4 statements to respond to

[grantM]

I have posted 4 statements below for which I invite you to copy and paste and respond to. I am not looking for debate here just your honest thoughts on each one. I would be very interested in your responses as it will help shape my own future research. None of this will be published or used in any way though.

Please respond to the following quotes.

“I would willingly swap my stutter for complete blindness”


“If my stutter disappeared over night I would then approach the new day with a sense of fear”


“If a cure for stuttering was found today I would eagerly take it even if it meant a 10 year reduction of my life span”


“The anxiety involved with the thought of stuttering throughout each day is worse to me than the stutter itself”

[JDRow]

“I would willingly swap my stutter for complete blindness”

No. I'm used to stuttering, I have no idea what it would be like to be blind, and I do think my life would be more limited.

“If my stutter disappeared over night I would then approach the new day with a sense of fear”

I think I'd feel less fear.

“If a cure for stuttering was found today I would eagerly take it even if it meant a 10 year reduction of my life span”

That's a tough one. I don't know. Maybe if I knew my life span, first. ;) If I was going to live to 100, then I would. If I was only going to live until 60, probably not. I'd be very tempted, but I don't know what I'd do.

“The anxiety involved with the thought of stuttering throughout each day is worse to me than the stutter itself”[/QUOTE]

Probably, although the stutter isn't much fun, either.

[emily445455]

“I would willingly swap my stutter for complete blindness”
No.


“If my stutter disappeared over night I would then approach the new day with a sense of fear”
No, I would approach the new day with a sense of great thankfullness.


“If a cure for stuttering was found today I would eagerly take it even if it meant a 10 year reduction of my life span”
No.


“The anxiety involved with the thought of stuttering throughout each day is worse to me than the stutter itself”
Definitly.

[cjm555]

“I would willingly swap my stutter for complete blindness”
no, i like seeing things much more than talking :P

“If my stutter disappeared over night I would then approach the new day with a sense of fear”
i think the first couple of days i would be sceptical that it was gone... eventually i think i would become more open and talkative...

“If a cure for stuttering was found today I would eagerly take it even if it meant a 10 year reduction of my life span”
that is a hard one... but like said above it would be easier if i knew my life span... lol

“The anxiety involved with the thought of stuttering throughout each day is worse to me than the stutter itself”
i think that is true... i know i stutter more when i think about it and know i usualy get stuck on the words to come

[Silent]

“I would willingly swap my stutter for complete blindness”

No.

“If my stutter disappeared over night I would then approach the new day with a sense of fear”

I think I'd feel less fear.

“If a cure for stuttering was found today I would eagerly take it even if it meant a 10 year reduction of my life span”

Yes!

“The anxiety involved with the thought of stuttering throughout each day is worse to me than the stutter itself”

No. The anxiety is bad, but the physical sensations and inability to speak are even worse.

[BenLZ]

“I would willingly swap my stutter for complete blindness”

No. I can't imagine how difficult it would be to be totally blind.

“If my stutter disappeared over night I would then approach the new day with a sense of fear”

I don't think so. It depends how confident I was that it disappeared. If I was sure, I doubt I'd be scared. Excited? Probably. Scared? I don't think so.


“If a cure for stuttering was found today I would eagerly take it even if it meant a 10 year reduction of my life span”

A tough one, but after thinking about it - yes.

“The anxiety involved with the thought of stuttering throughout each day is worse to me than the stutter itself”[/QUOTE]

Certainly.

[Jamus]

“I would willingly swap my stutter for complete blindness”

Hell no.


“If my stutter disappeared over night I would then approach the new day with a sense of fear”

I don't think so. I wouldn't be afraid of my 100% fluency all of a sudden, I would embrace it


“If a cure for stuttering was found today I would eagerly take it even if it meant a 10 year reduction of my life span”

You only live once, might as well enjoy it as much as you can. Sure


“The anxiety involved with the thought of stuttering throughout each day is worse to me than the stutter itself”

Not mine. My anxiety is very low these days and my stutter has not gotten much better.

[Box of Clocks]

I would willingly swap my stutter for complete blindness”

No I think I would rather carry on as I am now than be blind.

“If my stutter disappeared over night I would then approach the new day with a sense of fear”

I imagine if I no longer stuttered I would have a more positive approach to each new day as I wouldn't have the stress and worry associated with stuttering.

“If a cure for stuttering was found today I would eagerly take it even if it meant a 10 year reduction of my life span”

My answer to this would probably be yes but as others have mentioned it would be easier to answer if you knew exactly how long your lifespan was going to be.

