Stutter? | We can help! | McGuire Programme

I many times hear from those of us working to get on top of our feared words (words that trigger the stuttering block) “why do we have to make over a hundred contacts”? We know this in the McGuire Programme as “overkilling the word or sound”.

Being a beginning golfer, I experience the same thing mostly on a golf course called “Glen Annie” here in Santa Barbara. Substitute ‘feared word’ for ‘feared club’ and you got the picture. Because of the difficult fairways at Glen Annie, where the slightest slice or hook puts you in unplayable rough, i very seldom finish the course thinking “Wow, that was a great round of golf”. On the contrary, most times my thoughts are of giving up this lousy sport and putting that time into my tennis. Psychologically, Glen Annie is tough because of it’s ability to trigger frustration, self-doubt, and confusion all of which creates a downward spin.

One dynamic is my confidence in using certain clubs (usually the ones that put me in the rough, duffed the ball, etc.) takes a big nose dive resulting in reluctance to use that club in the future. Right now it’s my formerly trusty 5 wood. Avoidance. Oh yeah. And if I don’t do something about it, that fear of the the 5 wood will, ahem, “metastisize” to other clubs.

Sounding familiar? Let me spell out the comparisons:

Golf/stammering comparison #1:

Glen Annie = That tough situation full of confusing dynamics resulting in approach avoidance conflicts resulting in some stuttering blocks (chunked, sliced, hooked, skulled shots), resulting in the cycle of panic/frustration, resulting in even more blocks and loss of confidence.

Golf/stammering comparison #2

5 wood, 7 iron, etc. = The word that became charged with fear because it fell apart because of the tough situation.

Golf/ stuttering comparison #3:

Loss of confidence on one course will lead to loss of confidence playing on another course = Loss of confidence in one speaking situation (where stuttering/ stammering blocks went out of control) leads to loss of confidence in all situations.

Golf/ stuttering comparison #4:

Loss of confidence in a few clubs will lead to loss of confidence in all clubs including putting (and golf in general) = Loss of confidence in saying certain words will lead (metastisize) to loss of confidence in all words (and speaking in general).

Dave McGuire