Bad days...

[Nemo]

Originally Posted by Mike

I sadly don't have a bathtub

Alternatively you can, as a second best, do this while in bed, preferably in the morning or else at night (you will probably find that you fall asleep while doing it). I no longer do it in the bathtub but in bed at night, and as can be expected I have never suffered from insomnia ... so it's not only helpful for stuttering but also for generally coping with life and its stresses. PS I forgot to mention that this exercise should start with counting to eight while holding your breath, and then letting out your breath on reaching eight and relaxing. Similarly, at the end of the exercise you should gradually "wake up" by slowly counting to five.

[henryk]

Originally Posted by Nemo

Hi Mike! A hypnotic state of mind, as I understand it, is really being in a very deep relaxed state of mind, probably very similar to meditation. In this state of mind one is very susceptible to suggestion.

First I make arrangements with the family not to be disturbed for 30 minutes (not always easy!). The hot bath relaxes body muscles. (It's also important to have soft lighting so that the light doesn't shine in your eyes; and to have a nice neck rest - a towel could also do the trick.)

When I feel that my muscles are relaxed via the hot water, I start working on my mind. I first focus my mind on the word "re-lax", thinking "re" on breathing in and "lax" on breathing out. This I do for about 5 minutes. When I'm focused in this way, I start focusing on the particular parts of my body, starting with my head. I will start with the top of my head, slowly working downward until reaching my forehead, then, gradually, eyes, nose, mouth, chin, neck, shoulders, arms, chest etc. until I reach my feet. This will be done by thinking, for instance, "Relax your forehead", "Relax your eyes", "Relax your mouth" etc. I will think statements such as these when breathing out - with each exhalation I will cover a particular part of my body.

This exercise takes time to perfect, but gradually you will become used to it, it becomes a habit. The combination of physical relaxation (hot bath) and mental relaxation (focused thoughts) is quite strong. (Don't worry if your mind starts wandering - just try to keep on track.)

I actually have a hypnotic cassette tape which was given to me as part of the intensive course I attended. It is very similar to the things I mentioned above - a soothing voice telling you to relax.

If you already use relaxation techniques and meditation, the above may not be new to you. There are so many ways to reduce stress, but I have found this bathtub exercise particularly effective when experiencing bad stuttering periods.

The bathtub exercise can be combined with a list of assertions such as "I am getting more relaxed every day". As part of our intensive course we got this list of positive assertions, and it's also part of the hypnotic tape - very similar to the suggestions which a hypnotherapist would provide. The purpose is to work on and change the subconscious. In a deeply relaxed state, the subconscious can be accessed and manipulated.

I believe that it is not enough to just become fluent via fluency techniques and relaxation. One also has to work on the subconscious mind. When walking the road to better fluency, one has to take one's subconscious mind with you - and the subconscious mind is that of a stutterer. That's a long-term process. I have experienced huge relapses, which I ascribe to the reaction of the "subconscious stutterer within" who does not like change and wishes to maintain the status quo - that of a stutterer. The subconscious stutterer within has a way of trying to prevent progress, and "he" does that by increasing your base-level tension. I have had times of utter frustration, when even the bathtub exercise was unable to reduce my stress levels which seemed to arise out of my subconscious and play havoc with my speech.

Sorry for this long post - but I thought it important to mention the issue of relapses and the subconscious, in order to contextualise relaxation exercises.

That was a really interesting post I'm going to do this tonight before bed because in the morning I'm afraid I might fall back asleep and be late for work! But overall how much has this helped your stutter?

[Nemo]

Originally Posted by henryk

But overall how much has this helped your stutter?

Hi Henryk, these days I don't do the exercise in the bath, it's too much of an effort, but I occasionally still do a simplified version in bed at night when I can't sleep or when I feel particularly tense. In the 80s, however, it was a major part of my fluency improvement, but definitely only as a supplementary part of my overall fluency work. It should be accompanied by proper application of fluency techniques. The one without the other may not be very effective. It's much easier to apply a fluency technique in real life when you are more relaxed.

