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From: Winton
Date: 11 Oct 2006
Time: 16:09:42 -0500
Remote Name: 203.51.81.162
Hi Jaime. Why couldn’t you have asked me an easier question? :-) I expect that the links between stuttering and self image are complex and would differ a lot among different individuals. So I am not sure you will get useful insights from my response. But, for what it is worth, here it is: In many respects my self image has been fairly strong from my early teens onwards. I have had a fairly strong regard for, among other things, my intellectual capabilities and my ability to relate to other people, manage work projects and provide for my family. So I don’t think stuttering (or HFS) had a major negative effect on my overall self image. As you might expect, stuttering and HFS had a negative impact on my own assessment of my communication skills and physical appearance. In fact, I think my self image in these respects was worse than the image that other people had of me. I was surprised about 15 years ago when I saw a video of myself being interviewed that I didn’t appear as bad as I thought I would be. I should add that, to the extent that my self image has improved, I don’t attribute this entirely to Tim Gallwey’s books. (Other important factors included the Alexander technique and NS/NLP.) However, I am inspired by some of the things Gallwey has written about self image: For example: “my self-concepts, whether negative or positive, accurate or inaccurate, are only mental constructs – they are only made of thought and they are not me. I am something else”. [Para] “What I really am precedes any thought I may have about myself. It is this self that interests me, from its infancy through all stages of its natural development. When I acknowledge this self, I can give it credit for every quality, feeling, thought, urge and behaviour that is truly genuine and excellent. I have no trouble acknowledging the magnificence, kindness and power of whatever created such beings. At those times … I am content to be myself and have nothing to prove to myself or anyone else” (Inner game of work, p 117). Regards, Winton.