commentr/StutterJanuary 3, 2018

Content

If i were you, i would choose a work that doesn't involve too much talking for now, and i would work on myself a bit...try to talk to more people, build self confidence by doing things that you wouldn't normally do because you find them scary or risky. I think thats the best way to improve. It might be hard at the beginning, and not go too well, but it worked for me. For me, my stutter isn't too serious. I've been a stutterer since i was 6-7 years old, but i managed to make it better over the years (i rarely stutter properly, i make pauses or "umms" to hide blocks). I don't have many friends and i'm the solitary type, and probably would still be even without a stutter. Even though my stutter is "mild", it still managed to ruin me and stop me from doing a lot of things. I had bad experiences like every person who stutters. I tend to blame every problem i have on my stutter, but it's also my fault for letting it condition my life this much. Now, at 21 years old, i'm still insecure, anxious, and i lack self-esteem but i'm trying to improve, i finally decided to change after so many years of waiting for nothing. My anxiety comes from my trying to hide my stutter, since it's mild and i've become a master at hiding blocks, i just want to hide it.....all this process makes it extremely stressful, i wish i could just not care and talk. I'm fairly good looking but never had a girlfriend, had girls interested but i didn't care, if you can't love yourself it's hard to love someone else. I know i would be worried all the time, so i have to "fix" myself before thinking of a relationship. I totally get what you are going through, i hated myself for being a stutterer, hated my life and envied the "normal" people who could just say what they wanted without a care in the world. I know i'm normal too, i know i'm better than most of the people i know that don't have a stutter, i know i can say what i want too, but it's like my mind and thoughts just pull me down every time. I know i can do stuff and say what i want to say, but it's like i'm always fighting with myself. The fear of stuttering is what stuttering really is, if we could just get rid of the stress that comes from trying to hide our stutter, if we could just silence our thoughts and fear of blocks and just talk, then it would all proceed without problems, but i guess that's the hard part of it all. Also don't try to change who you are, you can be yourself even with your stutter. Try to change just your stutter, become more confident and focus on working on your speech, not on eliminating stuttering from your life completely, because that's unlikely and it's just an unhealthy point of view.

Themes

Anticipation & AvoidanceEmotional ExperienceSchool & WorkSocial & Relationships

Subthemes

Avoidance & SubstitutionHiding & ConcealmentHelplessness & AgencyEmployment & CareerDating & Romance