The feeling of anxiousness tied to stuttering, not just public speaking. A great metaphor I learned was to explain it to people as if they were tasked with walking across a wooden beam. If the beam is on the ground, they do cross with no issue. Some may get in their own heads, but they still likely make it across. Just one foot in front of the other. Now, if we raise the beam 10 feet in the air and ask them to do it again they may struggle, lose-balance, or even fall entirely. The difference is that they’re no longer worried about getting crossed the beam. Now, they’re worried about falling. The objective hasn’t changed, just the circumstance. Speaking with a stutter all-to-often feels like we’re at constant risk of falling. We know there’s an obtainable end-goal that seems simple for most, but we can’t take our minds off the impending fall. For some, this means braving the fall time and time again hoping it gets easier. For some it does, for others it doesn’t. Some may avoid the challenge all together because they can’t bear the thought of attempting when the act of falling seems inevitable all together.