By the time I was in my twenties, I had coped with that social anxiety and fear. I wouldn't say that I coped with it well. When I was very young I was a very nice kid. Stuttering did a number on me though. I got very angry and very frustrated. And I was angry and frustrated for a very long time. Stuttering broke my faith in other people. I wanted to be heard. So at some point I began channeling my anger to overcome any fear of social situations. In hindsight I'm sure the fear was still there, but I charged ahead with a belly full of anger. I would caution anybody who feels angry like that, to talk to somebody. It's not healthy. But you were asking about my twenties... I worked and took classes at that point. I didn't have a choice when it came to interacting with other people. You have to do it for school and you have to do it for work. At that point I wasn't letting my stutter stop me from speaking. But it was a source of frustration when I stumbled or blocked. Once I landed a grown-up job in my mid 20s that had health insurance, I decided to go back to therapy. So my speech therapy wasn't so much centered around the fear or anxiety. That part of it was learning fluency. Just sitting here thinking through this comment, sets me back on my heels a bit. I advocate for speech therapy a lot, but for me that was separate from the social anxiety and fear of speaking in front of people. That anxiety could really screw with you while you're trying to work on your fluency. The fluency program I was in was very clear about not trying to use what I had learned in in therapy until I was ready. And by ready I mean that the speech therapist said it's time to start using these tools in the real world. And we started with very small assignments. They really did focus on setting me up for success and building. Building the core mechanics of speech and fluency. Building with small successes outside of the therapist office. Thanks for the question. I'm happy to answer any other questions or touch base whenever you like. How are things going for you right now? Again I'm in the middle of the woods for the next few days, so I may be slow to respond.