Finding My Voice: How Tapping Helped One Woman Overcome a Lifetime of Stuttering

I recently received this touching message from Shannon that I wanted to share with you:

“Hello! My name is Shannon and I discovered the Tapping Solution App last year. However, I just started using it a few weeks ago. The meditations are really helping me deal with my anxiety and stress. I’ve been a stutterer all my life. My speech impediment has caused so much pain, stress and anxiety in my life. I can remember my father telling me I would never be successful because of my stutter. Tapping has brought up some painful memories. The constant voice in my head telling me you’re not good enough, smart enough, people will laugh at you, etc. it’s interesting because when I tap my stutter goes away! I’m learning how to love and accept myself exactly as I am. Thank you for creating the Tapping Solution App.”

Shannon, thank you for sharing your journey with us. First, let me say how moved I am by your experience. The transformation you’re beginning to see after just a few weeks of Tapping is remarkable — especially that observation that your stutter disappears while you’re tapping! That’s a powerful insight that speaks volumes about what’s actually happening beneath the surface of speech impediments.

What’s particularly meaningful about your message is how you’re connecting the dots between those painful childhood experiences, the negative self-talk that followed, and the physical manifestation of your stutter. You’ve identified exactly what makes Tapping so effective for issues that have both emotional and physical components.

Let’s explore this connection more deeply, because your experience isn’t just important for those who stutter — it demonstrates something profound about how our nervous systems process emotional wounds and how Tapping can help anyone break free from patterns that feel “hardwired” into their bodies.

The Hidden Link Between Emotional Wounds and Physical Symptoms

Speech impediments like stuttering have long been misunderstood. While there are certainly genetic and neurological factors involved in many cases, what’s less commonly discussed is how emotional experiences — particularly early childhood experiences — can either trigger or intensify stuttering patterns.

Shannon, when your father told you that you’d never be successful because of your stutter, he wasn’t just delivering a painful message.

“He was inadvertently programming your nervous system to associate speaking with danger, rejection, and shame.”

This is what we can think of as an “Emotional-Physical Loop” — a cycle where emotional distress creates physical tension, which then reinforces the emotional distress. For people with a stutter, this often looks like:

1. Anticipatory anxiety about speaking
2. Physical tension in the vocal cords, jaw, and breathing muscles
3. Disruption of the natural speech flow (stuttering)
4. Embarrassment or shame about the stuttering
5. Increased anxiety about future speaking situations

And the cycle continues, often intensifying over time.

What’s fascinating about Shannon’s experience — that her stutter disappears while Tapping — is that it demonstrates exactly how this loop can be interrupted. When you tap, your nervous system shifts from “threat response” to “safety response,” temporarily breaking the connection between emotional distress and physical tension. The words flow freely because, in that moment, speaking no longer feels dangerous to your nervous system.

Your Father’s Words Were Never About You

Shannon, I want to address something painful but important: your father’s words.

“You’ll never be successful because of your stutter.”

Those words weren’t a truth about you or your potential. They were a reflection of your father’s own limitations, fears, and possibly his frustration at not knowing how to help you.

Unfortunately, as children, we don’t have the perspective to understand this. We take these messages as absolute truths about ourselves, and they become the foundation for those inner voices you mentioned — the ones saying you’re not good enough, smart enough, or that people will laugh at you.

What’s happening now with your Tapping practice is beautiful — you’re beginning to separate from those old messages. You’re creating enough space between you and those thoughts to recognize that they were never the truth about who you are or what you’re capable of.

Let’s tap specifically on releasing the emotional charge from those early experiences:

The Neuroscience of Stuttering and How Tapping Rewires the Brain

Shannon’s observation that her stutter disappears while doing Tapping points to something fascinating about the neurological nature of speech impediments. While stuttering has often been viewed as primarily a motor speech disorder, contemporary research suggests it’s more accurately understood as a disruption in the brain’s speech-language network.

