At the age of 22, I was thrust into a world of 'adults,' and I still perceived myself as a frightened little child in a big, scary, dangerous world of 'professionals' who all knew more than me. I thought of myself as "unworthy to sit at the table" with these people who were superior to me in every way. There was a very, VERY small seed of truth to this because I was new to the business world, and most people in my environment were naturally smarter than me (because I was a total novice at everything). But, my mind took it to a toxic place, where I didn't deserve my seat at the table, and everyone was better than me. My coach (John Harrison) helped me see the error in my thinking. I needed to recognize that I was an adult, and I DID have everything I needed to function in the real world, and I didn't need to be subservient to act everyone else. I started paying close attention to those around me, and I noticed that these other 'professionals' acted quite unprofessional at times. In many cases, I was more competent than they were (some of the high-paid CEOs and COOs at some companies didn't understand things that I considered elementary)! I noticed a trend that many of the highest-ranking people in the corporate world get there because of their confidence, not because of their intelligence. I started noticing when others in my workplace would stutter or trip over their words, and they didn't see their verbal fumble as some kind of personal failure; they just moved on (because this little momentary 'failure' didn't define them the way I let my speaking problems define me). When I realized and truly believed that I had value to bring to the table and I was worthy of love, respect, and attention (without having to be bashful about it), everything started to change quickly. The reason for my speech block was basically a lack of confidence, and it manifested itself in my inability to speak (and, of course, being unable to speak made the self-confidence issue worse). Interestingly, John pointed out that some performing musicians have a similar issue where they cannot play certain notes in a song they know very well. It's not because they don't know what to play; they're experiencing a musician's version of a speech block. For me, stuttering had A LOT (maybe everything) to do with my beliefs. Especially for those who are fluent one day and then start stuttering the next, this is probably true for them as well. The only reason I couldn't talk was that I didn't believe I could talk, and the reason for that disbelief came from some very strange places that were difficult to put a finger on because they seem unrelated. Once a person can pinpoint the problem (which is far easier said than done) and change their thinking, the problem will fix itself. Sometimes I would have speech blocks around my family and friends (although this was less common). Was it because I felt unsafe around them? Maybe... even though they hadn't done anything to make me feel that way, there were some very bizarre and irrational thoughts in my subconscious. This is why I say the responsibility was on ME to fix my thinking. We can't control what other people say or do around us. Whether people are mean or supportive, we all need to see our value and not be a victim of our environment (or worse yet, a victim of our own thoughts).