>Now that my stutter is the worst it's ever been and my mental health being the worst it's ever been it's almost unfathomable to think of trying anything. I'm sorry to hear that and I as well as many others have certainly been there. My mental health is far from perfect (history of anxiety and depression). I'm sure my speech has a large part in that. I've gone days without eating just because I've been so anxious that I was too nauseous to eat and have had periods in my life where the best part of my day was going to sleep so I could not exist for a few hours. As I said in my OP, you're more than your speech. As you go through life you develop knowledge and skills that make you valuable. Become good enough at those things and people won't care how hard it is for you to talk- they just want what's in your brain or the skills you possess. So what you may never be a fast talking salesman, but there are plenty of jobs in the world where you don't have to be constantly conversing with people and there is plenty of good to experience in life where your speech is powerless to prevent that enjoyment. It's also important to listen to other people. I am constantly telling myself "I can't" yet all through my life I've had people telling me "You can." If all I did was ever listen to myself, I'd never be shit. I'd be stuck in the same county where I was born, living with my parents in the same house I grew up in and working some bullshit job that was tedious and mind numbing because I let my life be dictated by a damn speech problem. You've got one life, and this is the hand you've been dealt. If you're not going to play your hand, you may as well fold. You can give up and tune out, but that's going to tear you up forever. Would you let some asshole you hate tell you what you can and can't do with your life? If you wouldn't, then why will you let your speech dictate how you live your life? Forget about being embarrassed about it. If someone has a problem with your speech impediment-that's their problem, not yours. You're no more obligated to call them a friend or be polite to them than they are to be towards you. There's 7 billion+ people in the world, a few dozen dickheads in your life shouldn't make you feel small.