postr/StutterSeptember 3, 2025

Have you ever tried tapping?

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Have you ever tried tapping? Hi, I’ve always thought there are two kinds of stuttering: 1. **Visible:** when people can see and hear the stutter. 2. **Invisible:** when the person hides the stutter from others. Of course, everyone experiences stuttering at different levels. I’ve seen this in my local group here in Barcelona, ATCAT (*Associació de la Tartamudesa de Catalunya* / Stuttering Association of Catalonia), in the film *The King’s Speech*, the Oscar-winning short *Stutterer*, and the documentary *My Beautiful Stutter*, which you can watch for free on Waterbear. In my case, I’ve always felt I had the invisible type of stuttering. I was so afraid and ashamed that people would notice, that I spent my life hiding it. I would cover it up with long silences, by looking at the floor while searching for synonyms, or by giving the easiest possible answers: *“I don’t know”* or *“I don’t remember.”* Obviously, this made me feel less than myself, sometimes even dumb or shy. Talking to girls or to a boss? Even worse. The most frustrating part is that, as all of us who stutter know, inside there’s an amazing person who just wants to come out. I hid it so well that even my parents were surprised when I told them I wanted to see a speech therapist. *“We never noticed you stuttered when speaking,”* they said. Luckily, they were supportive. I went to a speech therapist, and it helped a bit. Years later, after moving cities, I started with a new therapist. On the very first day, she asked me to read a text out loud. Somehow, I didn’t stutter at all. I was calm, relaxed, in control, just like when I read alone in my room. She told me: *“You don’t stutter. What you have is a huge psychological blockade.”* I didn’t believe her. I insisted: *“I do stutter, I do stutter.”* And in that moment, I really did. Realizing this, I broke down and started crying. She suggested I see a therapist specializing in trauma and anxiety who used EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques). At first, I didn’t trust her, but I thought: *What do I have to lose?* That’s how I was introduced to tapping. I still remember lying on the couch as the therapist tapped on my body and said a phrase out loud. Then she asked me to say it myself. And guys… I started crying. It was so hard to admit this fear and voice it in front of a stranger. Between tears and stuttering, I fought to say it. Here’s the phrase I want to share with you all: **“Even though I’m scared people will discover my stuttering, I deeply love and accept myself.”** At home, I practiced twice a day—five minutes in the morning, five before bed. After two months, I finally felt the power of my speech. I felt reborn, empowered, limitless. Of course, my friends and family didn’t notice much at first. That’s when I realized how much of myself I had been hiding, so well that no one even knew. But I felt FREE. I’m not trying to debate whether stuttering is purely psychological or not, I just want to share a technique that worked for me, and I hope it can help others as well. After a few months without tapping, the fear came back. I felt scammed, lied to, frustrated. That’s when I realized something important: for me, tapping had to become part of daily life, like meditation or exercise. You don’t stay fit forever just because you went to the gym for a couple of months, right? Now, I practice tapping most days. And trust me, it has helped me tremendously. Wishing you all the best. Have an amazing day. **Strong hug beautiful humans :)**

Themes

Anticipation & AvoidanceCauses & VariabilityCoping & AdvocacyIdentity & Disability

Subthemes

Hiding & ConcealmentOverthinking & MonitoringTrauma & PsychologicalMindfulness & BreathingVoluntary Stuttering & ExposureAuthenticity vs. Masking