances on stuttering may be a fruitful area of study.”explain researchers from the New York University Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development in a communicated.
As part of their work, published in the Journal of Fluency Disordersthe scientists analyzed a total of 114 posts on the social network Reddit published between 2012 and 2022 by 104 distinct users, including keywords related to stuttering and speech, as well as psychedelics. They mainly examined the Internet users’ use of psilocybin and LSD, excluding amphetamines (ecstasy, MDMA) and DMT, which can also have psychedelic effects.
The researchers then classified the messages into subcategories based on the effects of the substance on 1/behavior (lifestyle habits), 2/emotions (altered state, feelings), 3/cognition (mind, cognitive flexibility), 4/beliefs (metaphysical considerations, suggestibility), and finally 5/sociability (connection with others, empathy).
Less stuttering and anxiety in half of psychedelic users
As a result, a majority of users (74%) reported positive overall effects, particularly related to behavioral and emotional changes, such as reduced stuttering and anxiety. Negative (9.6%), mixed (positive and negative, 4.8%), and neutral overall (11.6%) experiences were also reported.
Overall, half of the users reported that taking psychedelics had helped reduce their stuttering. One of them explained that “Psilocybin was a key factor in not only increasing my fluency as a speaker, but also in better understanding who I was as a person. [et] the lens through which I see life.”
“Caution should be exercised, given the uncontrolled research setting and the potential adverse health effects of psychedelics, but our results support the possibility that psychedelics may have a positive impact on stuttering.”conclude the scientists, who plan to further their research with randomized, controlled clinical trials.
