Hypnosis against stuttering + tips

Stuttering is very annoying, especially if you are super aware of it. In very innocent moments, stuttering can suddenly totally destroy your self-confidence. For example, when you talk to children who are not yet in control of their emotions and may laugh at you ad nauseam. Or even worse when adults add to your words, especially if they use the wrong word. Understandable if you want to get rid of it. Therefore, in this article I discuss stuttering and give tips.

When you think of stuttering, your first thought may be the endless repetition of the letter t or s before the word comes out. But stuttering also includes accidentally skipping words and repeating words completely. In stuttering, something goes wrong in the transmission of signals in the brain. Doctors have not yet figured out what causes this miscommunication in the brain.

Stuttering can occur in anyone; probably 1 percent of all people suffer from stuttering. Worldwide, 55 million people suffer from stuttering. One famous stutterer was Winston Churchill. He practiced all his speeches as well as all possible questions and criticisms before he spoke in public in order to minimize his stuttering.

Bruce Willis, that Die Hard actor, started stuttering at age eight and then went to drama school to get rid of it.

Stuttering hereditary

Stuttering is not necessarily hereditary, but it is more common in families where someone already stutters. It can be developed as a reaction to stress or a developmental delay.

In rare cases, stuttering is caused by physical trauma, such as bumping your head hard or having a stroke.

Also, in people who stutter, there is often something wrong with the dopamine neurotransmitters in the brain. This is in line with the observation that stuttering can get worse when you are excited or stressed, for example.

Stuttering congenital or learned

Stuttering often runs in the same family which can make you think it is congenital. However, the parents' reaction to a stuttering child can be very decisive in whether the stutter stays or goes away. So on the one hand, stuttering has genetic factors that can cause your child to stutter, but triggers from the environment are also important.

Research on twins shows that stuttering in the 2nd year of life cannot be linked to future stuttering, but it can in children aged 3 and 4. In life years 3, 4 and 7, there was also a strong link to inheriting stuttering. The researchers concluded that stuttering is hereditary and environmental factors are less influential in the 7th year of life than in younger years of life for developing stuttering.

This information shows that there is some sort of mix between inheriting and learning stuttering, but that there are indeed genetic factors that make it common in the same families, so it does not have to be because people from those families react differently to the stuttering child because they themselves suffer from stuttering.

Stuttering in children

Stuttering can develop in children between the ages of two and seven, but can then automatically disappear again during adolescence. This is a normal development for fluency in children. Children are not affected by it themselves and sometimes do not realize they are stuttering at all.

It may also go away for a while and then your child will stutter again, but if it persists beyond adolescence you really should start to worry.

It's also annoying when the stuttering only gets worse over time and when you see that your child is embarrassed by it. Then stuttering can really become problematic. So if you notice that your child is suffering from it and that it is not getting less, it is wise to seek help.

You may notice that your child stutters more often when feeling a certain emotion, such as enthusiasm, anxiety, stress or fatigue. When answering questions or while explaining something difficult, it may get worse.

In order to receive a diagnosis for stuttering in children, your child often has to read aloud to an orthopedist. Your child will also receive another physical examination to see if other problems, such as deafness or hearing impairment, interfere with speech development.

Always see a pediatrician if you are concerned about your child's speech development. Do so even if the stuttering has been going on for more than six months and if stuttering runs in the family.

Stuttering in adults

In adults, it is often stressful moments that make stuttering worse, but during whispers, talking while alone, talking to pets and reading a book aloud, there may be nothing wrong.

If you are just beginning to stutter in adult life, it is also important to see a doctor. Stuttering in adult life is often caused by an accident, health problem or psychological trauma. Therefore, to get a diagnosis, you will get a physical examination and additional questions.

Sing Stuttering

It is often thought that someone who stutters will stop doing so if they start singing. This is true in most cases, but in some cases you can still stutter while singing.

In your subconscious, while singing, you are also concerned with more than the meaning of the words, including the melody and rhythm. To these, the brain reacts differently than it does when speaking. This is one reason why you stutter significantly less, if at all, when you sing.

Unlearning Stuttering

Stuttering is usually treated by an orthopedist who does speech exercises.

When stuttering in adults is caused by damage to the brain after an accident or stroke, stuttering is often unlearned through speech exercises.

