Reappraisal: How Mindfulness Helps Us Reframe Difficult Experiences

 If you've attended any of my classes for people with voice disorders, you know that the first mindfulness class is usually quite emotional. We start by having each person tell their story. Common themes include illness or surgery gone wrong; a struggle to find a diagnosis and receive appropriate treatment; and the difficulties of living with a chronic, life-altering voice disorder. 

Feelings of grief and loss surface, and a sense of solidarity emerges. Participants nod their heads as they recognize themselves in other people's stories. 

As the 8-week class progresses, people start to integrate the skills we've been building. They notice their breathing and learn to slow it down. They stop patterns of tension before they become entrenched. They are better able to manage their emotional reactions to difficult experiences. Eventually, they may start to see a shift in how they view their voice disorder.

There are two emotional regulation strategies that can be helpful here: reappraisal and acceptance. 

• Reappraisal is the process of reframing the meaning of a difficult situation to alter its emotional impact. This could take the form of shifting negative thoughts ("I hate my voice ") to find a deeper purpose ("My voice disorder has made me more empathetic").

• Acceptance is the process of letting go of the need to change, control, judge, or fix something. When we are suffering, we often feel that we would do anything to make the suffering stop. But mindfulness invites us, when we are ready, to accept what is without trying to change it.

Mindfulness can help us engage in reappraisal and move towards acceptance. And sometimes, to our surprise, these strategies dramatically reduce our suffering. 

Sign up for the 8-week mindfulness course. Over and over, my mindfulness students tell me that my 8-week mindfulness course for people with voice disorders has changed their perspective on what mindfulness is — and has helped them practice it in ways that are accessible to them. The next class begins on April 12, 2026.

Returning to Mindfulness: Renewing Your Commitment

 It's been quite a while since you've heard from me. My last newsletter went out around the beginning of the fall semester. In addition to teaching mindfulness classes for people with voice disorders, I run a private voice studio and work as an adjunct voice instructor at a university. It was the university work that kept me particularly busy. They gave me a record number of students. I'm not complaining. I love my work, and I continued my own mindfulness practice. But I was too busy to keep up with the newsletters. 

So what do you do if you've taken some time away from mindfulness? The wonderful thing about mindfulness is that you can begin again at any time. 

I have had several times in my life when I stepped away from my regular practice (after giving birth, for example). But even when I'm not practicing regularly, mindfulness still infuses how I think and live. I never fully leave it, and it never fully leaves me. 

Life experiences change us in many ways, and you may find that your relationship to mindfulness changes with time. Practices that were once favorites don't seem as relevant, and exercises you never enjoyed suddenly feel just right. 

Ask yourself what you need now. Is there are particular practice that appeals to you in this time of life? Maybe you've always enjoyed mindful movement, so you join a yoga class. If the sitting meditation is a favorite, experiment with different ways of sitting. If tension or cold whether have been bothering you, try the body scan while wearing a heat wrap (Amazon affiliate link).

Attend a drop-in class. These $15 sessions are ideal for people with voice disorders who are unsure about or new to mindfulness, can't commit to a longer course, or completed the course and want to keep practicing. As always, the ability to speak clearly, loudly, or consistently is not required.

Commit to a longer mindfulness course. Over and over, my mindfulness students tell me that my 8-week mindfulness course for people with voice disorders has changed their perspective on what mindfulness is — and has helped them practice it in ways that are accessible to them.

Struggling with Mindfulness: Mindful Activities for People Who Don't Like Meditation

Let’s say you’ve tried a few meditations or taken a mindfulness class, but nothing clicked. Maybe you felt like you were doing it all wrong, or there was a feeling you expected that never came. Instead of mindfulness being relaxing, it became an exercise in frustration and failure. 

You are not alone. A lot of people have misconceptions about mindfulness that involve unrealistic expectations. (For example, “mindfulness means clearing your mind of thoughts.” Um, that’s not going to happen — and that’s okay.) 

Mindfulness can be particularly difficult for certain people (neurodivergent brains, trauma survivors, people with mental health challenges). Some of us just need different ways in. 

Below is a list of mindfulness practices you can try if traditional meditation has been a struggle. 

