A stammer friend once said stammering has no cure but can be defeated mentally.
According to him, stuttering is exhausting to overcome as it takes a lot of speech practice and patience to speak fluently not to be made a joke of and repetition of words makes it worse as one has to be determined to be laughed at, from his experience it is mentally and emotionally stressful as it affects one’s confidence.
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Stuttering is a speech disorder comprising of repetition of sounds, syllables, or words, in simple terms it prolongs one sounds and interrupts articulation, which brings out reflexive behaviors, such as rapid eye blinks or tremors of the lips.
Stuttering can make it difficult to communicate with other people, which often affects a person’s quality of life and interpersonal relationships. Stuttering occurs as an individual is acquiring language skills, a majority (75%) are able to overcome it as a minority (25%) do not recover.
5 tips to stop stuttering
1. Practice mindfully - Be attentive with your words, make sure you voice out each word in your mind gently before telling someone. Get close to a friend who will single out your mistakes when speaking, it helps.
2. Record yourself when speaking - Listening to your mistakes while speaking will help you time how you speak, speak like the way a tortoise crawl.
3. Encourage yourself - As the troll gets worse, cry and mentally encourage yourself, using that hurtful moment to speak to them privately, imagine their presence and address them, it helps. Motivate yourself with individuals who have overcome stuttering
4. Read storybook aloud - Being vocal while reading, is a practice most people who do not stammer use to improve their speaking ability, one’s speech becomes fluent in time with reading loud to oneself.
5. Look into treatment - Visit a vocal therapist, and join a friendly group chat. Develop yourself by surrounding yourself with people who are ready to listen to you and improve.
Be gentle with yourself, practice, and be ready to learn and speak.