When Was the Last Time Your Voice Got Shut Down?

I’ll bet you can remember very clearly the times when you tried to express yourself, tell somebody how you felt or communicate something important and it was met with much less than the desired response, a negative reaction, even an abusive or violent reaction.

This sets up fear and the anticipation that you are going to get a negative reaction whenever you speak your mind. It literally creates a neural pathway in the brain that gets hardwired. So whenever you have to have an uncomfortable conversation, your body goes into the fight or flight response, and your brain releases the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol. Ever feel like your voice is “stuck” in your throat? That’s the result of the old neural patterning - the energy of the voice becomes blocked.

I think many of us have experienced vocal shut downs as children. When kids are expressing themselves with shouts and screams and yelling what do we tell them? What were you told? Sit down and be quiet! It is interesting but very telling when I observe the resistance in my clients with making organic sounds. They are surprised that something so simple as a cry or yell gets stuck in their throats!

I wish I could say that the discomfort will go away if you just follow this quick tip… What works is continually putting yourself out there - don’t shy away from speaking your mind, sharing your feelings, having that confrontation, even through the fear and discomfort. And don’t worry, the universe will not let you get away with avoiding this - it will keep putting those opportunities in front of you.

Your body will also give you signs, as well. Little red flags that can come in the form of various health issues. It’s trying to let you know that these emotions are building up and need to be expressed. When you disown or disconnect from your voice, your right of expression, you create a block in your flow of energy which inhibits your body’s inherent healing abilities.

I love Brene Brown’s quote, “You can’t get to courage without walking through vulnerability.” We will break the cycle of fear by making ourselves vulnerable over and over again to speak what is in our heart.