Extract from Mastering Blocking & Stuttering by Bobby G. Bodenhamer

Extract from Mastering Blocking & Stuttering by Bobby G. Bodenhamer The primary secret of stress management for you is to learn how to avoid sending the “danger!” message when you face a physical threat. This takes some doing. It means learning to run your own brain and to take charge of the higher levels of meanings that you have given to things. It means learning how to stop reacting to circumstances involving communication as if they are a real threat. Instead, it means that you learn to respond more realistically from you adult mind of being under control. You adult mind is your “higher mind.” Your blocking mind is your “lower mind” – the mind controlled by childhood hurts around blocking and stuttering. It means that the person stops defining speaking as if it is a life threatening experience. It means that the person no longer chooses to give others control over one’s life. It means loving and honoring oneself no matter how one speaks. It means that one learns that speaking is just that – it is just talking. The fact is that no one has ever died from blocking. “Is it really necessary to attach so much fear to speaking that you activate the General Arousal Syndrome?” Are you really in a life threatening situation? I sent this section to several people who block for feedback. One of them sent this response to my above statement: "I think the real fear is that they are NOT going to die. If they died then they would not have to live out the shame and humiliation. They are not in a life threatening situation but they are in a self-esteem threatening situation. What is more painful, being totally humiliated or dying? At least dying ends your misery but being humiliated seems never to end and it is a real threat...that is why it kicks the fight/flight syndrome into action. Seriously, death is easy compared to living a life of humiliation. Sounds weird but ask PWS how many times they wished they were dead. It is not the fear of death that activates the fight/flight mechanism it is the fear of humiliation. Does this make sense?" It is always good to get feedback, isn’t it? My point is this: emotions are just that – emotions. They only have the power we give them. My encouragement to you is that there is hope – much hope for you to overcome this problem. That is why we are working so hard to develop a model that works much of the time in leading people to more fluency. In our work, we focus on encouraging you to welcome your emotions. When the fight/ flight syndrome fires from your chest freezing up, let that be a signal for you to engage your determination in overcoming this problem. The fact that you are reading this tells me that you are already doing just that. Read on.