Here’s what’s especially relevant: stuttering tends to worsen during times of emotional stress and improve during activities that promote nervous system regulation — like singing, speaking in unison with others, or even, as Shannon discovered, Tapping.

This is because speech is extraordinarily sensitive to our nervous system state. When we’re in a state of threat or stress (sympathetic activation), the delicate coordination required for fluent speech is disrupted. When we’re in a state of safety and calm (parasympathetic dominance), speech flows more naturally.

Tapping helps shift this nervous system balance in several key ways:

1. It interrupts the stress response – The physical act of tapping on acupressure points sends calming signals to the amygdala, the brain’s alarm center
2. It rewires emotional associations – By focusing on difficult emotions or memories while in a physiologically calmer state, the brain begins to update its understanding that speaking doesn’t have to trigger the stress response
3. It releases physical tension – Tapping helps relax the muscles involved in speech production, allowing for more natural flow
4. It builds new neural pathways – With consistent practice, Tapping helps create and strengthen neural connections associated with calm, fluent speech

This process of neuroplastic change is gradual but powerful. Each Tapping session creates tiny shifts in how your brain processes speech, eventually leading to more lasting changes in your speaking patterns.

Transforming “Not Good Enough” Into “Enough Exactly As I Am”

Shannon, I was deeply moved by your statement: “I’m learning how to love and accept myself exactly as I am.”

“This shift from self-criticism to self-acceptance is transformative — not just for your speech, but for every aspect of your life.”

This shift from self-criticism to self-acceptance is transformative — not just for your speech, but for every aspect of your life. It’s also the exact psychological and emotional foundation that supports neurological change.

When we accept ourselves, we reduce the stress response that exacerbates stuttering. This creates a virtuous cycle where less stress leads to more fluent speech, which further reduces stress, and so on.

Let’s tap specifically on strengthening this self-acceptance:

Practical Strategies to Support Your Tapping Practice

Beyond these Tapping sequences, here are some specific strategies that can help support your journey:

1. The 5-Minute Pre-Speaking Ritual

Before important speaking situations, take 5 minutes to:

• Do 2 minutes of Tapping focusing specifically on feeling safe while speaking
• Take 1 minute of slow, deep breathing (4 seconds in, 6 seconds out)
• Spend 2 minutes visualizing yourself speaking clearly and confidently

This brief ritual helps prime your nervous system for a more regulated speech experience.

2. The “Present Point” Technique

When you feel a stutter beginning:

• Gently tap on your one of the Tapping points (choose one you can do subtly, like the side of the hand, if in public)
• Focus your attention on feeling your feet on the ground
• Continue speaking while maintaining this body awareness

This technique helps bring you back to the present moment, interrupting the anticipatory anxiety that often triggers stuttering.

3. Voice Recording Practice

Record yourself reading aloud for 3-5 minutes after Tapping. Listen to the recording, noticing:

• Where your speech flows naturally
• What topics or words create more tension
• How your voice sounds when you’re more relaxed

This builds body awareness around your speech patterns and helps you notice improvements over time.

4. The “Core Belief Update” Process

For deeper work on those critical inner voices:

1. Identify one specific limiting belief about your speech (e.g., “People won’t respect me if I stutter”)
2. Rate how true it feels on a scale of 0-10
3. Tap specifically on that belief for 5-10 minutes
4. Re-rate the belief
5. Create and tap in a new, more empowering belief

Do this process with one core belief per week for transformative results.

From Pain to Purpose: Finding the Gift in Your Journey

Shannon, your story contains an element that I’ve seen repeatedly in my work with people who have overcome challenging conditions: the potential for profound personal growth and the development of unique strengths.

Many people who have navigated speech challenges develop exceptional listening skills, deeper empathy, and remarkable resilience. They often become more thoughtful communicators who choose their words with care and intention. These qualities can become tremendous assets in both personal and professional life.