“The anxiety involved with the thought of stuttering throughout each day is worse to me than the stutter itself”

I would say that they are both a problem but if I didn't stutter in the first place there would be no reason to be stressed over it so stuttering is the root problem and as such for me the worse of the two.

[Vermillion]

“I would willingly swap my stutter for complete blindness”
no

“If my stutter disappeared over night I would then approach the new day with a sense of fear”
no

“If a cure for stuttering was found today I would eagerly take it even if it meant a 10 year reduction of my life span”
yes

“The anxiety involved with the thought of stuttering throughout each day is worse to me than the stutter itself”
no

[nate]

“I would willingly swap my stutter for complete blindness”

NO

“If my stutter disappeared over night I would then approach the new day with a sense of fear”

IDK

“If a cure for stuttering was found today I would eagerly take it even if it meant a 10 year reduction of my life span”

In africa the avg lifespan is 45. i'm 27 that means that i'd have 7 more yrs to live. Uhm i'm gonna go with NO

“The anxiety involved with the thought of stuttering throughout each day is worse to me than the stutter itself”
No, i have other things to waste my anxiety on.

Nate

[Adrian]

“I would willingly swap my stutter for complete blindness”
no

“If my stutter disappeared over night I would then approach the new day with a sense of fear”
no

“If a cure for stuttering was found today I would eagerly take it even if it meant a 10 year reduction of my life span”
no

“The anxiety involved with the thought of stuttering throughout each day is worse to me than the stutter itself”
Today the the anxiety of stuttering is basically gone, but I still struggle to get my point across with the stuttering at times. As a teenager though, I hardly ever talked and the anxiety trumped everything.

[grantM]

Thanks for all the answers so far and please keep this going. It is very interesting in seeing the trends emerge

[Silent]

“If a cure for stuttering was found today I would eagerly take it even if it meant a 10 year reduction of my life span”

It occurs to me I'm already in a much worse deal...
Out of the 24 hours a day, I sleep for 8 hours and work another 8 hours, so I'm only left with 8 hours of spare time. By practicing 1 hour a day I'm losing 1/8 of it. Assuming the life expectancy of 80 years, I'm losing 10 years of my life (well, the part of it that is worth living).
I'm already trading 10 years of my life... not for a cure, but for a small (if any) speech improvement.

So, obviously my answer is YES, because I'd gain total fluency and lose nothing.

[DKoz]

“I would willingly swap my stutter for complete blindness”

No way. You can't compare stuttering to blindness.


“If my stutter disappeared over night I would then approach the new day with a sense of fear”

Definitely. My sense of fear would go away. Not all at once but it would go away.


“If a cure for stuttering was found today I would eagerly take it even if it meant a 10 year reduction of my life span”

I would take stuttering over the cure because it wouldn't be fair to my family and friends. My stutter most of the time isn't that bad that I would want to take up this option.

“The anxiety involved with the thought of stuttering throughout each day is worse to me than the stutter itself”

I strongly agree with this. There's nothing else I can add to this.

[DKoz]

“I would willingly swap my stutter for complete blindness”

No way. You can't compare stuttering to blindness.


“If my stutter disappeared over night I would then approach the new day with a sense of fear”

Definitely. My sense of fear would go away. Not all at once but it would go away.


“If a cure for stuttering was found today I would eagerly take it even if it meant a 10 year reduction of my life span”

I would take stuttering over the cure because it wouldn't be fair to my family and friends. My stutter most of the time isn't that bad that I would want to take up this option.

“The anxiety involved with the thought of stuttering throughout each day is worse to me than the stutter itself”

I strongly agree with this. There's nothing else I can add to this.

Would=Wouldn't, no more edit button.

[AstralMystic]

“I would willingly swap my stutter for complete blindness”

No


“If my stutter disappeared over night I would then approach the new day with a sense of fear”

I would certainly feel, very blessed, and lucky, but not fearful. Why should a person feel scared because one of their lifelong dreams suddenly came true. There would be so much less to fear, without the stutter than with it.


“If a cure for stuttering was found today I would eagerly take it even if it meant a 10 year reduction of my life span”

It's very hard to answer that one without knowing what my lifespan actually is. If I am meant to live a very long life then yes I think I would but if i am destined to die younger then no.


“The anxiety involved with the thought of stuttering throughout each day is worse to me than the stutter itself”

I would say it's about equal to it.

[Derek181]

“I would willingly swap my stutter for complete blindness”

heck No


“If my stutter disappeared over night I would then approach the new day with a sense of fear”

fear nah... id be out there entering every talking situation possible. id be calling all my old friends and family etc etc.

“If a cure for stuttering was found today I would eagerly take it even if it meant a 10 year reduction of my life span”

10 years is quite a deduction. like whats the average death of people .... like 76 years old. so that means i would only live to 66. nah i dont think i would do it.

