How to Get Rid of Stammering?
Introduction
Stammering, also known as stuttering, is a speaking disorder in which a person repeats, or lengthens a word or a phrase. It can also be understood as disfluency in speaking at a higher frequency than a normal person. In India, it is commonly known as ‘HAKLANA’. It is a severe communication problem that can reduce the self-confidence or self-esteem of a person and affects their ability to interact with the people if not taken care of at the primary stage. According to the reports, it is 4 times more in males than females i.e., the ratio of stammer boys and girls is 4:1.
Causes of Stammering
It is difficult to identify the specific causes for stammering but a combination of some factors is involved. Some of those factors which may cause stammer:
- Language skills are not well developed
- Head Injury
- Stroke
- Tumor
- Ischemic attacks
- Neuromuscular problems
- Parkinson and other degenerative diseases
- Side effects of certain drugs or medications
- Psychological or emotional trauma
- Excitement, confusion, or fatigue
Signs and Symptoms of Stammering
Some of the signs to identify stammering are:
- Hesitation in starting a word or a phrase
- Repeating a word or a phrase
- Lengthening the words
- Higher disfluency in speaking
- Fast blinking, shivering lips, tapping foot, tightening the face or upper body while talking
- More use of interjections likes, umm, I mean, like, well, a.
Herbal Remedies of Stammering
1. Ashwagandha
It helps in reducing stress and fatigue. It also helps in sharpening the brain and its proper functioning. It can help to get rid of stammering caused due to increase in stress, fatigue or improper functioning of the brain.
2. Sonth
It strengthens memory and helps in improving the functions of the mind as well as the body. It helps in reducing the stress and may help in reducing stammering as well. It also helps in reducing the nervous and emotional ailments.
3. Gotu Kola
It ultimately can be useful to reduce stammering to a great level.
4. Brahmi
It has wonderful effects on the situations of Parkinson and also positively affects stress, fatigue, and anxiety. It is one of the main ingredients used in health tonics, memory tonics, etc. It shows great results in balancing the functions of the brain and nervous system and increasing the concentration power. It ensures a relaxed state of mind and nerves.
5. Vacha
This herb is beneficial to get rid of nerve-related disorders, increases memory and speaking ability of a person and can be used to reduce stammering.
6. Shankhpushpi
It increases the efficiency of the brain to remember and memorize the things and helps in controlling blood pressure. It reduces the chances of confusions in the mind and ultimately the stammering.
Yoga and Asanas (Exercises)
1. Practice to Speak Slowly
Practicing to speak slowly every day for a minimum of 30 minutes can help in the betterment of speech and hence the reduction in stammering. Stand in front of a mirror and talk to yourself assuming the person in the mirror as someone else. If the person finds it strange to talk to himself then he can take help from a family member or a friend and speak to them about anything for a minimum of 30 minutes.
2. Reading
Read for at least 30 min. daily with a loud voice but at a slow pace. On the other hand, for developing fluent speech, read as fast as you can, primarily you may skip many words or may pronounce some words wrong but go ahead without paying attention to the quality of your speech or pronunciation. It will help in maintaining fluency in your daily speech.
3. Loud Vowel Pronouncement
Pronounce the vowels A, E, I, O, U loudly by distorting your face strongly while uttering the words.
4. Jaw Exercise
Open the jaws as wide as you can with no pressure, keeping the jaws open lift the tongue upwards to touch the roof of the mouth. Being in touch with the roof of the mouth, drag the tip of your tongue towards the back of the mouth. Stretch it to the maximum without hurting and keep it in this position for few seconds. Pull out your tongue outside the mouth and stretch it downwards to touch the chin and hold it in this position for a few seconds. Repeat it 4-5 times a day.
5. Deep Breathing
Deep breathing exercise helps to deal with the speech disorders such as stammering, as it strengthens the respiratory organs, and relaxes the neuromuscular tension in the body. It can be done in many ways:
- Try to stop breathing from the chest and try to breathe from the belly, it calms the nervous tensions and provides relaxation to the body.
- Inhaling deeply through the mouth and pressing chest muscles at the same time and after that exhaling slowly.
