Beating the stammer with a little help from Homeopathy

Stuttering is a disorder of speech fluency. Also known as stammering it is a disruption of the natural flow of speech characterized by a struggle to vocalize a word, pronounce a syllable or start a sentence.

This disorder may be more pronounced where an individual is required to speak in public, where anxiety or stage-fright befall the speaker. Interestingly, some individuals only stutter in such situations and not so for example when they are singing, or when they are in a less public environment, amongst friends only.

Pressure, excitement, being hurried or trauma may lead to stuttering and may in fact worsens the stammer. Stuttering is not commonly a sign of little confidence, but confidence may decline due to stammering.

The conventional medical sphere treats stammering with speech therapy, but to date there is no real cure for stammering. A homeopathic treatment, individualized and holistic in approach, not only focuses on the art of speech or the vocal muscles, but also investigates the root cause. Questions like, when does a person start to stutter, what ameliorates the stammering and how does the individual feel and react to his or her stammering, play a role in identifying why a person stutters in certain situations.

While the individualized appraisal is necessary to identify the best matching remedy for a patient, below is a list of the most common remedies for the treatment of stuttering:

– One of the first remedies to think of for stammering is Mercurius solubilis. The individual wants to utter too many words at once, and gets somewhat stuck. The rapid speech flow causes increased salivation. There is agitation because a hurriedness is anticipated. Words cannot be brought out fast enough for the patient. The supposed hesitancy causes stammering. The individual easily feels embarrassed, is easily offended, shy and as a consequence loses confidence.

– Causticum is a stutter remedy where the individual does so when he is excited, anxious, nervous, emotionally agitated. The stammering improves as he calms down. This stuttering is frequently accompanied by hoarseness, even dry cough. The patient has the urge to keep ‘clearing his or her throat’. There may be paralysis of the vocal chords.

– A remedy for stammering where speech is rapid and interrupted, which likely is caused by a form of intoxication is Belladonna. Speech is indistinct, there may be impaired clarity of thought, confusion, weakened memory. The individual speaks unintelligibly and switches uncoordinated between topics within a dialogue.

– A very important remedy for stuttering is Stramonium. Fright can be considered a cause of this form of stammering. It is difficult for this patient to start a word or sentence. When a word then gets articulated it appears to be ‘spat out’. This is a harsh and violent uttering of words, and is accompanied by extensive straining to bring out the phrase or word. There are repeated efforts and attempts and this exertion shows in facial grimaces or tics. The eyes appear to protrude from their sockets. The stammering is choppy. He or she becomes angry because the words cannot come out.

– Nux vomica mixes up words as they want to come out all at once. This individual is irritable, frustrated or cranky. He is overworked, overtired or has overindulged and as a consequence begins to stutter. In his irritability this patients speaks too fast.

– Where fright or shock can be identified as the cause of stammering, the first remedy that comes to mind is Aconite. This stuttering is of sudden onset. The individual is speechless from fright.

– Cuprum metallicum may be indicated where onset of stuttering is concomitant with muscular cramping, spasms, colic or hiccough. It is cumbersome for the patient to utter words.

– Mistakes in speech, using wrong syllables,as potentially seen in Alzheimers disease, respond well to Selenium.

– Where stuttering is caused by emotional suppression, words are ‘swallowed’. This is indicative of Staphisagria.

 

***As previously pointed out there are other remedies effective in treating stuttering. Individualized homeopathic case-taking can identify these.***

 

 

References:

AltMD (2015) Homeopathy for stuttering AltMD Available at: http://www.altmd.com/Articles/Homeopathy-for-Stuttering . [15 June 2015].

Yurukova (2011-2012) Homeopathy for children – how to help a stuttering child Homeopathy- the future of medicine. Available at: http://www.homeopathytoday.net/spip.php?article75. [15 June 2015].

Reichenberg-Ullman, J. (n.d.) Homeopathy: Homeopathic treatment of stuttering healthy.net. Availabe at: http://www.healthy.net/Health/Article/Homeopathic_Treatment_of_Stuttering/656/3 . [15 June 2015].

Lilha, P. (n.d.) Sta-a-a-a-a-a-a-ammering or Stuttering… HomeoEXPRESSION. Available at: http://homeocare.blogspot.pt/2006/06/sta-a-a-ammering-or-stuttering.html . [15 June 2015].

Mittelstädt, U. (2004) Stottern Monchique: Personal notes.