postr/StutterJuly 13, 2019

Opening up about stuttering with some friend- they claim they've never noticed.

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Opening up about stuttering with some friend- they claim they've never noticed. I have a friend who is struggling with a potentially new diagnosis of bipolar (personally I think its too much weed). She has always been depressed but has been having some hypomanic episodes lately. She feels sort of stigmatized and was telling me that she felt **disabled and different** now that she was "maybe crazy". I told her we all have things that we are weird about. I took a super deep breath and I told her that I was weird about the fact that I stuttered. She legit said she had never noticed. I've known these people for 2 years and have stuttered around them I think pretty noticeably! TBH I was so happy. Her husband was there as well and he said he never noticed either and I am so stoked. I have always thought my speech to be far worse than it is (people have told me) and that was pretty good confirmation. This girl is super real and will tell you the truth on anything, eg she came to my house and demanded I wash my windows coz they "were filthy". So I really trust her to not try to spare my feelings. Made me feel really good. Maybe it isn't as bad as I think and I'm all stressed out for naught.

Themes

Identity & DisabilityCommunity & Support

Subthemes

Identity & Self-PerceptionValidation & EmpathyAuthenticity vs. Masking