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Something uplifting I’ve been actively trying to have a positive outlook on life and myself for a couple years now and I’ve successfully been in a good mind space since last summer. I think it’s a healthy approach to expect the best rather than the worst, it helps build confidence but I also think that expecting better than what you achieve can lead you to beating yourself up again. It’s a fine balance. I had a presentation yesterday and I felt really good about it. I had flash cards to use as pointers and had rehearsed it a good amount. The issue was, I had an hour long class before hand and ended up sitting getting worked up about it and the familiar sense of dread was weighting over me. I ended up completely blocking and it probably took me a minute to spit out “hello and welcome, my name is… “. I realized at this point that I had to skip sections now since it was under a 15 minute timer. Another person in my group ended up shouting out the words I was stuck on which I appreciated. After my section, my hands were violently shaking and I could feel my jumped stuck to my back from the sweat. But it was over with. The 3 minute presentation that I spent weeks stressing about was done. After we’d finished, the marking panel asked us some questions and feedback. The whole time they couldn’t look at me in the eyes and it was clear that I made them pretty uncomfortable. Anyways, I did it. It wasn’t what I was hoping for but it’s over with. What I’d like people to take from this is that even if you’ve had an awful stuttering episode, so what? Think of your stutter as an annoying roommate who you can’t get rid of. It’s easier just to get along with them.