TRANSCENDING STUTTERING: The Inside Story Part 2

Stuttering and drinking alcohol

In general, everybody knows that alcohol lowers your inhibitions, relaxes you, gives you 'cinderella-like' courage and makes it much easier to socialize with strangers. Alcohol sounds like a god-send to a stutterer. You're so relaxed without a care in the world that you forget you stutter and able to talk to anyone. Unfortunately it's not a good idea to be drunk all day. Moreover, knowing that stuttering is genetic and not psychological, alcohol only masks the problem.

Stuttering sucks, there's no nice way to put it. BUT, there comes a point in life where you have to turn your focus on the all the wonderful things you can do and have accomplished. Are you a good skier? Writer? Chef? Trumpet player? Computer whiz? Community activist? Marathoner? Remember to focus on all the wonderful aspects of your life. Most importantly, the fact that you stutterer is only a fraction of who you really are. Don't let stuttering make you feel insecure and Definitely don't turn to alcohol to numb your pain or turn you into someone you're not.

Breathing is the key

Ask any stutterer and they'll tell you that their speech improves if they remember to breathe first. By breathing, I mean taking a deep breathe to be sure of enough air supply in the lungs. When you have a stuttering brain, the symmetry between the your thoughts and the execution of speech gets jumbled. Therefore in order to avoid a 'train-wreck' as I like to call it, it's paramount to take into consideration the the amount of air in your lungs or you'll get blocked. Easier said than done.

Throughout the day we are bombarded with a vast amount of information, stress, deadlines, transactions, requests, and a smorgasbord of other distractions, that we relax when it comes to our stuttering. We forget to breathe, which occurs predominantly when we're tired or overwhelmed. For me this is a daily struggle. Nevertheless, I have to remember to breeeaathhhhe. Stutterers have to breathe.

Throughout my day, I make a point of checking my stress level and my air supply. Stress plays a huge factor with regards to my fluency. Taking just a moment to breathe and clear my head makes a world of difference. For most people, just taking deep breaths isn't enough. But it will make you more relaxed and increase your fluency. Good luck.

Scientists prove stuttering is biological, refuting previous emotional or mental ties.

New article published today by the Associated Press on the discovery of certain genes linked to stuttering.

Stuttering is indeed genetic, not emotional. As I mentioned in an earlier, one of my uncles used to stutter when he was younger, but grew out of it. Previous research tied stuttering to emotional distress and strict parenting. Although my uncle had a traumatic childhood - overbearing parents, physical and mental abuse - he still managed to recover with fluent speech. On the other hand, my childhood is full of good memories of loving parents and positive experiences. To this day, I still stutter every now and then. Genetics have indeed played a role in my ongoing condition.

Go here for the full article on msnbc.com.