How I was able to work (still working) through my problem.

How I was able to work (still working) through my problem. I'm sure all of us know how HARD, PAINFUL (JESUS CHRIST THE HORROR, lol) it can be to stutter and...basically just try and make it in the world. I remember stuttering somewhat when I was a child, but it was severely exacerbated due to some childhood trauma I went through. Literally couldn't speak and was dumbfounded throughout high school that I actually had friends and people liked me. Needless to say my self esteem was terrible and I carried with me a good amount of self-hatred. It wasn't until my later teen years with some experiences with LSD, that I began to explore spirituality and get into things like meditation, that I finally found the inner-courage to say to myself "You know what, I don't want to live like this forever. I can do SOMETHING..." I come from very meager beginnings and speech therapy was always out of reach, but one thing I knew was that if someone else could get through their stutter, I can get through mine. A friend recommended to me I read poetry aloud to improve fluency, and this by far has been my greatest tool. Well I don't read poetry, mainly non-fiction books, but I start by reading each word PAINFULLY SLOW. Like, draw out each syllable and enunciate as roundly as you can. It helps if no one is around to hear me talk like that, idk I just feel more comfortable practicing this alone. I started by reading each word slow enough where I would not stutter at all during my speech. Then I practice reading "normal" for a period of time. By normal, I don't try and read slow or fast, I just read and let the words come comfortably out my mouth. I used to try other variations, like reading slow, then read fast, maybe other techniques work better for different people. 10 minutes slow 10 minutes normal (five minutes of deep breathing, to relax) 10 minutes slow 10 minutes normal (You know that terrible feeling of like your throat being tight and the muscles all restricted? I find doing this helps relax those muscles a lot, and provides a pretty good feeling in that area.) Basically like this. And honestly it's helped my fluency by leaps and bounds. I've been doing this technique for years, about an hour a day, and it's a godsend. I used to abuse anxiety medication to just fricken cope with socializing and whatnot, but relying on my own self is much safer and practical. It's a blessing to be able to have a normal conversation, but usually I'm still quite reserved and still have my moments, especially when I can't practice comfortably. It's an on-going thing and I have to keep up with my practice or else the old demon will rear its head. Just wanted to share how I was able to help my speech, to help encourage others who sometimes may not see the Light. Never give up, never lose sight. Let's achieve our goals without this terrible burden on our shoulders.