I'm like you in this regard, ShutupPussy. When Im just waking up or caught off guard and I speak right as my mind pieces together the words, I'm at my most fluent. When Im focused and conscious of my speech, I'm far less fluent, probably because I see so many of my upcoming words coming and I fear stuttering on them. Luna, this is interesting! So you are much more fluent when you are confident in your knowledge of the topic of discussion? I'm pretty much the opposite. If I'm going to explain something to someone, about an issue I know a lot about, its like I sense all of the words before I say them, and I'm more prone to stutter because of it. This has been a major source of frustration for me because I may have a lot that I want to explain but my stuttering is at its worst in that moment. ShutupPussy I want to thank you in for all the encouragement I've seen you give in so many threads in this forum and directly to me as well. In particular I remember a post where I said I was down on myself for moments of disfluency but gave myself credit for moments of fluency. You gave me clarity as to why its pointless to give myself less credit when I stutter as compared to when Im fluent. Its not something that I can control. Also you made me aware of the National Stuttering Conference and although I cant get the time off of work this year, I'm anticipating next year to attend, even if its several days drive or if Id need to fly.