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Stutterers' experiences on classic psychedelics: A preliminary self-report study.

Eric S. Jackson, Noam Goldway, Hope Gerlach-Houck, Noah D Gold

Journal of Fluency Disorders September 1, 2024 DOI: 10.1016/j.jfludis.2024.106062 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Qualitative analysis Peer reviewed
Sample size 114
Population Self-identified stutterers posting on Reddit
Interventions Psilocybin LSD
Topics LSD Psilocybin
Keywords Psychedelics hallucinogens Stammering Dysfluency Stuttering speech impediment Performance anxiety Reddit research Entheogens
Citations 4
Key findings 74.0% of stutterers reported positive short-term effects from classic psychedelics, including reduced stuttering and anxiety.

Abstract

Stuttering poses challenges to social, occupational, and educational aspects of life. Traditional behavioral therapies can be helpful but effects are often limited. Pharmaceutical treatments have been explored but there are no FDA-approved treatments for stuttering. Interest has grown in the potential use of classic psychedelics, including psilocybin and LSD, which have shown effectiveness in treating disorders with similar symptoms (e.g., anxiety, depression, PTSD). The potential effects of psychedelics on stuttering have not been explored. We conducted a preliminary investigation of self-identified stutterers who report their experiences taking classic psychedelics on the online messaging forum, Reddit. We qualitatively analyzed 114 publicly available posts, extracting meaningful units and assigning descriptor codes inductively. We then deductively organized responses into an established framework of psychedelics which includes behavioral, emotional, cognitive, belief-based, and social effects. These effects were subsequently grouped under organizing themes (positive, negative, neutral). Descriptive statistics revealed that the majority of users (74.0%) reported positive overall short-term effects particularly related to behavioral and emotional change (e.g., reduced stuttering and anxiety), but negative (9.6%), mixed (positive and negative; 4.8%), and neutral overall experiences (11.6%) were also reported. The results support the possibility that psychedelics may impact stuttering, but caution must be applied in their interpretation given the entirely uncontrolled research setting and potential adverse health effects of psychedelics as reported elsewhere. While these results do not encourage the use of psychedelics by stutterers, they suggest that future work could examine the impact of psychedelics on stuttering under supervised and in clinically controlled settings.

Comparable studies

Other qualitative studies on LSD, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
LSD-assisted psychotherapy for anxiety associated with a life-threatening disease: A qualitative study of acute and sustained subjective effects Patients with anxiety associated with life-threatening diseases 2014 Prospective follow-up with qualitative content analysis n = 10
Response of cluster headache to psilocybin and LSD Cluster headache patients who used psilocybin or LSD 2006 Qualitative study n = 53
Making "bad trips" good: How users of psychedelics narratively transform challenging trips into valuable experiences. Norwegian users of psychedelics 2021 Qualitative study n = 50
Psychedelic microdosing benefits and challenges: an empirical codebook Active microdosing community 2019 Mixed-methods study
Psychoactive substances as a last resort—a qualitative study of self-treatment of migraine and cluster headaches Users of online forums discussing cluster headache and migraine treatments 2017 Qualitative thematic analysis

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LSD Psilocybin Anxiety Depression Mystical experience PTSD Psychedelic-assisted therapy