Listening to myself

I used to cringe whenever I'd hear myself on a tape or in a video. I've managed to avoid video cameras and recorders alike for years. When I was in the 8th grade, myself and a partner (who was less than happy to be forced to work with someone who couldn't talk properly, and made it widely known) had to participate in a Spanish project where we made a weather forecast in Spanish, and it was to be recorded by our teacher. I remember sitting with my back to the television while the class was watching all the various group's takes.

Last night, my roommate followed me around the room with her video camera as I was cleaning. Although I knew it was likely that she would upload the videos to Facebook, I still spoke to her while she recorded. When I watched the videos she had taken, I was surprised to learn that I didn't cringe while hearing myself talk. I also realized that my speech impediment isn't quite as bad as I always imagine it is, although there were a few times when even I had trouble understanding myself.

I think, using recording and video, could aid people with speech impediments in improving the way we talk. By watching these videos of myself, I found out where a lot of my problems are, and what specific words I should work on.

How I Deal With It

I received a comment on my post Maybe the best isn't always the best? and wanted to respond to it. Here's the comment:

I know exactly the feeling you're talking about.

I have pretty much the same problem.

How do you deal with the psychological impact? I have tried psychotherapy but that was pretty useless.

I've been dealing with the stress and psychological impact myself since I was little. I've never been to a therapist (although, since my school offers therapy for free, I've been considering trying it), and my surprisingly optimistic moods is the result of a combination of methods I use.

That's not to say I'm always happy, because I most certainly am not, but I've realized that being happy is worth the effort. Here's a few methods I use to boost my mood, not stress out when I have to do something like present information in front of a group of people, and calm my mind overall:

• Meditation. Meditation has helped me, and is probably the most important thing I've ever done for the psychological impact growing up with a speech impediment has caused me. It's incredibly easy to do. Find a quiet place to sit, and count your breaths. Or use any other method of meditation. More Info
• A supportive group of family and friends. This is pretty obvious. You need someone to talk to. I used to have a problem with bringing up issues I was having with people I was close to because I was embarrassed, but you'll never be able to be happy if you have a lot of internal issues that you're keeping entirely to yourself.
  
• An outlet. Find something that makes you happy. Painting, writing, sports, whatever. Be passionate about it. Then, if you're having a particularly bad day, you'll have something to make you happy.
• Exercise and athletics. I have never been an athletic person. I always hated P.E., never participated in sports, but I changed a bit once I got to college. I joined the fencing club, became more athletic, and work out every day. My moods have improved, I'm happier, and I have nearly no stress.
  
• Religion. This won't apply to everyone. I think my Buddhist belief in impermanence has really helped me a lot to see that trivial insults and daily problems don't matter, because it won't last forever. I'm not an expert on other religions, such as Hinduism or Christianity, but a lot of people seem to pull a lot of faith from their respective religions.
  

That's all the advice I can give for now. If anyone has any more tips, please post them in the comments.