The Fear of Socialising

I would like to think of myself as a fairly social person – but socialising when you have a stutter can be some what difficult. The majority of people did not know the “real” Steve Hill during the period when I had a stutter as it was like I was being shackled.

As an example of when I was aged nineteen; I had been dating a young lady for the past sixteen months. It is a Wednesday evening and I have just arrived at her house. During the evening, which we spent in a local bar, she suddenly stated in an excited voice:

“I haven’t told you my news yet Steve. My cousin has invited us to his wedding in London. I can’t wait Steve it should be an amazing day.”

Now for most people this would be something to look forward to - but for me this was something to dread. I did not know anyone from this side of her family and I would therefore have to meet a lot of new people – this was something that I was particular poor at doing, well at least fluently!

I could just imagine all of the questions that these people would be asking me:

Where do you work Steve?
Which football team do you support?
What would you like to drink Steve?
What are your hobbies Steve?

I really wanted to have a t-shirt printed with all of the answers on the front.

The frustration was immense because I really wanted to be able to enjoy these events; I wanted to be able to mix and meet new people – the speech impediment just would not allow it.

Steve      http://www.stammering-stuttering.co.uk