“The anxiety involved with the thought of stuttering throughout each day is worse to me than the stutter itself”

anxiety is far worse than the stuttering. without the anxiety i dont mind stuttering too much.

[Silent]

I would take a cure even if it meant I'd die 6 months later.

[Derek181]

wow thats intense silent. why? stuttering really makes you that unhappy? you would do it and then enjoy fluency for a week and say ahh this is no big deal then you would regret doing the 6 month trade off

[Silent]

wow thats intense silent. why? stuttering really makes you that unhappy? you would do it and then enjoy fluency for a week and say ahh this is no big deal then you would regret doing the 6 month trade off
My stutter is very severe and there are things I'll never be able to do / have unless it disappears. 6 months of fluency is more than enough to do all those things.
I have experienced most of the things a severe stutterer like me can experience; now if I experience what fluent people do, my life will be complete.

[Derek181]

what things can you not experience being a stutterer?

[grantM]

what things can you not experience being a stutterer?

True. I cannot think of anything really. You can explore, travel, love, educate, play sports etc etc. What can you not do?

[Derek181]

well i can understand how doing the "love" part can be harder. but it still can be done. stutterers obviously do have a hard time forming relationships with the opposite . like honestly i wonder what a girl thinks when she meets a really severe stutterer.

[BPM1986]

“I would willingly swap my stutter for complete blindness”

As much as I hate stuttering, giving up a sense would not be worth it to me.

“If my stutter disappeared over night I would then approach the new day with a sense of fear”

Quite the opposite, most of my fear comes from thinking that I am going to stutter over my name. I would face the day with much less fear.

“If a cure for stuttering was found today I would eagerly take it even if it meant a 10 year reduction of my life span”

I am not sure. Part of me believes I would take that offer in a second, the other part of me would want to be around for as long as possible. So, I plead the fifth.

“The anxiety involved with the thought of stuttering throughout each day is worse to me than the stutter itself”

YES! I don't stutter nearly as much as I think that I am going to. I forget where I heard it but I heard a question asked once that said "Why do we believe our worst reviews no matter how much evidence there is to the contrary?" I thought that was provocative because most of the time, we are our own worst reviewers. I could have a stutter-free day, and instead of having confidence, I still have just as much fear of stuttering as when the say started. If it wasn't for the anxiety I would be fine!

[Silent]

what things can you not experience being a stutterer?
Going out with friends and having fun with it, conversation, dating, , love, to name a few...

[grantM]

Going out with friends and having fun with it, conversation, dating, , love, to name a few...

Well I have Silent! I just got married in December. Used to always go out and have fun in my younger years. Its all in your attitude. I even direct and make short films. We are so lucky with our so called disability than a lot of other types.

[Silent]

Well I have Silent! I just got married in December. Used to always go out and have fun in my younger years. Its all in your attitude. I even direct and make short films. We are so lucky with our so called disability than a lot of other types.
You have, I haven't.
Is your stutter as severe as or more severe than mine? You don't know that, neither do I. The degree of relation of your post to my situation can be anything from 100% to zero.

[justthere]

“I would willingly swap my stutter for complete blindness”
No. i would take stuttering over blindness.

“If my stutter disappeared over night I would then approach the new day with a sense of fear”
No. I would look forward to just seeing how it is to not worrying about stuttering.

“If a cure for stuttering was found today I would eagerly take it even if it meant a 10 year reduction of my life span”
Yes. without a doubt.

“The anxiety involved with the thought of stuttering throughout each day is worse to me than the stutter itself”
Yes. im always thinking about if iam going to stutter.

[Derek181]

well i dont know how severe your stutter is or anything. but there are ways to improve right. i think that my stuttering used to be moderate to severe. and now, if i enter a group social situation i know iam going to stutter so i actually stutter on purpose and surprisingly the stutter is better when u arnt afraid of stuttering and its only a little block than say a big block. most people just listen to me. i try to have a smile on my face while doing it as well.

[emily445455]

well i can understand how doing the "love" part can be harder. but it still can be done. stutterers obviously do have a hard time forming relationships with the opposite . like honestly i wonder what a girl thinks when she meets a really severe stutterer.

We do?

I didn't.

[grantM]

Yes you can't interact with the world with a pre-set negative mindset. I know it is hard and it impacted me greatly in my later teens but the world is out there waiting for you and it is not as and as you think. Studies have proven that stutterer's self perceptions are normally far far worse than those who listen to you about stuttering. You have to do the best with what you are given.

With severity. Mine is normally rated severe but this is not a contest. I have met many far worse and far less severe stutterers at course, conferences and support groups who are happily in relationships, in their careers and are moving along in society fine.

