Borg Diem Groeneveld

STRESS - EMOTION - VOICE

Borg Diem Groeneveld

Lecture and workshop
Stress and emotions influence the sound of our voice, as we have all experienced from time to time. In some people, however, this occurs so regularly that it affects their performance. How do we deal with this problem in voice therapy? Stress is often a subconscious reaction over which we have little control. To gain a clearer picture of the process, we can replace the word stress with ‘tension’. We unconsciously strain our muscles and build up more tension in our bodies. The end result of this process is what we refer to as stress. This tensioning of the muscles is part of our defence mechanism, the startle reflex. This reaction has a number of disadvantages. As a result of the high levels of tension, we become less flexible and stable (in both a metaphysical and a physical sense) and find it more difficult to breath freely as result. Changes in our muscular tension also affect our voice, as does shortness of breath. As a result, our stress becomes audible. The same thing happens when someone becomes emotional, only even more so. This heightened state of emotion may involve either high or low pressure (hypertone or hypotone).
How do we deal with stress during voice therapy? The sessions will focus on a number of themes:
* we help the client clearly establish which situations are a cause of stress
* we help the client experience how he or she builds up tension
* we help the client relax more deeply
* we help the client become more familiar with the state of relaxation
* the client learns new ways of dealing with stressful situations
The lecture will delve into the various phases of the startle reflex, on the basis of Stanley Keelemans’ ‘Emotional Anatomy’, in order to gain a better understanding of the processes involved in stress. We will focus on the changes in body posture and breathing patterns during stressful situations. This will be illustrated with simple exercises wherever possible.

Address:
Plevierweg 10
1873 HS GROET
The NETHERLANDS
Phone:
+31 (0)72 5095520
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