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From: RB
Date: 11 Oct 2005
Time: 14:06:44 -0500
Remote Name: 69.141.74.86
Anjali, First off, I must commend you for facing your fears. It's incredibly tough. And that's an understatement. It's horrible. Some days seem like an hopeless struggle that you just can't win. Believe me, I know what you're going through. Some days, I still go through that! The fact of the matter is that you've been stuttering for the majority of your life. What's more, you've been hiding and running from stuttering for all those years. It's only natural and normal that "trying to do the opposite" would be unbelievably difficult. Again, I commend you for your bravery. I really wish I could give you a simple answer to your question. What triggered me to stop hiding? A ton of different things...here are some (in no particular order): going to the ASHA convention where I met people from the National Stuttering Association and met other people who stutter, going to the National Stuttering Association conference and being surrounded by people who stutter, joining Toastmasters and making my first speech about stuttering, talking about my speech with a therapist (not an SLP), doing yoga and relaxation exercises (which helped me gain a better perspective on who I really was), going through long periods of time where stuttering consumed my life and was the topic of every conversation I had with my wife...I could go on and on. My point is that there were so many different things and each one was helpful in its own way. But please remember that this is still an everyday struggle for me. I'm not walking around, saying "I LOVE the fact that I stutter!" I'm just trying to not care as much. But again, it's a daily battle. Please feel free to contact me again. I know what you're going through. -rb I was wondering if you could share a bit more about what triggered you to stop hiding...