In this video, I am not going to show you any massage or vocal exercises.
I’ve made plenty of videos on those topics.
Today, I am going to talk about thoughts and emotions that may be adding to your throat
tension.
And if you are saying: “Yeah, right!
That's total nonse!” then make sure to continue watching and you may be surprised by what
I tell you.
Hi!
I am Katarina, speech language pathologist and here on this channel, I share practical
tips about using your voice in a healthy way.
So, if this is a topic that interests you, consider subscribing to this channel and hitting
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If you are experiencing vocal strain, tension or even pain in your voice and you have already
been diagnosed with a functional voice problem such as Muscle Tension Dysphonia, or if you
have been told by your ENT that your vocal folds look great but you still feel a lot
of tension when you speak or use your voice, you know that your voice problem is not in
your head.
I have heard from my clients and my followers that this is often suggested to them by their
doctors or therapists who don’t understand these types of voice problems.
And while it is absolutely wrong to say “it’s only in your head”, let’s talk about your
thoughts and emotions that may be responsible for pain that does not want to go away or
strain that just does not ease even if you do ten voice release exercises.
Here is how it works.
Your functional vocal problem means that your muscles work too much or too many muscles
work at the same time as a default method of producing sounds.
Somewhere along the way, you developed motor patterns that habitually invite tension into
your laryngeal muscles.
This is a gradual process and you notice it only when it’s too late and your voice hurts
when you talk or it gets quickly tired or you have lots of tension when using your voice.
All of this is very physical.
The muscles are contracting more than necessary.
Some muscles are working even if they don’t have to.
Your muscles can get sore or tender.
You may even feel muscle knots or something stuck in your throat.
You feel pulling on one side more than on the other side.
There are many more examples of your voice problem being very physical.
So, it would make sense that the solution is physical too.
Either a manual approach, such as massage or myofascial release, or vocal exercises
that help release tension, reposition the vocal structures or improve vocal efficiency.
And I usually recommend that you do a combination of both approaches.
Don’t get me wrong: these physical approaches are absolutely necessary to find more vocal
freedom.
But you can be doing 10 vocal exercises or massage your neck the whole day, if you are
not dealing with your emotions and thoughts, you are not addressing the whole picture.
For some people, this part of their vocal journey is so strong that it prevents them
from feeling better and getting rid of tension completely.
And it is because our thoughts affect our emotions and our emotions have physical manifestations.
Just think about it, when you are nervous, your tummy may hurt.
When you are worried, you may get a headache.
When you are embarrassed, your face turns red and your heart starts beating a hundred
miles per hour.
The same happens to people with vocal issues.
Their worries, fears and desperation manifests as additional tension somewhere in their body
and most likely it will be around their throat.
And a vicious cycle starts.
You feel tension or pain when talking.
You worry about damaging your voice and you start thinking about not being able to give
a lecture next week.
Your thoughts and feelings add more tension on top of the tension you already experience.
So, you become fearful of using your voice at all.
Every time you feel a slight pull in your throat, you panic, which then creates more
tension.
Do you see what is happening?
But there is a way out of this spiral.
Before I give you a tip on how to start addressing the emotional part of your vocal problem,
let me read to you how one of my followers describes her situation.
Here is a short excerpt from her comment that she left under one of my videos:
Here is some advice and thoughts from a fellow MTD sufferer who is finally coming out the
other side after several years of recovery.
I'm a singer and my MTD came on gradually.
At first my voice would occasionally get hoarse and fatigued, and over time it became more
frequent.
I believe this was caused by a combination of some bad vocal habits and overuse.
I felt that something was wrong and I went to an ENT and got diagnosed with MTD.
It was great to know that I wasn't just imagining the problem.
BUT, knowing I had MTD ended up hugely escalating the problem because I was constantly worrying
about it.
I saw two speech pathologists and did all the exercises they gave me.
I quit my job to take time to heal.
I did daily meditation, yoga, speech exercises, eucalyptus steaming and massage.
I was being so diligent but I was stressed about my voice every single day.
I felt like I didn't know how to talk properly anymore, let alone sing.
My constant anxiety about my vocal health ended up being the main hurdle to recovery.
In my case, I had to learn to let go of worry and perfectionism.
I had to learn to be okay if my voice was fatigued.
I had to learn to be okay if my singing voice didn't sound as good as I wanted it to.
I had to learn to be okay if my throat felt a bit tense.
It was very difficult!
I've only felt this shift in mindset in the past 6 months, but already my voice is a lot
better; the less I cared about how I sounded, the better it got.
Thank you for your comment!
It is so valuable to hear these words from someone who has gone through this situation.
And I love using a metaphor credited to one of the members from our group coaching program.
He said that at the beginning of his vocal journey, his tension and vocal problem were
always at the forefront of his mind, like the biggest headline on the front of the newspaper.
After going through the coaching program, he realized that it is ok to put tension and
the vocal problem on the seventh or even tenth page of the newspaper.
You still want to attend to it but it does not have to lead.
It does not have to be on your mind all the time.
Isn’t that a beautiful metaphor?
If you have a similar story that you would like to share with us, please share in the
comments below.
It will help other people who are going through a similar situation.
Now, how do you stop worrying about your voice?
How do you stop noticing tension, discomfort or pain?
Good question and there is really not a short answer to this.
But here is a tip how you can start:
Sit with your feelings, with your pain or discomfort.
Just sit and attend to them.
Don’t try to push them away.
Notice where they are in your body and how they feel.
Pay attention to the physical sensations: Is the pain dull or sharp?
Is it pulsing or stable?
Is it small or expanding?
Be an objective observer, like a scientist.
Just observe.
Don’t try to change anything.
If you try to push it away every time you feel it, you signal to your body that it’s
dangerous.
If you attach worry and disappointment to it, you strengthen the neuro-pathways leading
to those sensations.
You don’t want any of that.
Just sit and observe.
Acknowledge them and tell yourself: I am ok.
I am safe.
And that is all for today.
If you are experiencing vocal strain, tension or even pain when speaking, and you are ready
to work with me towards a free, strong and confident voice, you can apply to our Vocal
Freedom System coaching program.
Check out the links in the description below this video.
I also made a video, in which I walk you through 7 steps that lead to a strong voice without
tension.
If you want to know what voice, body and mind considerations you need to take to truly free
your voice, click the link in the description below this video.
If you found this video helpful, click the like button and share it with your friends.
Check out my other videos right here below.
I hope to see you soon.
Bye.