I receive many email inquiries from all over the world about spasmodic dysphonia. They are always a reminder of how bad my vocal spasms were in the past. Not a time I ever want to revisit. Spasmodic dysphonia and voice disorders are no laughing matter!
According to the medical system, spasmodic dysphonia is a neurological disorder affecting the voice muscles in the larynx, or voice box. In spasmodic dysphonia, the muscles inside the vocal folds experience sudden involuntary movements—called spasms—which interfere with the ability of the folds to vibrate and produce sound. Spasmodic dysphonia causes voice breaks and can give the voice a tight, strained quality. There were times in the past when I felt like there was a tight grasp around my neck preventing my speech.
Dysarthria is a motor speech disorder caused by a neurological injury or disease and it can affect one or more of the speech subsystems – respiration, phonation, resonance, prosody, articulation. Injury or disease to the speech musculature may also cause dysarthric like symptoms. When the part of the brain that controls speech production is damaged, the link from the brain to the muscles of speech is affected.
Damage, malfunction and interference from various sources (body pollution, drugs, stress hormones, etc.) in the areas of the brain and body responsible for speech and vocalization can all trigger vocal spasms and other voice dysfunction. Some people lose their sense of smell or develop a heightened sense of smell due to body pollution and it’s impact on the senses. Neurotoxins found in foods, water, air and personal care products (e.g. fragrances), household (laundry, fabric softeners, air fresheners), industrial and lawn and garden products can cause triggering of vocal spasms. Toxins and other factors can damage or remove the protective myelin from areas of the nervous system making it more vulnerable to stress and other factors leading to triggering. How do you repair damaged myelin? There are many emerging possibilities. I share what I used in my protocol available below.
Broca’s and Wernicke’s area’s of the brain are also involved in speech. http://thebrain.mcgill.ca/
I was diagnosed with spasmodic dysphonia in 2001 and again in 2012 after laryngoscopic investigation. Both times I was offered botox injectons as treatment. Both times I turned down the offer. Botox is a drug made from a toxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. It’s the same toxin that causes a life-threatening type of food poisoning. After spending years recovering from environmental illness issues caused by environmental toxins, referred to as toxicant induced loss of tolerance (TILT), I was not about to allow any dangerous substances to be injected into my body. Besides that, there was no guarantee the treatment would work, and I was told I would loose my voice for about a week each time and would have to repeat the treatment about every 3 to 4 months.
As a holistic wellness practitioner I had researched and tried many strategies in my quest to restore my health and repair my voice. I gained improvement from these strategies, but when I went through a period of extreme stress during my husband’s cancer struggle and subsequent death – my voice again became very strangled.
In September of 2012, I completed one series of non-surgical voice repair lessons for spasmodic dysphonia which gave some improvement, but this required me to do a rigorous exercise regime daily. I had a lot more work to do to eliminate the spasms.
During times of stress, nervousness and fatigue – especially on the phone – my voice continued to break up and spasm at times. Chemical stressors, environmental and contributing emotional stressors were the original cause of my vocal challenges (TILT).
I developed a holistic protocol of the steps that I used that brought me improvements. I added customized visualizations to ‘right’ the wrongs that may be present in spasmodic dysphonia. You need to understand the power of visualization to understand how these can help you. You can find that science based information here. I have developed correcting energy treatments that I use regularly. The five correcting body scan visualizations designed to correct what may be underlying in cases of spasmodic dysphonia and voice disorders, can be found in The Whole Person Well-being Equation and in the Working with SD and Voice Diagnoses e-book below.
I continue to use stress management strategies ongoing to maintain balance, crucial to averting spasms and triggering. Managing triggers was an ongoing challenge as I noticed environmental factors as well as anxiety could trigger spasms. Although anxiety is not the cause of spasmodic dysphonia it can trigger spasms. Electromagnetic energy from phones seemed to be real triggers for me for a long time. I used various strategies to stop my body from triggering. You can read about some of these in my blog post UPDATING OUTDATED BODY SOFTWARE: For Symptom Free Living – http://mybodycanhealitself.ca/wordpress/?p=1773.
In the summer of 2014 I started to use 100% pure therapeutic grade essential oils in an attempt to resolve the remaining vulnerabilities of my voice and associated anticipatory anxiety. The pure essential oils are third party certified, the only ones I would use therapeutically. I applied an essential oil blend to my sternum area, diaphragm, vocal cord reflexology points on my hands and feet and throat at bedtime and in the morning. I also did this before I knew that I am going to speak at an event. I diffused an essential oil blend into the air at night and at times during the day. I noticed a great improvement in the consistency of my voice and calming effect after using the essential oils. Anticipatory anxiety can become a contributing factor to triggering spasms.
I have come a long way using a variety of strategies in my journey to restore my voice. It has been a long struggle and I expect nothing less than complete voice recovery, voice consistency and dependability. If you expect the same results that I have achieved – start with my holistic protocol in my book.
My message to you – don’t give up – don’t let a diagnosis or prognosis (‘there is no cure’) cause you to lose hope or waiver in your quest for symptom relief and recovery. More is always possible and possible is ‘doable’ by you! Consider using a protocol that will give your improvement in increments instead of claims of ‘cure all’ approaches that abound.
Expect more! Do not settle! You may need to implement a series of paradigm shifts.
