Last Monday I spoke at an event for International Stammering Awareness Day, along with several other speakers. It was my first time at such an event, and I thought the whole night was very insightful. Here are my notes from the evening: - Getting help from therapy or other stammer groups is vital. Meeting other people who stammer will be a massive help. If you can’t afford a therapist then try and find support groups in your local area. - Begin changing your mindset, you don’t “have” a stutter, it’s not a physical affliction, you’re just a person who stutters sometimes. - A lot of people think that they’d be happy if they didn’t stutter, when in actual fact the happiness has to come first. Focus on the aspects of life that you *do* have control over. Start working out, looking after your body. Get 8 hours sleep a night. Begin taking steps to become financially secure. Do things which make you happy, focus on them. Be kind to yourself.Do everything you can to become “happy” and stress free, and your stuttering will become so insignificant it will gradually fade. - Get off the internet, specifically websites/pages that perpetuate incel bullshit, god knows what a “blackpill incel” is but feeling sorry for yourself is never going to help. 2 of the speakers at the event I went to had attempted suicide and are both now highly successful, despite stuttering. The truth is you may never be fluent, there is no cure, but you can take control of your outlook on life. A lot of people in life have been dealt a shittier hand than us and just get on with it, stammering is not a big deal. I was in a similar mindset a few years ago, but frankly you can’t let it hold you back. It might not feel like it now, but through a positive outlook you’ll realise that the happier you are the less you’ll stutter.