I'm 22 years old, just graduated college, have a decent job, but I feel like my social life is entering a downward spiral. I have spoken with a stutter for as long as I can remember, and have for the most part gotten by just fine. I was in speech therapy several years as a child, but since then I simply can't be bothered to go back. It has molded me into a very shy reserved person, but I have a large group of close friends and have managed to do well in interviews and at work.
However, over the past year I have started to fall into this strange phase. The severeness of my stutter has not particularly changed, but I no longer have confidence in my ability to speak. I have started to avoid all social confrontations outside of my closest friends (and even turn down most of their invites), and cannot for the life of me muster the courage to ask out new women. It's strange because I don't understand what caused this shift in mental balance.
I have always been shy, but the feeling I get now when thinking about the chore of conducting normal social conversation is much more overwhelming than it ever has been. What worries me most is how little motivation I seem to have to overcome these difficulties. I continue to sit here in my apartment procrastinating on the internet, pondering my dilemma and growing more miserable around every turn.
I am on the verge of wanting to see somebody about it, but I'm unsure who. A speech therapist? Or psychiatrist? A speech therapist seems logical, but at this point I almost feel like it has gone deeper than that.
Do you guys know of any forums dedicated to people with speech impediments? I know of
Stuttering Forum - Therapy, Help, Cure, Treatment but their registration is seemingly broken - I have tried multiple times to create accounts, but I am still unable to get in.
Thanks guys