I’m not cured, but I’m better. Here’s why.

I’m not cured, but I’m better. Here’s why. I’m a 16 year old male. I had a stutter in 3rd grade but i had therapy in school and it cured me after a few months (although i think it was just the art of talking to someone). It came back and I had a stutter throughout middle school but I was so confident and outgoing i didn’t even notice it and it never bothered me. and i was friends with literally everyone. most outgoing kid you’ll ever meet. Covid hit and i was socially deprived for months. the stutter came back like a truck and my social skills and presence tanked. Specifically, I experienced a lot of stammers and blocks. i felt invisible and whenever i wanted to talk you would just hear stammering or a black and i would stop out of embarrassment. I couldn’t contribute in class, to friends, at home, etc. Nothing. I was silent. What sucks was that was the exact opposite of what i once was and what i desperately wanted to become again. I tried several speech therapies with several different methods (easy beginning, disclosure, you name it) but nothing helped me at all. i quit them a couple months ago, so i guess a little less than 2 years of therapy total. What i found helped me was acceptance. you probably see it everywhere and it’s frustrating because it’s the thing you want to do the least. you want to get rid of it. but you just have to accept it. I accepted it and just started to talk. You also have to realize people don’t care about you the way you care about yourself. You could faceplant in a crowded hallway in school and in 3 minutes everyone will have forgotten that and be focused on their new task. So if you stutter, they’ll forget about it moments later. It’s all a mental game. Your stutter affects you mentally so much more than it will socially. You’ll be filled with so many regrets if you resist the urge to do things just because of your stutter (speaking in class, contributing in conversations, etc.) I’ve felt so much sadness about the things i could amount to but simply cannot do because of my stutter. i’ve been there. it sucks. it really does. but none of that is true. Your stutter doesn’t hold your capabilities back, it holds your mind back. Go out in the world and live your life. It’s yours! Don’t let the stutter take it away from you. You’re so much more than just your stutter. Don’t ever forget that. I probably articulated some things poorly, as I wrote this on an impulsive whim. so if you need any clarifications or have any questions, let me know and I’ll be happy to answer.