I began stuttering around age 8, and it has plagued me all my life. My biggest problems have been talking to strangers, important conversations, talking to groups and talking on the phone. I’ve even had problems sometimes talking to my own family. I never know when it’s going to hit me. When it does, I can barely speak. I had some therapy but the main thing that I learned was to not avoid stuttering, and that didn’t solve the problem. About a year ago, I got so desperate that I was taking “calming medicine”, and they seemed to help, but I always knew that the problem was in my mind.
My name is Daniel. I’m 65, and I live in Israel. I speak Russian, Hebrew, French and English, and stuttering bothers me in all languages. In mid-2018, I had the good fortune to find Lee’s book. It made so much sense. I loved the Crutches, and I”ve used most of them and still do. After I read it, I emailed Lee and we began Skyping. That was about 8 months ago. He helped me understand and use the Crutches better. I finally realized that I didn’t really have to stutter; I could avoid it with the Crutches. So, I began using the Crutches in earnest – such as dropping the first letter or syllable, using similar words, rephrasing the thought and being as expressive as possible. Over time, it got easier and easier to use them and avoid stutters. I also got into giving myself auto suggestion treatments (ASTs), and this helped a lot. After about a year of Skypes, I stopped having bad incidents (appearing to have a speech disability), but I was still being silent too much under pressure. It’s been a long time since I had a bad incident now. I still have speech fears but less and less. I can use the Crutches automatically now, and that reduces the pressure a great deal.
My speech has improved enormously, and I quit taking calming medicines a long time ago. I’m working on trying to teach myself to love to speak anywhere, anytime. I’m trying to think only “concepts and passion”, as Lee says, and no words when I speak. To achieve this, I will push myself to talk more in pressure situations. I’ll keep Skyping with Lee until I get there. I’m also using my ASTs to help me sleep better as well.
To all you stutterers out there, start believing that you can beat stuttering, because you can do it. Lee’s book and methods work. It just takes time and determination. Skyping with Lee or one of the other self-cured coaches that will help too. I can’t thank Lee and SAA enough. They are changing many lives for the better.
DANIEL, ISRAEL, May 2019