Thanks for that well articulated reply, but I disagree with a lot of what you say. 1.Instead of 'don't think about stuttering', I think it's far more helpful if people with our condition divert their approach towards 'thinking about fluency'; the difference is so significant and anyone trying it out while doing a challenging activity can sense it. When I started swimming recently, it made a hell of a lot difference when I kept thinking about staying afloat, instead of thinking about not drowning. Even the words float and drown have a great impact to our mind. It seems like our subconscious or unconscious mind just does a better job in trying to get something, instead of not getting something. 2. I disagree that the average person with our condition will struggle more with the word fluency. Think of the word disability or disorder. Its not like people who are 'disabled' suffer from unrealistic expectations. In fact, by merely thinking about fluency, their speech should be less of a struggle. Again, I go back to my example, its MUCH MUCH easier to swim by thinking about floating instead of not drowning. 3. Floating obviously doesn't swimming well. Similarly, I'd make a distinction between fluency and eloquency. Also, I see the expectation to be perfect to be an entirely different thing, which varies between people. Most people aren't perfectionists, and so they understand that good driving for example doesn't mean not even breaking the traffic rules a single time or not making a single mistake on the gearbox or pedal. Also, telling yourself that you're a good speaker (not perfect) actually gives a confidence boost. In contrast, reminding yourself that you have a certain condition causes you to be less fluent than you actually are. 4. Continuing from the last point, I wouldn't say stuttering is realistic, in fact it is pessimistic. It puts you in a box, especially if you call yourself a stutterer and consider your current state to be a permanent state. It could even make things worse, especially when you're in a stressful period. I hope you agree with me that at the end of the day, it's always better to live optimistically. Think of a cancer patient, would it be of any help if they're constantly reminded of their condition and what's gonna happen in the end, instead of focusing on the activities they do while they're alive and still able bodied?