postr/StutterNovember 18, 2025

Is life significantly harder as an adult who stutters?

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Content

Is life significantly harder as an adult who stutters? I recently turned 18, and I graduated high school in May. I didn't go straight to college (poor), so I decided to take up a trade to help pay for my eventual schooling. I've stuttered all my life, and I've gotten help for it in school, but none of the speech therapy methods helped me, so I'm not really sure how I'll survive in the real world. I'm a very anxious person, and this question has been swirling through my mind since graduation. People aren't really understanding when it comes to things that might inconvenience them. When I'm on the phone and I have to talk to strangers, they hang up or get annoyed if I take too long to finish a sentence, and I know that not everyone will automatically think, "Oh, this girl might have a stutter,"" when I talk to them, but it's scary because what if I have an over-the-phone interview and the person interviewing me hangs up because I took too long to finish my thought? I've also never had a boyfriend for that very reason. What if I get too comfortable with a boy and he judges me for my stutter? It's genuinely my biggest insecurity. I love my appearance and my hobbies and my personality, but not being able to speak like a normal human makes all of that not matter because how will anyone actually get to know me? Sorry for the rant. This is my first time posting on Reddit, but I really need guidance from a person that actually stutters. It's hard for the people around me to understand my concerns because they've never had to live with a speech impediment. Being able to express yourself verbally without a constant fear of disfluencies is a true blessing, and a lot of people take it for granted.

Themes

Emotional ExperienceSocial & Relationships

Subthemes

Anxiety & Social JudgmentQuality of Life

Codes (2)

perceived_judgmenttime_pressure