*"the only way out if I really gotta fix it on my own is to manage to forget stuttering or become distracted"* I agree, distraction and forgetting helps in order to stop expecting a stutter. The problem with classic CBT tools like 'distraction' is: you don't learn to become resilient against the stutter anticipation, you don't learn to disconfirm expectancy and you don't detach importance of the trigger (which is important in order to remove stuttering completely). In my opinion, we stutter because we react to the trigger (including fear, but fear is just a small part of the bigger picture). **We react to our stutter anticipation by justifying our compulsion in this way**: \* we are labeling our speech problem, labeling ourselves as stutterer (if we apply this mindset where we believe we stutter, then 'of course' we will expect a stutter) \* we stutter to dissociate ourselves from social situations \* we hide our lack of social skills \* we miss fluency \* we encourage or apologize to ourselves when we do compulsion \* we accept and we are okay with our stutter compulsion \* we hide behind our stuttering \* we fear that we will stutter on a feared letter, we fear of the shock that stutter will return 1. which then proves that we don't have control 2. which then causes a negative social expectation \* we fear that we can't: 1. stop trigger, 2. convince our trigger or 3. distract ourselves from trigger \* we encourage our stutter expectation by thinking about our stutter experience \* we try to predict a stutter, (I mean, if you try to anticipate a stutter then you are scanning for a stutter letter and then you CREATE a stutter yourself by applying this mindset) \* we remove confidence in our ability to stop compulsion \* we identify ourselves with trigger (so we start believing the stutter anticipation is our choice or believe, while it's not our personal thought because in reality it's a thought without meaning not worth engaging with) \* we heard from someone that we can't remove stuttering and copy this perspective/response in our stutter habit \* we believe it's not normal if we stop compulsion \* we encourage others to speak/engage more \* we grant ourselves special permissions to act as if we stutter (with all it's negative life aspects) \* we apply a mentality focused on NOT stopping the compulsion Note: out of all the reasons that we stutter, only a few reasons are fear-based (did you notice it when you read above list?) If I go to a theater school for the first time, and I discourage myself with a **toxic mindset**: "I'm not going to be an actor, I'm a shy person who never speaks who doesn't like to socialize". The problem comes after that, if I continue applying this **toxic mindset**, then I act as if I can't act and eventually my new toxic mindset will expect this and then I do compulsions. The same with our stuttering. I think, when we were a child, we created a mindset "I cannot control speaking, I cannot solve it". By applying this mindset, your body and mind subconsciously created triggers and added more thoughts and feelings to react to your triggers, do you think this is what happened to you as well? So we convinced ourselves that we cannot control it because we experienced that we don't know how. Stating that there is no cure, isn't helping either. 80% of kids outgrow stuttering, but if you in advance build a wall (a mental obstacle) 'there is no cure, so I can't remove stuttering', then you only attach importance to the trigger which makes the stutter anticipation REAL in our mind. So then we had no choice other than coping, which basically means, building a specific stutter mindset where we wouldn't suffer because of stuttering, where 'not having control' is okay and even respectable/inspirational for others (we are a motivational life story for others to awe upon). Then this forms a stutter anticipation.