Why Does My Voice Shake When I Speak - A 10-Minute Meditation for Anxiety

Welcome to Calming Anxiety, 10 minutes of daily guided meditation with me your host Martin.

I'm a clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic and with over 2,500 shows in the library.

There's a perfect moment for you for whenever you need it. And just before we start, if you'd like my 5 tips to banish anxiety, all for free, just go to CalmingAnxiety.org/calm. That's CalmingAnxiety.org/calm. Now find your quiet place today.

And where can't be to sit or lie down where you won't be disturbed for a while. And if you feel safe, just close your eyes. So this 10 minutes today is for that shaky voice, the kind of anxiety that other people can actually hear. So let me tell you what may be going on because I think most people have the wrong hinders.

When your voice trembles when you talk, you naturally assume the problem is your throat. But anxiety can affect the whole system that's involved in speaking, particularly your breathing, the muscle tension is there, the way you control your voice. The voice depends on a airflow and when you're anxious, your breathing can become shorter and higher in the chest. Quick little sips of air instead of one steady breath.

So you take a sentence of 11 words and you're trying to stand it on one single breath built for four. And somewhere around the word seven, the floor runs out, that's the wobble. And this is the cruel bit. The moment you hear your voice wobble, you grip, your throat, your jaw, your shoulders, because gripping feels like taking control.

But tension and a short breath can make the voice even less steady. So let's fix that now. So we're not going to practice speaking today. We're going to practice the floor underneath it.

The breath is called 639 descending. Six in, rest for three and nine slowly out. Now if this is too long right now, you can shorten it but follow along as much as you feel you can. Ready my friend?

Raise in through the nose and always out through a relaxed mouth. So breathe in, two, three, four, five, six, hold, two, three.

And out slowly through the mouth, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, good.

Just loosen the shoulders a little more if you can. And again with me through the nose in two, three, four, five, six, four, two, three.

And out slow and unhurried, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine.

Maybe notice something, nothing rushed you at the end of the out breath. You had more than you needed. Let's do one more. And on this one, I'd like you to let the out breath carry a little sound with it, not a hum, just the sound of air leaving a soft, like a sigh, or keep it quiet if you wish.

Both are fine. Let's do the nose in two, three, four, five, six, breath, two, three.

And out all the way down, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine.

Then let the breathing go back to whatever it wants to be. Just stay here for a moment with me. The out breath you just finished, the long one, the unhurried one. Just the kind of breath your voice can rest on.

You already know how to breathe. You were never missing the skill. You were just caught in the tension. Relax, a little deeper.

Let the chest rest. Feel light. And then within this moment, see these words with me. Visualize them, feel them.

Repeat them as well if you wish. Let them find their place within the depths of your beautiful soul. When my voice shakes, it does not define me.

It may simply be my body responding to anxiety.

I do not have to hold my voice still.

My shaky voice is not a character flaw.

It is my body responding to a moment.

I am allowed to finish my sentence early.

I am allowed to say these things slowly.

Now relax. Truly. Feel an aura of confidence and protection surrounding you. Imagine looking down on your body, covered by a warm aura.

The thoughts of others touch and then vanish, leaving you confident within. In a state of calm control, because simply put, you are worthy.

Now let that aura land on your chest. Feel the comfort it brings. Feel your throat and muscles around your neck relax. You are not the wobble, you are the person underneath it.

Relax deeply and safely. And to give you the confidence and the control for the future, should you ever feel your voice wobbling. Hear your three daily caring tips. One, notice the throat clear, just notice it.

The little cough before, the little cough after, you do not have to stop it. It has just been invisible for a long time and today it is not. Two, before you say something today. Put out one comfortable breath, not a huge breath in, just one breath out and then speak.

Three, if your voice goes today, let the sentence be short and let that be completely fine.

You are allowed to finish early. Nobody is marking it. Now bring your focus back into the room, the space around you. Start to wiggle your fingers and then your toes.

Feel the chair underneath you holding all of your weight. It has been doing that the whole time. Now breathe in deeply. Hold at the top.

Then as you exhale, roll the shoulders once and then stretch out the arms. And when you are ready, in your own time, no hurry, let your eyes open. Right, one thing before we part for the rest of the day. If the way your body behaves when you are anxious is something you are dealing with a fair bit at the moment.

I put together something free that might help. It's simply called Martins Five Things to Try when anxiety hits. It's just five simple things. So that you are ready to know what to reach for instead of standing there trying to think.

It's at calminganxiety.org/calm. It's absolutely free to my gift to you for the day. Look from it what you need and leave the rest. So take care of yourself, my friend.

I'll be right here with you again tomorrow. So in everything, especially to your beautiful soul, be kind.