IMPORTANT UPDATE – February 11, 2015:
Although anxiety and nervousness are not the cause of spasmodic dysphonia, both can trigger vocal spasms. This is one of the challenges that those with the condition and other voice disorders deal with on a daily basis. Public speaking is often an overwhelming challenge as a result.
As a holistic wellness practitioner I work one on one with clients. I have often been asked to do talks about health related topics. Sometimes I have accepted these invites and in recent years speaking at these events had always resulted in my body mounting skewed vocal responses and spasms, and feeling embarrassed. I now know that anticipatory anxiety was one of my triggers.
I made a decision a long time ago that I was going to get my body to cure my spasmodic dysphonia, just as I got it to cure my depression, multiple food allergies and multiple chemical sensitivities. That was despite the fact that I was told that there was no cure for any of my diagnosed conditions, including spasmodic dysphonia.
Yesterday I taught a scheduled workshop that I was determined to do to a group of women interested in natural beauty. The event was to be held at the home of a client. When I woke up yesterday morning I felt nervous about my decision and the upcoming workshop. I decided to use a custom blend of essential oil on my sternum/mid chest area (the place in my body where I feel my anxiety and nervousness rise). I applied it every 15 minutes throughout the morning. Although I felt slightly calmer, my chest was reacting with nervousness, resulting in uneasy vocal comfort. I had great apprehension about teaching the workshop, fearing my voice would go into spasms.
I was on route to the workshop location and stopped to see my mother at the nursing home. She was experiencing a headache and asked me about relief. I would usually pull a bottle of peppermint oil out of my purse for headaches but could not find it. I had another oil that is the second choice so I pulled it out and applied it to my mom’s neck on the side where she was experiencing her headache. As I applied the oil with my fingers I felt the nervousness in my chest subside.
I left the nursing home and reapplied the oils. Within 15 minutes the feeling of nervousness and anxiety melted completely from my chest. When I arrived at the workshop site I spent two hours setting up and getting organized, feeling quite in control and calm – no apprehension. I reapplied the oils to my chest area before workshop participants arrived. I felt no nervousness or anxiety welcoming participants. I felt no apprehension.
After being introduced I started my presentation – WITHOUT EXCESS ANXIETY, APPREHENSION OR NERVOUSNESS – AND ABSOLUTELY NO UNCONTROLLABLE SPASMS. Throughout the 4 1/2 hours of presentation and question and answers, I had absolutely no vocal cord spasms. This had been my ultimate goal for so long – to be able to speak publicly comfortably without uncontrollable vocal spasms. Although this may not seem like a big deal; for a person diagnosed with spasmodic dysphonia or a voice disorder, public speaking can be a huge challenge. This had been a ongoing challenge for me for years. Last night I mastered that challenge by reaping the amazing effects of therapeutic essential oils in combination with my holistic spasmodic dysphonia protocol. And yes, there are still days that I may experience some vocal challenges – the good news is that it is seldom now and I can usually manage those challenges equipped with a supply of natural strategies. I only use the essential oils for spasms when needed now. The body has an amazing ability to heal – with the right direction and supports. The main focus of oil usage now is to deal with any anticipatory anxiety, which I am sure those who have suffered from the condition can relate to.
If you suffer from spasmodic dysphonia or other vocal disorders and the nervousness and anxiety that accompany those conditions, consider adding 100% pure essential oils in your quest to become symptom free and master your public speaking goals.
The essential oils alone are not ‘a cure all’.
The oils will help with symptoms but you must deal with the underlying contributing factors to your condition at the same time if you expect to achieve the same results that I have acheived.
If you want to get started on your recovery, start where I did, with the detailed steps in my holistic protocol. You can find the link to my book at http://www.mybodycanhealitself.ca/what_people_are_saying.htm
Learn more about using third party certified 100% pure therapeutic grade oils to add to my holistic protocol in Spasmodic Dysphonia – Managing Voice Challenges Naturally, my e-book below.
Please review my options below. I have many inquiries from all over the world asking me which oils I used. Every person is unique and as such there is an experimenting process required using a variety of oils to see which mix works best for you. If you expect to achieve the results that I spoke about previously in this post you will also have to implement my holistic protocol at the same time.
PLEASE NOTE: My Spasmodic Dysphonia, Managing Voice Disorders Naturally is not an essential oils protocol that can be mentored by a wellness advocate.
The essential oils alone are not ‘a cure all’ they are a part of a ‘recipe’. Without my holistic protocol you will not achieve my results.
GET STARTED:
Start with my holistic SD and voice diagnoses protocol which can be found in my e-book. It includes the natural strategies and essential oils that I recommend.
Once your purchase is complete you will be emailed your e-book. Make sure you add your email address at time of purchase or email to me at elisabethlhines@gmail.com if you have any problems. Do not contact PayPal, contact me.
Order my book, The Whole Person Well-being Equation here. A must have for your recovery. To achieve the results that I have following my holistic protocol in my book is a must.
SPASMODIC DYSPHONIA RESEARCH UPDATE:
ESSENTIAL OIL THERAPY FOR SYMPTOM RELIEF: Skip Harmful Drug Side Effects For Healthy Longevity – http://mybodycanhealitself.ca/wordpress/?p=1380
GOD’S MEDICINE CABINET: Stocked to Heal What Ails You – http://mybodycanhealitself.ca/wordpress/?p=1425
Elisabeth Hines, Holistic Wellness Practitioner, www.mybodycanhealitself.ca
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