commentr/StutterDecember 26, 2024

Content

When I was your age I felt the same way, and then a little game called World of Warcraft came out. In this virtual world I was able to socialize and make friends, as well as interact with casual acquaintances. It truly changed my life, and gave me hope. Eventually I became more and more comfortable that I started to speak to my in game friends over voice chat, and with that I was able to finally practice all the stuff I learned in speech therapy in a casual setting with people I could trust. Best part was that I couldn't see their faces, so that distraction was taken off the table. It took years, and many of those friends came and went, and there was even some friend group drama at one point, but it was a stepping stone for me. But the confidence I gained was immense, now I'm 39 and happily married, I don't have any IRL friends, but I do play Call of Duty every weekend with 3 guys I know from WoW. By the way having IRL friends is exhausting with out our stutter. All that being said, despite WoW still being around, it is a different game and I wouldn't know if it was capable of still harboring such unique social opportunities. But I'm sure there are games out there that do. Video games saved my life. Perhaps you can find an activity where people are focused on the activity and they'll be able to get to know who you are through that and not just verbal communication.

Themes

Social & RelationshipsCoping & Advocacy

Subthemes

Friendships & BelongingFluency Techniques