I have a speech problem that I have been struggling with since my childhood and because of it I feel very bad about myself. I feel inferior to everyone else and sometimes I just cry myself to sleep. I love being around people but sometimes people laugh at me or make fun of me when I talk. It is very hurtful and people don't understand. I try to be thankful for the many blessings that Christ has given but deep inside of me I feel very hurt and sometimes I just hate myself. I just wish people accepted me the way I am. I urge everyone to please treat people around you nicely even if they are a bit different from you, because that person who is laughed at or made fun of may be suffering a lot from the inside. I just really want to have fellowship with people at church but my fear of being made fun of or rejected tends to make me afraid to talk to people.
Please keep me in you prayers and any words of advice would be greatly appreciated!
Comments
there are a few ways to address this problem
tell the people to not make fun of ur speech problem plain and simple straight up and usually the people who are making fun of u aren't trying it to hurt only as a joke but when the boundaries are put in place so to speak they should stop,if not just walk off and they will learn some ppl are just stubborn. and the way to tell people that u dont like them teasing you is quite easy just say hey (whoever) dont bag out the way i speak, its really annoying etc etc let common sense prevail in this situation i must admit it takes a little courage to do it but trust me its worth it.
the second way is to man up(assuming ur a dude) and just kind of embrace it accept the fact that u have this problem and dont let it hinder u i mean seriously, Moses the prophet had a terrible stutter and he led the people of Israel out of egypt.
the problem is not the problem, the problem is your attitude towards the problem.
stay close to God and He will give u wisdom with the people around you.
remember no one is perfect, so maybe your friends can do better if given a second chance.
I felt very similar to you when I was young and I gradually started being more and more withdrawn from society. So I advise you not to take this path. There must be some other way.
The longer you feel this way and find yourself avoiding others, the more lonely you will feel and that's not good.
You are so good, you don't realise it and most people around you don't realise it either. There is no point of me saying you are just as good as everybody else (because sometimes you can't help how you feel).
Draw a table with 'reasons for' and 'reasons against' and write down your opinions of why you feel less than other people around you. Take each point and challenge it; find evidence (real life situations) that prove or disprove your opinions of yourself.
pray a lot, spend time in church and God will guide you.
make friends with people who don't have a good social status, like the little kids or smelly people in your church.
these people usually are less judgemental about people's abilities in speech and socialising.
may God bless u with the beauty of His love.
something that you can help such a thing with, one read out loud A LOT, almost all the reading you do read it out loud. this problem usually happens when you are nervous and/or when your mind races, so keep calm when you talk, take your time to organize your thoughts. for people who make fun of you return it with the same manner, so if its through a joking manner, then return how they should stop in a joking manner so you don't come off as a "jerk". for those who do it just to bully, stop them at once without getting angered or frustrated because that will make your stutter (if you stutter) more, also when they see you angry they will feel self gratification so very calmly and sternly tell them they must stop it is not funny.
I find that the best way to make friendships is through service. When people serve together, they're brought together by a common purpose. And the catch is that you don't get to choose who participates in what service.
So i urge you to use your talents and get involved in your church. People will notice your zeal and will be naturally drawn to you because you exude a fragrance of Christ.
They may not initially be attracted to you, but rather to Christ that's in you; but that is the first stepping stone to some great friendships. And the ones who are devoted to service are the ones who will most likely be drawn to you; it is those, my friend, who will accept you as you are!
Some of the MOST confident people I've come across in my life--the ones whose confidence does not stem from their appearance or popularity--are the ones whose lives with God are strong. WHY? Because it is He who can give a true confidence that stands apart from one's popularity, appearance, beauty, and wealth.
WE ALL have insecurities inside; don't be discouraged that your flaw is openly noticed.
Value yourself and others will value you.
God bless!
Blessed is he who always has before his eyes that "the earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof" (Ps. 23:1), and keeps in mind that God is powerful to arrange for His servants as is pleasing to Him. - St. Barsanuphius
Your frustrations, & your feelings are understandable. It's normal.
What's amazing in your story is that you , as well as us all, tend to look for friendship and love from others and acceptance from them. It's strange a bit to be upset at not finding favoritism or fellowship from those who would laugh at your suffering? Do you not think so?
Personally, from the sound of it, you're not missing much if the friends you have at church behave this way.
But why am I telling you that this is a blessing in disguise?
I was recently listening to the fraction prayer to the Son on my iPhone.
There is a part at the end that says:
"My Lord, grant that I may consider your suffering my treasure, your crown of thorns my glory, your wounds my healing, your bitterness as my sweetness, ...." And finally he says
..." and YOUR LOVE MY PRIDE AND MY GRATITUDE"
I find this verse so beautiful and uplifting to read whenever I feel low. Indeed Christ came to raise the lowly. But how can I feel low when I consider his love?
If you had no speech problem, you may be enjoying people's love so much that it may overshadow the deep sense of self worth that one can receives through contemplating on Christ's love towards us.
I would like to correct myself. This self worth, this pride , this treasure and gift of being special in God's eyes is there. But we overshadow it by searching for love elsewhere and then placing this love, this sincere gift from God to us that should make us all feel special , on the floor or near a garbage can so we can accommodate the love our friends could have for us.
That's right folks, as much as the Jews chose barabas over Jesus, we tend to choose the love from the friendship of wicked people over the love God has for us. This gift of love, this treasure, this present that we should show off and boast about to the world is thrown away in place of the fake love our friends have for us.
The love God has for us , as far as this prayer is concerned about, is a love that I ought to be boasting about. Direct your emotions , direct your thoughts and direct your time to thanking God for his love towards you. This will build real confidence.
As for speech problems, in general, they can be solved easily. I wouldn't worry about it too much.
### Sorry, I wrote this on my iphone and corrected it afterwards for mistakes. I hope the point Im making is clear though