6. Singing
It is one of the most effective ways to reduce stammering. Singing helps the person to control the breathing and phonatory muscles in a better way.
7. Drinking through a Straw
It is one of the oral exercises helpful in dealing with stammering. As drinking in this way makes the tongue to be in a position which is very important for proper speech. Cut off the end of the straw to reduce the size of the straw after every two days for better results.
8. Ujjayi Pranayam
It means inhaling deeply through the mouth and exhaling slowly immediately. Repeat it 25-30 times daily. It will be beneficial to reduce stammering to a great extent.
9. Udgeet Pranayam
Udgeet Pranayam includes chanting ‘OM’ while breathing. For better results do it by waking up before sunrise 21 times continuously daily. Inhale deeply with chanting OM then close your mouth and be in the position for a few seconds then exhale, it will be an exercise for your whole neck and will be helpful to deal with stammering to a great extent.
10. Simhasana
To perform this sit in a comfortable position better to be in Vajra-asana, then keep both hands on the knees as the paws (hands) of a lion and inhale deeply through the mouth then exhale by pushing tongue outside the mouth with a sound like a lion roar. Repeat it 15-20 times daily.
Home Remedies of Stammering
1. Amla (Indian Gooseberries)
These are rich in iron that aids in proper blood circulation to the speech organs and make the tongue thinner which results in the more clear and natural voice. Chewing a few slices of Amla daily can help in clearing speech. The other way to consume it for reducing stammering is to fry it in a little amount of butter or ghee or sun-dried form with rock salt.
2. Black Pepper, Almond and Sugar Candy Rocks (Mishri)
Black Pepper has wonderful effects on the production of saliva and stimulation of the muscles in the mouth that makes the speech smoother and easier to express confidently. Almonds, on the other hand, are rich in nutrients and contains Omega-3 fatty acids and Vitamin A that helps in boosting the brain functioning, memory, and the concentration level. There are various ways to consume them such as:
- Drink a glass of water with a pinch of black pepper powder mixed in it.
- Beat 7-10 black pepper seeds in water till it results in a paste and have it with a couple of sugar candy rocks to make it tastier.
- Put two black pepper in mouth and bite it to release the juice and suck it inside the mouth as long as possible, twice a day.
- Take 7 almonds and 7 black pepper in a grinder with a little amount of water to make a thick paste. Add the rock sugar powder in it as per the taste and consume it daily while empty stomach.
- Soak 13-14 almonds overnight in warm water, peel the skin next morning and consume them or grind them with a little butter to make a paste and consume it.
3. Honey and Salt
Both honey and salt ease the muscles in the mouth and helps in the betterment of neurological performance, which results in easy speech. For effective results, take a tablespoon of honey, add a little amount of salt in it, mix it well and rub it on your tongue for not less than 10 min. daily in the morning or twice a day i.e., morning and before going to bed.
4. Clarified Butter
Clarified Butter or ghee is prepared from cow’s milk. It is used in various Ayurvedic medicines and is famous for its healing properties as it helps to manage brain-related problems, boosts up the brain functioning and memory. Mixing clarified butter with a tablespoon of Indian Gooseberry juice or soaked almonds and consuming it with the meals can help to reduce stammering.
5. Bay Leaves
Bay Leaves have some great healing properties, along with increasing the blood circulation and keeping the neurons healthy and balanced. Chewing Bay leaves and having them with your meals reduce the thickness of the tongue resulting in clear speech. Burn a bay leaf every night in a bowl and keep it in a room or home, it can help in reducing stress level, which may be the cause of stammering of a family member. For better results in reducing stammering, wash a medium-sized bay leaf and place it under the tongue. The saliva in the mouth will get mixed with the nutrients in the leaf and will result in the stimulation of cells in the mouth and reduction in stammering.
6. Dates (Khajoor)
They have effective and positive results in the stimulation of mouth cells that makes the voice more clear. Regular consumption of dates can help in dealing with various speech problems. If a person does not find the raw dates tasty, then they can be consumed in another way. Boil several dates in milk as per the requirement and consume it daily before going to bed.
Conclusion
