Very good question. A very important question as well! The thing is this: We anticipate (negatively) because we sense some form of a threat. We do not negatively anticipate something, if we do not sense there is a theat. So when a stutterer is anticipating, we believe there is some kind of threat. Not a threat in stuttering itself, but a threat in OTHER people HEARING us stuttering. The keyword being "believe". We believe something to be true - a negative thing - and thus start anticipating. How do you stop anticipating? It starts by understanding there is no threat. If you believe there is no threat, you won't negatively anticipate something. How do we understand there is no threat? It's by showing yourself there is nothing to fear when stuttering in front of other people. I started small, by walking my dog and trying to conversate with all sorts of people I met during the hikes. People I did not know. I decided to fully allow my stutter in front of them. I decided I wanted to stutter in front of them. I decided I WANTED them to hear my stutter. More and more I realized they did not care a single bit about my stutter. They really didn't care. This made me feel much better, and made me feel more positive about OTHER people's way of behaving/thinking. Next thing I did, was going to the mall, and whenever me and my wife wanted to know some info about a product or were looking for something, I would be the one who would ask the people who worked there. I decided that BEFORE I asked something, I would first make a statement "Hey, I stutter so I might struggle a bit" and then continue with my question. Even before I asked my question, so after the statement that I stutter, they almost 99% of the time say : "Ah no problem!" and thenI proceed to ask whatever I wanted to ask. The thing is, when you first state: "Hey, I have a stutter so I might struggle", you're in a sense actually asking for respect. You're in a sense asking "Please be kind for me". Most integer people love to help other people out, so this is a perfect opportunity for the to feel good about themselves... by helping you out to feel good about your stutter. Really, I just started to care less and less about whether or not others hear me stutter. I feel like I just decided to simply not care as much as before. You just learn to LET GO or fighting it all the "what if" thoughts. Once you stop seeing something as a threat, you will lose the negative anticipation. Hope this helps! Just let me know if you'd like me to clarify some things some more.