My Brain Has a Mind of its Own

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Thank you

From: Orlin Baev
Date: 01 Oct 2007
Time: 04:47:51 -0500
Remote Name: 87.120.206.34

Comments

Thanks a lot about your sharing! I realize we stutterers are in a huge degree very similar people, because our trouble has forced us to undergo very similar experiences. Most of us experience the same problems during the school and teen years – a lot of inner tension and self repression, that utterly tortures us, lack of normal interpersonal exchange and self manifestation, amassing enormous heap of underlying affects in our subconsciousness and so on... When I started to seek exit from the stuttering complex inner and social oppression three years ago, it was tremendous step in my life. For very firs ttime i stood up in front of public and said several words... and admitted I am a stutterer! Afterwards, I had a deep inner observations and research – i did not read much and did not know much about stuttering, but by self observation and introspection I learned a lot ! I wrote a long article about my findings... later I discovered that the wheel has been already discovered :) - I read about the research of J .Sheehan and Van Riper, etc. – their theories actually were repetition of my own self research and discoverings, of course, expressed in different words, but implicitly the same. As you have done – you started to talk a lot and “advertise” your stammer, I began to do the same - gradually. And i am still keeping doing this. I enrolled to study my second higher education – psychology. Regularly I give speeches in front of 20-50 persons - and I do stutter. The difference is I do not hide it. And it lessens a lot, of course. And people lesten what you ar esaying, but not your stammering! After becoming a member of the Bulgarian Stuttering Association, I began to talk about stuttering in short 10-15 minutes interviews in some TV broadcasts, etc. As a matter of fact, soon one idea crossed my mind – to prepare badges with huge inscription on them: “Proud being STUTTERER!” Such activities reduce the avoidance behavior and the negative emotions within, that are always connected with the social interactions: fear, guilt, shame, low self esteem... I found out that for the stutterer the most important achievement would be one confident and assertive mental state. I this is not that easy to reach after 30 years of constant prevailing of ones problem, but it is good challenge and propelling impulse. Actually, as it is said in one of the articles here – gaining of proper emotional intelligence is crucial in the process of stuttering therapy (self or with therapist). And, yes, there are no short cuts – in order stammer to be diminished, its bearer has to delve deeply within and change very deeply rooted cognitive schemas, engraved deeply since the early childhood. Well, I can say that after several years of constant self observation, i have passed like several thousands hours of psychoanalyses ... :). One important issue comes when one overcomes big deal of the affective deposits – than comes the fluency shaping. Here in Bulgaria, Sofia – we are fortunate to have amazing speech therapists – Margarita Stankova, Violeta Boianova – skilled psychiatrists and neurologists, they have studied the stuttering mentality so well , that their help is indispensable for the stammers in Bulgaria. After the psychological approach of desenzitation, the yoffer one simple, but mighty technique, that promotes fluent speech is prolonging and emphasizing on the stressed vowel. In the beginning I thought it is unnatural using such speech manner, but afterwards I realized it is as a matter of fact orator’s technique that creates hypnotic effect in the listeners with its rhythmic and tempo. Well, i am still trying to implement it – the result would be creation of new speech praxis on neurological level. Once again – Thank you for sharing your experience! Greetings: Orlin Baev Bulgaria, Sofia


Last changed: 10/23/07