In adolescents and adults, therapy is often the treatment to unlearn stuttering, as stuttering may be a result of a psychological problem. Stress and low self-esteem can make the problem worse, and therapy can help give people who stutter tools to better cope with stress and gain self-confidence.

To figure out trauma, hypnotherapy has a technique called regression. With this, you can easily figure out the problem that may have caused the stuttering. By looking at the problem with the hypnotherapist, it is possible for a stutterer to gain new insights into the problem and how to deal with it other than by stuttering.

I have found during my working life as a hypnotherapist that the trigger in stuttering is often the moment the stutterer suddenly became aware of the stuttering and at that point began to find it really problematic. Then a stutterer creates all sorts of beliefs about what is going on that make it difficult to stop stuttering.

After mapping this moment and identifying the beliefs, it is possible to help a stutterer with the kind of installation of new beliefs that will make the stuttering decrease or even go away altogether.

Stuttering due to tension

If stuttering is caused by tension, it is important to remove the tension. Hypnosis is a state of relaxation that allows you to better focus on goals. During hypnotherapy, you as a stutterer can be given techniques that help you relax for a time when tension and stuttering strikes, such as before giving a presentation.

Also listen to this podcast:

https://www.buzzsprout.com/195236/1888330-hoe-stop-je-met-stotteren-en-meer?play=true

Stuttering tips

Relax

Stuttering often gets worse during stressful moments. Therefore, try using breath-holding to relax for such a moment. For example, inhale for three seconds, hold the andem for one second and then exhale for three seconds.

Meditate

Meditating for 10 minutes daily can do wonders for your overall stress level. This will allow you to stutter less daily during normal conversations. Moreover, you can handle other tasks better when you are less stressed.

Relax your shoulders and neck

Your windpipe and vocal cords are important for your speech. If these are in a tense position due to tension in your shoulders and neck, this can worsen your stutter. Occasionally rotate your shoulders forward and back. Slowly circle your head to relax your neck.

I also got the tip from a physical therapist to sit up straight and look at your left hip with your left eye and then press your head down in that motion. Then you stretch a muscle that is, say, between your trapezius muscle and the back of your neck. Then you can also do the same thing with the other side.

Practice talking in front of a mirror

Did you ever hear Winston Churchill stutter when the old recordings came by? That was because he practiced his speeches before giving them.

You can also just talk to yourself about the weather, your plans or anything else to make your lips move. This helps in normal conversations. In the process, it also gives you the confidence to follow normal conversations.

Repeat vocal exercises

Singers use many vocal exercises to improve their articulation and timing. This can also be super helpful against stuttering. For example, you can repeat the following set of words.

Cucumber Pepper Tomatoes

The classic tongue twisters always do very well, too.

Sing

Of course you can't engage in a conversation while singing, although with friends who then sing back it might be something different and might be fun on a night out :).

But when you sing you are also working on breathing and timing, which in turn can help during a normal conversation.

Use self-hypnosis for your ego

Stuttering can incredibly undermine your self-confidence. If you've had hypnotherapy to figure out why you stutter and that doesn't fully solve the problem, you can also apply self-hypnosis. Like meditating, you relax first.

If you are properly relaxed, you can repeat suggestions given to you by your hypnotherapist to strengthen your ego.

Use self-hypnosis to achieve your goals

In addition, you can visualize your goal. Like a conversation that goes well without stuttering and a perfectly given presentation. Besides visualizing what that looks like, you can also visualize how you feel during such a well-paced conversation.

Use self-hypnosis for your safe zone

Sometimes you can also apply self-hypnosis to shut out environmental stress. You then take a few deep breaths and can visualize a kind of safe bubble around you. That bubble keeps the negative energy from hitting you, which can help keep the stress out of your system during a presentation.

Stuttering due to XTC

This may seem offtopic, but as mentioned earlier, there seems to be a link between a disrupted dopamine neurotransmitter and stuttering. XTC exerts influence on your dopamine neurotransmitters which can cause them to become disrupted. As a result, XTC use can cause you to stutter even after your XTC wears off. Therefore, simply do not use these drugs, as stuttering can have major consequences for your work and personal life.

If you want to learn more about hypnosis and self-hypnosis check out Hypnosis Intituut Nederland's training courses and events.

Sources:

http://www.webmd.com/children/tc/stuttering-topic-overview

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC340949/

http://stutteringonlinetherapy.com/2012/01/why-don%E2%80%99t-people-stutter-when-they-sing/