I think stutterers are better at being loners than other people. It takes alot for me to be lonely, I'm never bored. I generally like time to myself. But there's still that emptiness that comes with stuttering. It's not necessarily a lonely emptiness (though it can be) . But I'm talking about the feeling that this is your only life, and it's fucked because you can't *talk* correctly. It limits you. It's stifling. People can say all they want that they just 'stopped caring' but I don't buy it. You'll never just get to ramble and bullshit like everyone else and just have conversations with ease. We'll always be having that voice in our heads thinking if we'll stutter on this or that word, and who's going to hear it. There's always a sense of confinement. Sorry for being negative again, I do see what you mean though. I've thought similiar things about all kinds of dysfunctional situations, like how people are raised, even abuses. It's too much to get into here but I do see how hardships can strengthen and make them better than others- for example, more empathy. Stuttering deals with basic communication though so I tend to get negative.