Therapy is a good idea to sort through these thoughts and emotions. When someone I don’t know mocks my stutter, I tell them I have a stutter & that’s why I repeat my words. Their joke quickly turns into an apology. Although, that’s not what I’m looking for, it helps bring them down to reality. I’m in my later 20s, and no one has mocked my stutter as of late, but if someone were to I think I would look at them differently. I think what you once considered a space space inside of them has now disappeared. You are looking for safety in friendships, and there is nothing wrong with that. Although, I’d reassess how much safety and validation you put into others, and how much you put into yourself. This could be a self-esteem issue.