If you’ve been following my work, you know that I am passionate about mindfulness as a tool for helping people with voice disorders. A few years ago, I ran a study on the subject, which was eventually published in a peer-reviewed journal as “Effects of an 8-Week Mindfulness Course in People with Voice Disorders.” Since then, I have continued to lead mindfulness courses and study the relationship between stress and voice. Here are a few of my thoughts on the subject:
Stress alone rarely causes voice disorders. It can be part of a perfect storm (along with viral illness, surgery, voice overuse, or genetics) that can lead to a voice disorder. However, it’s almost never as simple as “stress caused this.”
Having a voice disorder is extremely stressful. In their book Psychology of Voice Disorders, psychologist Deborah Rosen and laryngologist Robert Sataloff write that new voice disorder patients exhibited stress levels that “were comparable to that of newly diagnosed cancer patients in outpatient cancer care clinics.”
Stress can show up in the body in numerous ways. These can include physical tension, pain or discomfort, shallow breathing, digestive issues, and fatigue.
Mindfulness can reduce the stress of living with a voice disorder. It can help us respond differently to stress, which reduces suffering. Mindfulness can also make us more aware of our physical patterns of pain or tension. Awareness is the first step toward resolving these entrenched patterns. This may reduce some vocal symptoms.
Mindfulness can help us release the stress of other people’s expectations. By focusing on what is, we learn what we can’t control (other people) and what we can (our responses to others).
Voice disorder patients respond positively to exploring mindfulness in community with others who understand their struggles. My students frequently tell me that being part of a community is their favorite part of my mindfulness course.
