Overcoming the Whelm

Overcoming the Whelm

I have a stress stutter. Whenever I get overwhelmed, it’s like my mind can’t decide which thought to express first so they all just jumble up in my head and come out at the same time.

The other day I was trying to talk to someone—OK I was arguing—and I just start stuttering like I was having a stroke. Things that won’t get you taken seriously: forgetting what you were saying and just standing there.

Perfect.

Some people have a “flight” mechanism to fear and stress. Others have a “fight” reaction. I’ve unfortunately come to discover that I have the third reaction: Freeze.

I remember this Sunday school class in middle school when we were talking about this. The teacher said, “Y’all can fight. You can run. But for goodness sake don’t freeze.”

And yet, I do.

This has its perks. When I’m in a verbal confrontation, I rarely fly off the handle because my mouth just freezes. If I ever need to hide from the police, I can just stay in one place for long amounts of time. However,