• Engage your senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. Engage sight by setting aside time to look at artwork, a colorful object, or a beautiful view. Try listening to a video of ocean sounds. Use essential oils to engage your sense of smell. Do the raisin exercise for taste. Enjoy the touch of a soft pillow, blanket, or pet.

• Deprive your senses. If sensory experiences overwhelm you, try depriving your senses of input. Lie still in a dark room and simply notice your breathing or your body. Wear comfortable clothing. Cover your eyes with a sleep mask. Use noise-canceling headphones to block distracting sounds. Some people even enjoy using a sensory deprivation float tank.

• Try mindful movement. Some of us just can’t sit still, but that doesn’t mean we can’t benefit from mindfulness. Yoga, tai chi, and qigong are all forms of mindful movement. You can also try a walking meditation.

• Turn everyday activities into mindful experiences. Explore mindful eating or mindful walking. Practice the STOP technique.

• Do calming, single-focus activities like gardening, needlework, crafting, puzzles, or coloring (Amazon affiliate link). Notice your breathing and your body as you engage in your chosen activity.

• Engage your mind by learning about mindfulness. If you enjoy books (printed, electronic, audio) or podcasts, there are numerous options. My favorite mindfulness book is Jon Kabat Zinn’s Wherever You Go There You Are (Amazon affiliate link). Favorite podcasts include Tara Brach’s podcast, Sharon Salzberg’s Metta Hour, Gil Fronsdal’s AudioDharma, and On Being with Krista Tippett.

• Take a mindfulness class. Over and over, my mindfulness students tell me that my 8-week mindfulness course for people with voice disorders has changed their perspective on what mindfulness is — and has helped them practice it in a way that is accessible to them. The class begins on September 21, 2025.

Voice and Stress: How Mindfulness Can Reduce the Stress of Living with a Voice Disorder

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.

Consistent Practice: Making Mindfulness Part of Your Routine

What do you do when you want to practice mindfulness more, but you find it hard to be consistent? Below are a few ideas. 

• Anchor your mindfulness practice to another event such as waking up, eating lunch, returning from work, or going to bed.

• Figure out how long and how often works for you. Sometimes establishing a big, new habit feels overwhelming. Commit to a goal that feels achievable. This might mean 5 minutes a day, 30 minutes twice a week, or an hour every weekend. You can always add more time if you wish.

• Take a class. An 8-week mindfulness course is an excellent way to develop consistency and explore which practices feel most accessible to you.

• Find accountability. Log on to Zoom and meditate with a friend. Find a meditation studio. Or attend a drop-in session.

• Experiment with meditations of different lengths, depending on how much time you have. Sometimes it's easier to get started if you're only committing to 5-10 minutes. The meditation recordings I sell are 20-minutes long, but you can find shorter versions elsewhere.

• Give up something (social media, TV, alcohol) to make room for mindfulness in your life.

• Explore informal mindfulness. If you feel too busy to sit for 20 minutes, try incorporating informal mindfulness awareness into every day. Engage your senses. Spend time in nature. Tune into your body and breath. You can be mindful anywhere at any time.

Informal Mindfulness: Being Mindful in Everyday Life

Mindfulness is more than meditation, yoga, or formal practices for which we have to set aside time and space. We can practice mindfulness wherever we are. Formal mindfulness practices help build our mindfulness awareness, but we can tap into it at any time. Drinking my morning tea is my favorite informal mindfulness practice, but there are many forms this can take:

• tuning into our bodies during an activity

• pausing to notice and acknowledge our emotions as we are experiencing them

• focusing on the present moment, rather than the past or future

• deliberately slowing down to observe the world around us

  • stopping to smell the flowers

  • savoring the taste, texture, and smell of our food

  • listening to birds sing or the sounds of traffic

  • tuning into any of the five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch

  • gardening or engaging with nature

  • pausing to notice pleasurable events as they occur

Are you looking for more ways to weave informal mindfulness into your life? Jon Kabat-Zinn's book, Wherever You Go, There You Are (Amazon affiliate link), is a beautiful collection of essays on incorporating mindfulness into everyday experiences.