How I overcame stuttering in a week

How I overcame stuttering in a week Little back story, I've had a stutter since 4 and had therapists up until mid 20's, I've attended the Mcquire programme and the starfish programme here in the UK. I've tested out the 'speecheasy' ear piece, I've tried medication that supposedly alters and blocks certain brain chemicals that relate to stuttering and hypnotherapy. My speech was on par, or worse than Gareth Gates when he first went on Pop Idol. I had a very bad stutter up until the age of twenty six, I used to make all the facial movements, go to the bathroom when the teach was calling the register, couldn't get 3 words out without losing breath and straining my face and everyone knew me as a stutterer. I've walked out of shops as I couldn't get words out, I've changed my order last minute at Mcdonalds as I was scared to say 'Big mac' and I've lied about where I live as it also started with a 'B'. I also knew that these speech programmes wouldn't work for me, they teach you to breath in a specific way and associate yourself as a stutterer. After finishing the courses (years apart) the effects would wear off after a week or so and I'd resort to the way I usually was, which surprising felt more comfortable and less awkward than Hi.....(breath) My name (breath).......Is.......(breath). These courses don't address the psychology of stuttering it's all superficial, and expensive, and makes you associate yourself with being a stammerer. Every morning you practice the routines which again, ingrain the fact you are a stutterer. I remember the week I overcame it, I was working in construction at a job I hated, people would joke about my stutter and I only worked here because I didn't think I was good for anything else. A guy mentioned a job in a call center and I asked for the details, he's words were "I'm not being funny mate, but you have a stutter.." The next day I applied for the role, and got asked in for an interview. I had a nightmare getting to the office and was late and freaking out, no time to think about stuttering. As soon as I stepped through the door I was a different person. It was at this point that I realised when you put yourself in a situation that is so scary and so unorthodox that the brain is capable of changing itself. If someone held a gun to your head and said "Stutter and your dead" I bet most if not all wouldn't stutter. Here I was, wearing my first ever suit, no one here knew I stuttered and stuttering at this point would have been too much of a risk and I was sweating and more worried about the white lies on my CV (Ok, I may have put more jobs on there than I actually worked..) , it was a sales job! And so I faked it, I faked it and got the job, I faked the next week, month, year and then I faked it when I applied for a better position and got that job and I no longer associated myself as a stutterer. When I look back, it was a combination of feeling great in my first ever suit, feeling like I had escaped the dirty environment of construction and on my way to making friends and not associating myself as someone who stutters having the belief that I could do it. Even though this was a sales job, for the first time I felt like I was heading somewhere. I think my brain was too overloaded to think of stuttering as I was trying to memorise my 'white lies'. All this happened in the space of a week. Stuttering is a habit, you need to break that habit. I understand in some situations stuttering is much more than this but in most cases, and from the people I've met it's just a bad habit. It's a vicious cycle, you go into the store "Oh god I hope I don't stutter" so you stutter. This is why when you sing you don't stutter because you know you won't stutter, this is why when you speak in tandem with someone else you don't stutter, because your brain is occupied with what the other person is saying. I realise that I would never have overcome stuttering had I have been in the same environment, around the same people. I needed to go somewhere where no one knew me, a place to start fresh. Life now: I still stutter with my family, not as bad but I realise that with my family I almost fall into the same person I was, which triggers my brain. But I can go into any situation and stuttering is never on my mind, it's more normal things like "I hope I remember my lines" I got into acting which helps tremendously. When I think back on the courses I went on, it upsets me not only that they charge so much but they don't look at it from an holistic point of view. Stuttering has nothing to do with breathing or wearing a belt around chest. That's just a bandage for a broken bone. A good book to read "the brain that changes itself" I can't remember which book goes into split personalities but here is something similar to the book ""The point is that within one body, two or more distinct personalities can directly alter the body’s physiology depending on who is “in charge”. This is proof that our minds control our bodies. Proof that it is possible to change our physiology with our thoughts and beliefs. Proof that we can cure ourselves of ailments if only we can change our beliefs. The multiple personalities who believe they have a certain allergy do have it, even though their bodies alone don’t necessarily react to the allergen.""