I'm 25 - my parents have spent well over $10k on therapy and nothing has worked. I've dealt with the same issues ever since I was very young. I recall the times when I was in elementary school and I was perhaps the most extroverted kid in my class but something definitely happened in the past that I do not recall, which has caused the stammer to worsen. Because of that I certainly have lost many opportunities and I still wholeheartedly believe that if I didn't have a stammer, I'd be way ahead of most of my peers. What I can say is that, despite having this challenge on a day to day basis and for the most mundane activities, I do not allow it to limit my social interactions and career opportunities. As a matter of fact, even when some interviews went horribly and I was embarrassed by not being able to say a single full sentence, I still ended up getting the job. Ironically, the director at the job told me "I'd rather you stay silent and do your job than waste time talking like your colleagues." Of course, you gotta be good at what you do, and if the job doesn't require you to elaborate eloquently or convince people through speech, you're good. If you embrace people with a smile on your face and are willing to initiate a conversation like I do, as well as making it clear that I have a stammer that doesn't allow me to speak fluently, people wouldn't assume that I am unintelligent and are more likely to be empathetic and engage in the somewhat broken conversation, in which I'd mostly focus on asking them open-ended questions. Surely this isn't the perfect solution, and I'm trying to find a way to completely erase this stammer from my existence, but just like a mute person can't change that, I find a glimpse of reassurance in this realization. A few lessons I've learned over the years of dealing with this... I recall one time I was having an oral exam with a bunch of other guys, they all knew about my stammer and that when it came to my turn, it would've taken a long while to finish. Though that day, I was extremely angry at a guy who was also doing the exam and perhaps subconsciously, I didn't want to allow him to feel superior, and thus I didn't stammer a single time and the teacher was visibly impressed. Of course, our stammers are different, but perhaps we can all learn from each other's experiences and derive some solutions. There was once a podcast I was listening to about this dude having a severe stammer like mine, and ironically his job was being an actor. The moment he had to play his role, his whole personality would change, and the stammer would disappear. I've noticed the same in my life when I'd be impersonating another person through the phone or voice chats,and acting as if I were some kind of character, that would allow me to perhaps detach my current personality that has "stammer" attached to it. I also force myself to allow the stammer to kick in when I desire to meet a person because I know that the more I engage in the discussion, the more likely I'll be comfortable with them and less likely to stammer, as my friends know very well. Ironically, I'm still more extroverted than them, and if I ever stammer in front of a stranger, I'll just laugh about it. What's the point of being depressed? I have far more serious matters to be worried about, and my career has taught me one thing: if you're damn good at your job, how could people assume that you are unintelligent? Sure, I try to avoid having calls with clients and try my best to negotiate mostly in written form, and it has worked a few times, but if I ever have to make a call, I just mention my stammer and hope for the best.