Shilpa: Hi I'm Shilpa. Jesi: Hi I'm Jesi.
Shilpa: And today we're talking about feeling judged when you talk.
Shilpa: For some people, they may not know exactly what a stammer, is can you explain a little bit about that?
Jesi: A stammer is when you repeat certain words
certain sounds and you can be born with a stammer or it can literally happen to anyone.
Each person you stammers will have a different type of stammer.
Shilpa: What was it like growing up with summer?
Jesi: Growing up, it affects your everyday life and everything you do.
I used to express myself by punching myself in the face and pulling my hair out and then when I
was in high school I used to come up with a lot of excuses because I didn't
want to speak to anyone and my friends would always want to catch the bus to go
to the cinema and I literally hated to ask for a ticket for anything.
Shilpa: And how did it affect your yourself esteem and like how you thought about yourself?
Jesi: I remember in school I had to be this shy person but I'm really not a shy person whatsoever.
Shilpa: And we know that it can affect mental health as well and do you
feel like it impacted yours and what was your experience?
Jesi: When I was a teenager I was experiencing anxiety, panic attacks and depression because you can't be the
person that you want to be if you feel confident
to speak to a trusted adult and to ask for help.
Shilpa: It's really important to know that Childline is there for people too,
and there's also online chat with Childline so if you are finding it difficult to talk and call up,
there's always that option.
Shilpa: So for someone that's maybe had their confidence knocked and
is trying to look for help, do you have any advice for them?
Jesi: I decided to start a YouTube channel for some reason when I'm sat in my room filming on my camera,
I don't stammer whatsoever but I speak
about stammering and how it affects me so it really helped me to have a voice I
wanted people to see I do have a personality and I do have skill and at
the end of the day I am just another person and I'm not controlled by my stammer.
Shilpa: How much do you think that helps finding something that you're passionate about?
Jesi: When you stammer it comes from fear
and not having confidence so that when you find something that you feel
confident in doing it can really help because you feel
confident in like what you speaking about.
Shilpa: Was there anyone that you looked up to that you thought they've been able to do this
so I can I can do that as well?
Jesi: People like Emily Blunt and Ed Sheeran also have a stammer it's just a
case of raising awareness
Shilpa: And Jesi from your experience if you are feeling nervous about speaking,
what sorts of things can help?
Jesi: When you have a stammer, you have to take a deep coastal breath and we speak from
the top of our breath, if you feeling nervous I always ring my
mum or I ring my best friend and I just speak to them to make sure
I've got my stammer under control but also to make sure that I'm confident.
Shilpa: Is there anything that you can do to prepare
perhaps if you know you've got something big coming up?
Jesi: When you stammer, you need to know what you saying before you say it
so when you write things down it can really help.
Shilpa: Jesi, what words of wisdom would you give to your younger self?
Jesi: I spent a lot of time having my stammer control my life to
the point where I didn't want to ever get married because I didn't want to say
my wedding vows I would say to my younger self to be confident to believe
in yourself and you can achieve anything with a stammer.
Shilpa: Jesi thank you so much for coming on and talking about your experiences.
Jesi: Thank you for having me.
Shilpa: See you next time