Stuttering is considered to be a speech disorder in which people may repeat or prolong sounds, syllables, or words. Approximately 5-10% of all children will experience stuttering at some point in their lives. However, most will outgrow this within a few months or even years. For children whose stuttering persists into their adulthood lives, you may consider mindfulness meditation. Here’s how meditation can work as a stuttering therapy approach:
What is Mindfulness Meditation?
While there is no cure for stuttering, certain situations such as pressure or anxiety can instantly increase stuttering. By implementing mindfulness meditation into your everyday life, managing these situations will become easier with time. Mindfulness allows us to be present in the moment by focusing on one thing. This allows us to focus on moments we typically disregard by knowing exactly what we are doing while we are doing it. Mindfulness meditation can be practiced in a variety of ways, as its purpose is not to solve problems, but instead to help us see those problems in a clearer light.
Awareness
To gain control of your stutter, it is imperative for individuals to identify exactly what they do when they stutter. As humans, we get caught up in the verbal aspect of communication compared to our body language and nonverbals. By participating in mindfulness meditation, you will be trained to look beyond the verbals and directly observe yourself in the moment and the sensory experience that we tend to overlook instead. In addition to your own awareness, it also develops a real awareness of how listeners respond to your stuttering. Majority of the time, we tend to shut down and become distracted right away by automatically assuming listeners are already shining a negative light on your stuttering. However, mindfulness meditation will allow you to see the reality of the present encounter, and increase the effectiveness of the conversation.
Acceptance
Along with awareness, mindfulness meditation can also bring a sense of acceptance. By observing our lives and the way we respond we are able to see that in reality we have little to no control over our thoughts or actions. Once this realization has been made, the noticeable lack of control seems to take the pressure away. Therefore, our thoughts and actions are able to fall in place, overall reducing the stutter. Sometimes it can feel as if we are living on autopilot. Consistently doing and saying the same things in our everyday lives. However, with mindfulness meditation, individuals are able to take a step back. Living in the present results in a decrease in stress and anxiety producing an easier flow of speech.
SpeechEasy
SpeechEasy is a combination of proven technology and techniques which can be used to reduce stuttering. Worn in one ear and similar in appearance to a hearing aid, SpeechEasy has helped thousands increase their ability to communicate effectively and confidently. The program that comes with every SpeechEasy is supported by a team of fluency professionals who truly care about your success. Contact us today!