I remember reading that about 60% of stuttering control should consist of stress control, with the other 40% being fluency techniques. These are just approximate figures, but it gives an indication of the importance of stress management in a proper stuttering management programme.

I would be interested to hear how you experienced the bathtub exercise. As mentioned, in order to really relax, one has to put in a lot of effort!

[henryk]

I've been doing it in bed at night and just pass out I get so relaxed!

[urbanmermaid]

Originally Posted by Nemo

Hi Mike! A hypnotic state of mind, as I understand it, is really being in a very deep relaxed state of mind, probably very similar to meditation. In this state of mind one is very susceptible to suggestion.

First I make arrangements with the family not to be disturbed for 30 minutes (not always easy!). The hot bath relaxes body muscles. (It's also important to have soft lighting so that the light doesn't shine in your eyes; and to have a nice neck rest - a towel could also do the trick.)

When I feel that my muscles are relaxed via the hot water, I start working on my mind. I first focus my mind on the word "re-lax", thinking "re" on breathing in and "lax" on breathing out. This I do for about 5 minutes. When I'm focused in this way, I start focusing on the particular parts of my body, starting with my head. I will start with the top of my head, slowly working downward until reaching my forehead, then, gradually, eyes, nose, mouth, chin, neck, shoulders, arms, chest etc. until I reach my feet. This will be done by thinking, for instance, "Relax your forehead", "Relax your eyes", "Relax your mouth" etc. I will think statements such as these when breathing out - with each exhalation I will cover a particular part of my body.

This exercise takes time to perfect, but gradually you will become used to it, it becomes a habit. The combination of physical relaxation (hot bath) and mental relaxation (focused thoughts) is quite strong. (Don't worry if your mind starts wandering - just try to keep on track.)

I actually have a hypnotic cassette tape which was given to me as part of the intensive course I attended. It is very similar to the things I mentioned above - a soothing voice telling you to relax.

If you already use relaxation techniques and meditation, the above may not be new to you. There are so many ways to reduce stress, but I have found this bathtub exercise particularly effective when experiencing bad stuttering periods.

The bathtub exercise can be combined with a list of assertions such as "I am getting more relaxed every day". As part of our intensive course we got this list of positive assertions, and it's also part of the hypnotic tape - very similar to the suggestions which a hypnotherapist would provide. The purpose is to work on and change the subconscious. In a deeply relaxed state, the subconscious can be accessed and manipulated.

I believe that it is not enough to just become fluent via fluency techniques and relaxation. One also has to work on the subconscious mind. When walking the road to better fluency, one has to take one's subconscious mind with you - and the subconscious mind is that of a stutterer. That's a long-term process. I have experienced huge relapses, which I ascribe to the reaction of the "subconscious stutterer within" who does not like change and wishes to maintain the status quo - that of a stutterer. The subconscious stutterer within has a way of trying to prevent progress, and "he" does that by increasing your base-level tension. I have had times of utter frustration, when even the bathtub exercise was unable to reduce my stress levels which seemed to arise out of my subconscious and play havoc with my speech.

Sorry for this long post - but I thought it important to mention the issue of relapses and the subconscious, in order to contextualise relaxation exercises.

This was a really interesting post! I actually copied everything and saved it so I can read it later offline. i'll definitely try that very soon. Thanks and Merry Christmas )

[Otorongo]

Relaxation techniques were a major part of my first therapy program I underwent 9 years ago. We were given recordings with relaxing music and instructions by the therapist herself; one track was for physical exercises that create muscle tension which you then release, the other was about lying down in bed and visualizing being in a garden etc., putting your worries aside and letting them float away, and so on. I worked with this tape regularly for quite a while. It's hard to tell how helpful it was, but it put me in a good mood for sure.

I've tried several other relaxation audio tracks downloaded from the Internet. Currently I'm into binaural beats. I don't know if it improves my fluency, but it's fascinating stuff. I wish I had more time for this.