Those people who have a stutter will fully understand what I mean when I write about what I call my stuttering demons. For those of you who have not ever had a stutter, I will briefly explain. The stuttering demons are a voice that is in my head which is forever talking to me, it tries to convince me that I am going to stutter. I believed that I could cure the stutter if I could somehow find a way to eradicate or kill these annoying stuttering demons and later in life this belief was found to be correct. I have now enjoyed being able to speak fluently for the last thirteen years.
This inner voice tormented my life for each and every day of the eighteen years that I had a stutter. It was my worst enemy and one that I feared that I would never be able to shake off.
Attempting to explain what these demons were to people who have never had a stutter, such as speech therapists, was very difficult. Could nobody understand me?
Here is an example of how these demons would impact on my life:
I am at a local bar enjoying an evening out with some friends. It is my turn to buy a round a drinks and I start to approach the bar. As I am walking nearer this voice in my head (the demons) begin to talk to me. You are going to struggle to order these drinks Steve; you are bound to stammer, especially on the word "Budweiser". This can be extremely off putting and can seriously impact on your confidence levels.
So how can one kill or eradicate these stuttering demons? Well the solution is quite simple however in reality it is extremely hard to implement. What we need to do is to talk back to these demons, tell them that you are not listening to them and that you will be able to complete the task successfully. We need to do the opposite of what the demons say. If they tell us not to go out socialising then we should go out etc. It certainly is not easy but if you can pull it off then fluency can be readily attained.
Steve Hill is a speech coach from the UK ; he has a number of websites including:
Disclaimer: All information on this site is provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice provided to you by any health care or other professional
or organization.
