I know what you are feeling, because i tend to do the same. I'm 22, been hiding my stutter for years. It's not severe, but more than enough to bother me and affect my life in many ways. Over the years i've been hiding it with prolungations, quick change of words, accurately placed "uhms" and so on. I've become so good that a lot of people don't even know i stutter (the ones that know are mostly close relatives/friends, and obviously classmates). The others might not notice it, but I know i stutter and that is more than enough to make me insecure. Hiding it is hard too though, really stressful and mentally exhausting. The need to appear "normal" to others is a self-destructive behaviour, which is hard to overcome. The only thing that can make things better is to accept it, and by not running from it. Just go out of your safe zone and do what you don't usually want to do. For example i used to be scared to ask for bread at the supermarket bakery section because i was scared of stuttering while asking for it; and i always ended up picking the pre-packed one. I knew i could do it so i made it an habit, and i've been asking for it at the stall ever since. Start with small things and then move to some harder ones when you feel you can. Make an extra phone call a day to someone, relative/friend, it doesn't really matter who; what's important is that you actively live with your stutter and you don't let it rule over you (i know it's not easy). Remember that most people don't really care if we stutter, everyone has problems, and important things to think about. If you do stutter, just keep going. If you do this, then it'll slowly help you to accept your stutter and you'll see some confidence improvements. Breathing works too. If you know you're gonna have a hard situation, do the 4x4 breathing beforehand. Breathe in deep for 4 seconds, and breathe out for another 4. Do this for a minute or so and it'll help you calm down. It also kinda helps to breathe in, and then talk while you breathe out.