My thoughts and advice on stuttering - from an ex-stutterer

[irishemmz]

hi i totally agree with what you are saying,there are times when i barely stammer at all,like when im alone practicing,but they're are also certain words that i severely panic on like doing the till at work,and my heart starts pounding.I find these certain words impossible,an when i know i have to say them,i just freeze up,i cant relax,Its so hard to explain....

[leroy]

HI everyone,

I wonder if it is possible that part of why a person grows up stuttering is due to a faulty relationship between themselves and their parents at a very early age when they are first talking.

Not trying to say it is "psychological" or "emotional" or whatever, just commenting that is in part the result of a communication problem between oneself as a child and the most important people in your life: your parents.

[brettM]

I was encouraged by Fegy's post. I agree more with Fegy's point of view than Amey's, I have to say. Maybe in some instances, stuttering is neurological. Nuerological in the sense of anxiety/stress and then that affecting a person's ability to speak fluently. For me (and I can only speak for myself), but regarding myself, I only stutter when I am under great deals of stress. Not to say I might not stutter here and there when I'm not exceptionally stressed. For me, I'd say it's 90% mental. I think too much. I obsess about what people will think and how I will be seen. It's this overwhelming sense of shame and embarrassment in thinking I might not be perfect in a sense. Even as a young kid, I always tried to impress people. It's almost that mentality of "I've got to be the best I can be, so I can be appreciated and validated". Over time it has become a way of life in my line of thinking. Almost like a bad psychological habit that I haven't been able to break. When I am calm and at ease with my surrounding, I never stutter. I can speak as fluently as the next person. That to me, proves that it's not this incurable neurological disorder that cannot be fixed. If that were so, we'd never be able to speak fluently at any given moment. So, sorry Amey. I don't think we have to accept this fate on our lives. It does take a lot of patience and retraining our thought process. but I believe we can overcome it.

[Theo Dreiser]

Originally Posted by angeldust

I absolutely do agree that with SOME people it is all in the MIND. I definitely know that that is so in my case. I can be rattling on talking away very fluently and then BAM I'm approaching a word that I've programmed myself to stutter on. Straight away, everything is going off in my brain telling me to STUTTER ON THAT WORD, it really drives me crazy!! In regards to making phone calls, same thing, I've programmed all this rubbish into my head. I've actually decided enough is enough and I'm working on this hence the reason I joined this site. I only joined today and I have to say it's a great site!!

Yes, I have the same problem. So what makes us different from people that don't have this problem? Different brain structure?

[LittleBonBon]

I agree almost 100% with what he has said. and i only say almost because not everyone can relate to this, but I sure as heck can.
I'm 16 and my stutter started when I was about 7. So a similar story to him Around this time I had a bad experience, I swear at around this time my stutter began. I have a grandfather with a stutter, but I never stuttered until this age. They say that genetics is the gun but environment pulls the trigger.
My stutter was not even apparent when I believed that I wasn't one, and just left speech therapy from 13% ( just in the severe range) to 1% ( 1% and lower is normal person ) .
I have some issues with anxiety and negative thoughts.6 months after leaving the speech thrapist I was having a holiday and I did not have much to do, my negative thoughts caught me and my stutter seemed to reappear. After reading what he said I remembered how I was when I didn't stutter, I even forgot that I was one, until i had to indicate it on a form somewhere.
Just before I began writing this message. I had to see a teacher about some work, and I didn't stutter once.
For anyone saying that he's out to sell something. He clearly isn't. I see no link or product name or anything like that.
I'm so happy I found this post and now with more practice on this style of thinking, which i'm actually familiar with ( and using my techniques which i've learn), I can happily be confident with being an exchange student next year.

Thank-You!

[d fluent guy]

it also depends on how the stutter started.if it was through mimicking a stutterer maybe it s easier