Your journey with stuttering, as painful as it has been, has likely given you insights and strengths that others may never develop. As you continue to heal the emotional wounds and release the physical patterns, you might discover that your experience has prepared you uniquely for your life’s purpose.

This doesn’t minimize the struggle you’ve faced. Rather, it acknowledges that our greatest challenges often contain the seeds of our greatest gifts — if we can find ways to process the pain and extract the wisdom.

The Voice Beyond Words

One final thought I’d like to share with you, Shannon: Your “voice” extends far beyond the mechanics of how you speak. Your voice is your perspective, your wisdom, your unique way of seeing and being in the world. And that voice deserves to be heard, regardless of whether the words flow perfectly.

“Your ‘voice’ extends far beyond the mechanics of how you speak. Your voice is your perspective, your wisdom, your unique way of seeing and being in the world.”

As you continue using Tapping to heal this wound, I encourage you to reflect on what you want to express with your voice — not just how you want to speak, but what messages you want to share with the world. What truths do you hold that others need to hear? What experiences have you had that might help someone else feel less alone?

There’s profound power in claiming your voice in this deeper sense, and as you do, you may find that the mechanical aspects of speech begin to follow suit.

Have you ever noticed that when you’re speaking about something you’re passionate about, or when you’re fully absorbed in a conversation and not thinking about how you’re speaking, your stutter is less pronounced? If so, it may be because in those moments, your true voice — the essence of what you want to express — takes precedence over the mechanics and the fear.

Tapping helps you access that authentic state more consistently by removing the layers of fear, shame, and self-consciousness that have accumulated around speaking.

Your Journey Forward

Shannon, you’ve already made a remarkable discovery — that Tapping can temporarily eliminate your stutter. This isn’t just a fascinating observation; it’s evidence that your nervous system is capable of producing fluent speech under the right conditions.

As you continue your Tapping practice, that temporary relief will likely begin to extend for longer periods. The patterns in your brain that have associated speaking with stress and shame will gradually rewire themselves, creating new associations of safety, confidence, and self-expression.

This journey isn’t about “fixing” your stutter — it’s about healing the emotional wounds that have become intertwined with your speech, freeing your nervous system from old patterns, and allowing your authentic voice to emerge.

Looking for additional resources to support your journey?

• The Tapping Solution App – Since you’re already using the app, here are some specific meditations that might be particularly helpful for your journey:
  • Releasing Self-Doubt – Addresses those inner voices that tell you you’re “not good enough” or that something is wrong with you.
  • You Are Enough – Strengthens the self-acceptance you’re already cultivating.
  • Vocal Warmup Tapping – This soothing session combines Tapping with vocal warmup exercises to help you feel ready to speak clearly and confidently.
  • Fear of Public Speaking Collection – This set of 3 sessions is a powerful way to help address any fear that goes on with public speaking, as well as addressing deeper roots and experiencing that could be influencing your speech.
  • Micro Boosts – This category includes numerous sessions that are all about 2-4 minutes long. They are great to use throughout the day to help you connect with greater ease in your body and mind for any reason – including help with speaking. Here are some specific sessions you can try out, but go check out the category and see what resonates for you!
  • Pre-Important Discussion Micro Boost
  • Pre-Meeting New People Micro Boost
  • Pre-Speech Micro Boost
  • Pre-Presentation Micro Boost
• Find a Certified EFT Practitioner – If you’d like more personalized support, working with a practitioner who understands both Tapping and speech challenges can be invaluable
• Watch this Youtube Video – In this video, I do a live Tapping demonstration with a young woman who had lost her ability to speak. It was a jaw-dropping moment to see what happened after just a short amount of Tapping together.

Note: You can access these meditations by clicking the links above using your mobile device, or type the name of the meditation into The Tapping Solution App’s search function.

I’d love to hear how your journey continues to unfold. Have others who stutter found similar benefits from Tapping? Have you discovered specific techniques or approaches that work especially well for you? Please share your experiences in the comments below.

Until next time… Keep Tapping!
Nick Ortner