DisfluentGirl
01-23-2011, 08:39 PM
Hi I'm Andrea. I live in the Seattle, Wa area. I'm 26 years old and I've been stuttering since about age 3. Then it went away around age 5 only to come back around age 12. It went away around age 14 then came back around age 16. Ever since then every year it gets worse and worse. It's also way worse when I speak spanish!
I now consider myself a severe stutterer. I have very long blocks and face contortions. I repeat the word um alot. My stuttering is full blown when I'm around my family and close friends. It's like the more I get to know someone, the closer I get to them the more my stuttering comes out.
I avoid so many situations like visiting certain family members that live out of town that I haven't seen in years. All because I don't want to be made fun of or feel uncomfortable. I have my family and close friends make phone calls for me.
I'm a massage therapist. At work no one really knows I stutter, for some reason I can hold it off more. But it's exhausting because I have to do alot of word substituting or not say certain words. It's weird how this only works in the workplace and not around my family and friends.
Lately it's gotten a bit worse. I used to not stutter at all in public or around people I don't know, but now it seems to be happening when I order food or ask for assistance. It's been slipping out when I speak to my clients too.
Being a stutterer has affected me in many ways. I have very low self esteem and I get depressed often. I'm a very anxious and nervous person. I can have a bit of a temper. I feel helpless and I isolate myself. I feel like I'm in a prison inside my own head. Sometimes I feel like I just want to die.
Regular people don't know what I go through or what this feels like. They take for granted being able to speak without thinking or worrying about their words. I feel so envious of them. It's not fair! What did I ever do to deserve this? I wouldn't wish stuttering on my worst enemy.
People dream about being successful, rich, beautiful, finding a soulmate etc. I dream about being able to speak. I'd do anything to be fluent. I feel like stuttering is robbing me of my personality and dreams. How the hell can I start my own business if I'm scared to death of something as simple as making a phonecall??
I've tried speech therapy, devices, past life regression hypnosis, the vasalva method, meditation, qigong, reiki, affirmations and nothing has worked. It seems to actually be getting worse.
However I am not giving up. I refuse to. Next on my list is the Mcguire Program in March, The Spicer method by Laura Spicer which involves NLP (neuro-linguistic programming), also I am going to try a different types of hypnosis.
Oh and call me crazy but this summer I am going to Peru on vacation and I will make it a point to to go see some shamans and ask them for help!
Well this is getting a bit long so thanks for reading and I hope to get to know some of you!
I now consider myself a severe stutterer. I have very long blocks and face contortions. I repeat the word um alot. My stuttering is full blown when I'm around my family and close friends. It's like the more I get to know someone, the closer I get to them the more my stuttering comes out.
I avoid so many situations like visiting certain family members that live out of town that I haven't seen in years. All because I don't want to be made fun of or feel uncomfortable. I have my family and close friends make phone calls for me.
I'm a massage therapist. At work no one really knows I stutter, for some reason I can hold it off more. But it's exhausting because I have to do alot of word substituting or not say certain words. It's weird how this only works in the workplace and not around my family and friends.
Lately it's gotten a bit worse. I used to not stutter at all in public or around people I don't know, but now it seems to be happening when I order food or ask for assistance. It's been slipping out when I speak to my clients too.
Being a stutterer has affected me in many ways. I have very low self esteem and I get depressed often. I'm a very anxious and nervous person. I can have a bit of a temper. I feel helpless and I isolate myself. I feel like I'm in a prison inside my own head. Sometimes I feel like I just want to die.
Regular people don't know what I go through or what this feels like. They take for granted being able to speak without thinking or worrying about their words. I feel so envious of them. It's not fair! What did I ever do to deserve this? I wouldn't wish stuttering on my worst enemy.
People dream about being successful, rich, beautiful, finding a soulmate etc. I dream about being able to speak. I'd do anything to be fluent. I feel like stuttering is robbing me of my personality and dreams. How the hell can I start my own business if I'm scared to death of something as simple as making a phonecall??
I've tried speech therapy, devices, past life regression hypnosis, the vasalva method, meditation, qigong, reiki, affirmations and nothing has worked. It seems to actually be getting worse.
However I am not giving up. I refuse to. Next on my list is the Mcguire Program in March, The Spicer method by Laura Spicer which involves NLP (neuro-linguistic programming), also I am going to try a different types of hypnosis.
Oh and call me crazy but this summer I am going to Peru on vacation and I will make it a point to to go see some shamans and ask them for help!
Well this is getting a bit long so thanks for reading and I hope to get to know some of you!