Hey everyone,
Last Tuesday, our chapter met for our September chapter meeting. In attendance were 5 members, including one first time attendee (yay!).
We took some time to introduce ourselves in turn and catch up with each other. Next, we turned to our discussion topic for the night, which centered around the ways in which fear impacts our lives as people who stutter. A common narrative that emerged in the group was something like:
At first, fear related to stuttering, and avoidance of feared situations, dominates decision-making and behavior–this becomes intolerable, and we feel a necessity to change–movement toward change, including facing fears, involvement in self-help, professional support including speech therapy, counseling, etc.is pursued
We also discussed ways that fear continues to show up in our speaking lives, and how we continue to grow and develop ways to handle that fear effectively when it arises.
This was a rich and interesting conversation, and there was a lot of resonance in the room-lots of head nodding at common experience, which is wonderful to feel. Thank you all for coming out and sharing your experience!
Our next formal chapter meeting will be on Tuesday, October 24. We will have a chat-and-chew social event mid-month, and you can expect separate e-mails with details for both events. I hope to see each of you at an NSA event soon!
Thanks and take care,
Jonathan