Anxiety & Stuttering
Hi I am studying to become an SLP, and I was curious as to if or when anxiety due to stuttering played a role in your life? How do you manage this, or how have you overcome this? If you could give any advice to your younger self what would it be? Thank you!
Hi Julia! Thank you for your question. Anxiety has definitely played a huge role in my life due to stuttering, but what’s important to emphasis here is that it was hardly ever because of stuttering itself but the stigma around it. Ever since I embraced and accepted my stutter as part of who I am, I hardly ever experience axniety in moments when I stutter. If I do, it’s usually always because I’m not comfortable or safe in that particular setting and it triggers my anxiety that way. Of course, when a person has lived with anxiety and shame due to one’s stutter for so long, I don’t think it will ever leave completely. But realizing anxiety was due to the stigma and not stuttering itself was really helpful and is something I always try to remind myself of in moments when I get anxious about my stutter.
– Andrea
Anxiety was a major issue, as I learned that what I was doing, was wrong, and I (!) needed to make it go away. (When you have time, my paper for this year’s ISAD will elaborate that https://isad.live/isad-2020/papers-presented-by/stories-and-experiences-with-stuttering-by-pws/there-are-no-failures-just-life-lessons-anita-blom/) To work on that I learned Mindfulness, NLP, learned about the brain and how it works with fear, and challenged myself, not just in stuttering situations, but also my fear of the dentist, fear of hights, etc.
If I could give my younger self one advice it would be “Your stutter doesn’t define you, so show who you are, love and accept yourself, and follow your dreams, no matter what.”
Stay safe and keep them talking
Anita