mild but annoying as hell!

[chips]

i have had a mild stutter for probably the past 10 years, and it comes and goes annoyingly, with seemingly no explanation. any idea why it would do this?
it seems to be associated with other things I do from time to time, and have since I was a child, such as periods of squinting eyes. anyone else experienced this.
going to uni in september and really want to eradicate it as much as possible. I am sociable and confident, and have so much to say but frustrated quite often at not being able to speak my mind or contribute to a conversation, or that when I do it comes out as a stutter. I have even done a lot of performing and drama in the past, and still do by working in the public sector. I quite often try to get around it by cutting the starts of sentences etc.
Anyone got any really good, new ideas of how to get around this problem?
It seems that when I forget about it, it is fine and i can get on with my life. But say one morning I wake up and it occurs to me, I know that i am going to be stuck with the stutter for at least a few weeks if not months.

any ideas appreciated!

[Riverman]

I would advise that all stutterers should never be embarassed about their speech and should let people know about their problem so that others will understand why on certain days or in certain situations you will be "quiet", "reserved" or sometimes seem "unfriendly" to strangers.

I have had experiences of desperately trying to hide my stammer with the result being that I avoided people and gave people the wrong impression about the sort of person I am. But I do constantly find it frustrating that people think I am a "reserved" person when in fact I am an extremely outgoing and friendly person trying to burst out of the stammering cocoon. My close friends know the real person inside me but trying to get this across to strangers is a mission.

Cheers,
Riverman.

[Asif]

Everybody tells you to "breathe".
Easy for them to say!
But actually it's true.
I suggest that no stutterer breathes effectively.
Once a day, best in the early morning, take ten minutes to stop doing whatever you usually do, and sit, kneel or squat in the quietest place you can find.
Calm yourself. Put your attention on the lower abdomen and slowly breathe in. Don't try to breathe too deeply. Just try to breathe slowly. It will be jerky at first. You are not used to this!
Slowly in, hold for a moment, slowly out.
Think of nothing at all. Calm. Calmer. Most calm...
This will help your fluency very quickly.
Buy yourelf a tuning fork: 440Hertz, (or "A").
Get used to the tone.
As you breathe out, hum the tone.
This is a form of meditation. It always helps.
Do it long enough and your voice will drop an octave and ease its way out of your un-cooperative speech apparatus.
Speak quietly.
Let people know you have an impediment.
They will often be surprised, because if you do these things, you will not appear to have one.
And always remember to smile :)