Because mental health is the #1 issue with stutterers. (My opinion) I'm almost 40 and have been word-replacing for too long. I avoid my stutter so much I scramble in search of words that will leave my lips. Sometimes I find a suitable word and nobody knows I stutter. Other times I use a less than appropriate word and everyone looks at me weird. Other times I spend so much time searching for a word I stop mid-sentence and say nothing at all because I hate the way people look at me when I stutter. If I owned my stutter I wouldn't care what people thought of me and my body's ability to communicate. I just haven't been brave enough to change.