02/15/2025
Only few know this, but since last July, I've been dealing with losing my voice for long periods of time, like days to weeks. It happens sporadically and I REALLY be sounding like my character Ms.Virginia Slims π Anyway, I saw an ear, nose and throat doctor and a speech pathologist. I was given 2 possible diagnoses:
1. Muscle tension dysphonia- caused by excessive muscle tension in and around your voice box (my neck muscles are always tight)
2. Silent acid reflux- meaning you have no signs or symptoms of acid reflux, but the acid is causing damage to your vocal cords, therefore causing voice loss.
Stress can trigger silent acid reflux and obviously cause muscle tension. Although I was feeling like I was managing life well and all the things that randomly happen to us along the way, my check engine light came on and said time for some routine maintenance. SLOW DOWN! If we ignore the small things, they will evolve into bigger things, like chest pain, heart attack, stroke, anxiety and panic attacks, depression, etc.
I slowed down, have become comfortable with not being busy all of the time, taking naps, trying to be consistent with exercising, saying no to people, maintaining a healthy, well balanced diet and sleep pattern and enjoying the daily blessing of breathing fresh air. If I notice my neck muscles are tense and I'm tired, guess what? I'm finna sit myself down and call it one!
Right now, I feel and look the best I've felt since I turned 40 π I just had my 44th birthday.
Part of my calling is to , inspire, and encourage reconciliation. So I posted this to inform others who may be running around here, ignoring those check engine lights to pay attention and take action. Life is but a v***r, so use it wisely. Take care of your temples and if you need to reconcile some things with people, do it asap. It does wonders for your mental and physical health along with your soul. Move with wisdom and intention. I know I have a large amount of work that I am called to do and I need my voice, so with God ordering my steps and my husband and family support, we gone be alright.
We might fall down and sometimes just sits us down, but we get back up