postr/StutterFebruary 1, 2021

Need practical advice for going through life with a severe stutter

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Content

Need practical advice for going through life with a severe stutter Hi there fellow stutterers, I'm 19 years old and I've had a severe stutter (8-9/10) for as long as I can remember and I've come to a point in life where I'm in dire need of practical methods of dealing with it. I've tried different forms of speech therapy throughout my life and none have been of any avail and for the sake of this discussion, let's say that I'm stuck with it. This is probably a very relatable story to most of you so let me give you a very general background of me and my stutter. I'm a book worm, a history buff, an animal lover and a rugby player, and everything that comes with that (gym, fitness sessions, etc), and these things are the pillars of my daily interests. Throughout my school years, I felt like my stutter wouldn't affect my life a whole bunch. I've always been muscular and strong compared to my peers because of the rugby and stuff, but ironically I'm very anti-social and introverted for someone who plays a team sport. I haven't had many friends (but the ones I do have are cherished very much) and have had no chance of getting a girlfriend. My stutter has been at the forefront of my daily struggle as all of you can probably guess. Having recently finished school, life has seemed to hit me like a truck, and I've been going through a stage where all social interactions with strangers and people of authority have put me in a state of constant panic and anxiety for the future conversations which are bound to happen. The way I have gained respect and gotten to where I am now is by being a lone wolf who just does the work, not a talker. I always strive to be the hardest worker in the room when it comes to activities purely physical or individual. listening and learning from people such as Jordan Peterson and Jocko Willink has just reinforced this behavior (a lot of stoic, just man up and do the work type stuff, along with the physiological and philosophy of it all). I do have a stoic type of personality but when the talking starts I fall apart. One of the methods of dealing with the stressful situations I have daily has come to refusing to talk altogether and typing everything on my phone then showing it to the person in front of me which is very effective but very awkward. Jordan Peterson has spoken in the past about using writing as a dangerous tool but no matter how much I practice, I cant seem to implicate it into a world where everyone communicates either by phone or of course face to face. I'm sure I could write forever about the different situations and difficulties that we all have faced but that would be pointless, so let's cut to it. **I would like to hear your practical methods of dealing with life's struggles as a severe stutterer** (not to say light/mild stutterers don't struggle, it's just that severe stutterers almost can't say a sentence without looking like they ran a marathon afterward's) Thank you for reading this far and am looking forward to your answers. Disclaimer: This is my first Reddit post and I wrote it quite fast, so sorry about the lack of detail.

Themes

Causes & VariabilityEmotional ExperienceSocial & Relationships

Subthemes

Severity & FluctuationHelplessness & AgencyQuality of Life