Yea so may I ask how old you are? ​ I am 22 Male covert stutterer who also feels the exact same way. My thoughts are the same as yours: It's literally easier to be covert because like you said when you are overtly stuttering it just brings on a vicious psychological cycle that never goes away. Or even the fact that when you do the act of stuttering that since it is completely (pretty much) out of your control when it happens that you briefly feel shocked and confused to the core. ​ Since you are covert you probably agree with me on this: I believe that as a covert stutterer, that it is my job to speak as fluently as I can because I personally find that stuttering when in particular settings is ultimately cumbersome, not very attractive, unnecessary? But I also think it's important to be fluent (especially when we deem it matters to be fluent in a particular situation like a presentation or date) because I believe our quality of life is intrinsically linked to how well our speech is doing. Would love to hear your thoughts on this OP :)