My biggest challenge is calling someone on the phone because YOU have to decide when to call them. And that might give you enough time to worry about it, which is not good. What’s some of my coping mechanisms? Mostly what the other guys here said, I substitute words too. But the key to living an anxiety-free life with a stutter is that you have normalize the stuttering, and realizing that failing is part of the journey. Embrace it, don’t reject it — because you can’t lol. Tension = stuttering. The goal is to become braver, not faking it till you make it.