Your Voice Isn't Failing You, It's Protecting You

Voice is an integral part of who we are. It’s not just how we communicate—it’s a tool for expression, identity, and connection. Our voice shapes how we are perceived, how we interact, and how we engage with the world around us. But when it feels like voice stops cooperating, it can be deeply frustrating.

When Your Voice Doesn’t Show Up the Way You Need

Maybe the sound doesn’t come out right. Maybe it cracks, fades, or disappears altogether. Maybe it just doesn’t feel like you anymore.

When this happens, it’s easy to feel betrayed by your own voice. You might notice a voice that no longer carries the tone, pitch, or clarity you’re used to. It might feel unfamiliar, unreliable, or like it’s working against you, not for you.

As a voice therapist, I often hear people describe feeling disconnected from their voice, especially when it doesn’t meet their needs or expectations. Whether because of injury, overuse, anxiety, or something more complex, vocal changes can feel frustrating, even frightening.

But before you push through or shut down or throw in the towel, get curious about what your voice might be trying to tell you.

Your Voice and Stress

Stress is more than just emotional, it shows up physically. It affects how we breathe, how we move, and how we speak. When stress kicks in, the muscles around your throat may tighten; breathing may become shallow, quick and uneven; and the tension can impact your vocal folds—those delicate structures inside your larynx (voice box) that sit right on top of your windpipe (trachea) and vibrate together to make sound, causing your voice to sound breathy, strained, tight, squeaky or shaky.

Airway Protection: The Hidden Role of Voice

One of the most important and often overlooked jobs of your vocal folds is airway protection. When you breathe in, they open to let air into the lungs. When you swallow, cough, or lift something heavy, they close tightly. The vocal folds close to protect your airway against food, fluid, or irritants entering the lungs. When you’re sick, inflamed, injured—or even anxious—your body may prioritize protection over vocal quality. Your voice is part of your survival system.

Hoarseness, vocal fatigue, pitch changes, or a sudden crack might be frustrating, these voice changes are clues that your voice is protecting you and perhaps even asking for care.

Stress triggers physical responses that affect the vocal folds and the way we communicate, often making it harder to express ourselves clearly or calmly.

A compassionate touch to their neck symbolizing awareness of how stress is affecting their voice.

Breathe into the Bigger Picture

Breath is the foundation of voice. In fact, it's what powers your voice. Air flows from the lungs and passes through the vocal folds, setting them into vibration and creating sound. That sound is then manipulated into speech.

When you're calm, breathing is easy and efficient. When you're stressed or anxious, you might hold your breath, speak in shorter bursts, or use shallow or upper body breathing, patterns that disrupt vocal efficiency and may potentially contribute to greater distress and tension.

If your nervous system is ramped up, your breath will be too, and your voice will reflect that. In these moments, pushing your voice to “sound normal” often backfires. Rather than forcing your voice to behave, start by acknowledging that it’s working to keep you safe.

The next time your voice feels off, try this:

• Pause before pushing through

• Breathe gently and slowly, low into the body, using diaphragmatic breathing to ignite your relaxation response

• Exhale and release some body tension and holding

• Notice if your throat is working harder than it needs to

• Inhale gently again, and when you're ready to start speaking, tune into the calming sensation of steady vibration

• Remind yourself that caring for your voice is caring for your health

Find A Better Balance

Caring for your voice isn’t just for performers or public speakers. It’s for teachers, parents, coaches, call centre reps, healthcare providers—for anyone who uses their voice to work, care, connect, or be heard.

It's important to find a speech-language pathologist who has extensive experience in voice. Working with a trained voice therapist can help you understand the nature and underlying contributors to your vocal changes, and can help you address and prevent vocal injuries, strain, and weakness.

With the right guidance, exercises, and techniques, you can restore and even optimize your vocal performance, even in times of stress!

Whether you're looking to free, finesse, or rehabilitate your voice, our highly experienced voice team can help you understand how to prevent vocal injury and best care for your voice so you can continue to communicate and express yourself effectively. Get started with an Online Intake Appointment or try a Free Meet-and-Greet. 

SpeechAppeal is an Online Speech & Voice Therapy Clinic Supporting Adults Ontario-Wide

Eligibility: Ontario residents