[Derek181]

well emily, thats because your a female.

[Silent]

I think it boils down to severity and quality of your stutter.
I find speaking very painful. How can I be happy doing things that cause physical pain?

If you don't like to have your knee hit with a hammer repeatedly, is it because of your negative mindset?

[Adrian]

I think it boils down to severity and quality of your stutter.
I find speaking very painful. How can I be happy doing things that cause physical pain?

If you don't like to have your knee hit with a hammer repeatedly, is it because of your negative mindset?

You bring up a good point about physical pain when speaking. When I really struggled with my stuttering I felt as though someone was choking me. All I can say is the more you do it, the easier it gets. You really have to put yourself out there. Yes you will feel emotional and maybe even physical pain, but it is the only way to gain control of this disorder.

[Silent]

All I can say is the more you do it, the easier it gets. You really have to put yourself out there. Yes you will feel emotional and maybe even physical pain, but it is the only way to gain control of this disorder.
Thanks for the advice.
My impression, however, is the opposite - triggering the response perpetuates it. But it's just a feeling, not direct experience.

[theginger1]

“I would willingly swap my stutter for complete blindness”

NO!!!!!, def not, stuttering is no where near as bad as being blind, life wud be so much more difficult being blind

“If my stutter disappeared over night I would then approach the new day with a sense of fear”

No, i would approach to new day with a sense of happiness.

“If a cure for stuttering was found today I would eagerly take it even if it meant a 10 year reduction of my life span”

No, its just not worth it

“The anxiety involved with the thought of stuttering throughout each day is worse to me than the stutter itself”

Used to be, but recently not anymore, am a lot more happier, confident now, so its the stutter itself which bothers me rather than the thought of it

[needausername]

“I would willingly swap my stutter for complete blindness”

No, IMHO, being blind is worse than stuttering.

“If my stutter disappeared over night I would then approach the new day with a sense of fear”

It might take me a while (a few days at least) for me to really beleive my stutter is gone.


“If a cure for stuttering was found today I would eagerly take it even if it meant a 10 year reduction of my life span”

I do not know, I guess it would depend on my life span.

“The anxiety involved with the thought of stuttering throughout each day is worse to me than the stutter itself”

I agree, I really have a hard time going out and meeting new people. Over the years, I have avoided social gatherings because I was nervous about people's reaction to my stuttering. Lately, I have not avoided social gatherings. I am just slowly building my confidence up.

[claragazza]

You have, I haven't.
Is your stutter as severe as or more severe than mine? You don't know that, neither do I. The degree of relation of your post to my situation can be anything from 100% to zero.

Silent, I am a severe stutterer too, and it did not preclude me from "going out with friends and having fun with it, conversation, dating, , love", as you say. It would lie if I said it did not interfere with this, but it did not make it completely impossible.

[claragazza]

well emily, thats because your a female.

I respecfully disagree. I don't think being a female makes any difference. Why would it?

[grantM]

Silent, I am a severe stutterer too, and it did not preclude me from "going out with friends and having fun with it, conversation, dating, , love", as you say. It would lie if I said it did not interfere with this, but it did not make it completely impossible.

Exactly stuttering is not the reason it is the excuse at times

[Zachary]

“I would willingly swap my stutter for complete blindness”
Only on the terms that I also develop world-par, hyper-intuitive sword fighting skills as well (actual answer: yes, I'm way more aurally-oriented than I am visually-oriented)

“If my stutter disappeared over night I would then approach the new day with a sense of fear”
Why should I be afraid? I feel stuttering balances my character. Without it I'd be considered "OPd" ... I know, that sounds dorky LOL!

“If a cure for stuttering was found today I would eagerly take it even if it meant a 10 year reduction of my life span”
Yes. I've always had a fear of one day growing so old I can no longer take care of myself, so this kinda works out. 65-75 is a nice time to go in my opinion.

“The anxiety involved with the thought of stuttering throughout each day is worse to me than the stutter itself”
I agree with this statement, save for the rare occasions those anxiety-induced fears come true.

[nate]

Silent wow...u seem almost sage like in your responses. like a weary monk who is still meting out advice to his errant students...very creepy.
but i think that what everyone is trying to say is that you can overcome and still do all the things that u percieve only fluent speakers can do, however i think u just dont want to do them in the first place and it doesnt really bother u.
i think i've previously likened u to a new age hermit. u want to live in seclusion...and u just use the severity of your stutter to shut people up or out so that u can get on with it. Being a hermit that is.
then again, i'm not Jesus and this is not the gospel.
So i could be very wrong...but i doubt it
Nate