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I don’t know what to do… I (27m) have had a stammer since the age of six. My stammer is something I never truly dealt with. My parents didn’t see it as a problem, so they didn’t bother to put me through speech therapy. My stammer was something I had to just deal with my self. As a child it wasn’t too difficult, I never felt self conscious. Once I reached my teens, and became a lot more self aware, that’s when a lot of fear and anxiety kicked in. I developed a fear of ordering food, starting a conversation, socialising and just a general fear of speaking. I dealt with this by isolating myself and becoming reserved. Whilst most people were developing their social skills, making friends, and socialising, I was constantly avoiding any kind of human interaction. Over time my social skills started to diminish and I never really developed conversational skills. I have had no friends since the age of 16 and the loneliness is taking a toll on my mental health. I have always been very sensitive towards my stammer. I am ashamed of it, and if I ever stammer in a conversation with someone, it ruins my entire day. I try so hard to hide my stammer, but I never really succeed. My stammer has totally robbed me of a social life. I would love to interact with others, develop connections and make fiends. I don’t believe I am an introvert at heart. I value human connection and believe most of us our wired to be social. However, due to my stammer speaking is never a fun or enjoyable experience . I get speech blocks and can hardly get a word out sometimes, it’s just so embarrassing. I am also ashamed I never really grew out of it. I am nearly 30 and still going through the same struggles. How can I overcome the fear and anxiety that comes with speaking?