Great post! **TL;DR summary**: *(of the post)* I am a girl, late 20s. I have always been ashamed but I am tired of feeling inadequate. 3rd grade: I had a project to present to the class, my heart was beating. I just didn’t know when or what my classmates would think of me. I stuttered almost immediately and felt so embarrassed, *Middle school and high school years*: my stutter decreased a bit, and I was confident. I learned my “trigger words” or sounds, and I would simply refrain from saying those words which boosted my self esteem. I joined the army. People would give that “Oh my?” look, or “do you not remember your name?”. My stutter is rather mild, and there are lengthy conversations that I can have without stuttering. But I focus too much on "please, do NOT stutter". I find it more difficult as I am an adult now (compared to school years). Doing small things adults do, the things that should give you a sense of independency, and feeling so much social anxiety and thinking “you are going to stutter and people are going to think you’re dumb”. Unable to be my true, authentic self, because my words do not align with my thoughts. My speech holds me back from so many things I want to do and experience. *if you have any advice that would help me, or treatments, please recommend them in the comments!*