Vocal Stress
Numerous factors can trigger occupational stress:
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The constant need for improvement and qualification
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Having to meet different work and family demands
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Anxiety of dealing with certain clients, students or other professionals
When it comes to stress, one thinks of its characteristics being:
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Insomnia and Irritability
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Skin manifestations and Alopecia (hair loss)
Little is said about the vocal changes, which are not yet part of the mapping of stress.
However, stress can lead to dysphonia or hoarseness; decreased vocal intensity and even total aphonia; and lack of fluency in speech which can lead to less involvement with work and an unwillingness to take on more challenging tasks.
Vocal stress is found in all people who use their voice as a tool of their work. We can list among them the teacher, with extensive working hours, often moving to different locations without adequate food. The teacher uses his voice intensively and often lacks the support to minimize the consequences, such as adequate water supply near the classroom, or breaks to restructure and rest his mind and, especially, his voice.
Possessing emotional control involves having mastery over your voice, which is the portrait of your mood. In addition to caring for the preservation of his vocal health, it is very important that the teacher is aware of the power of his voice in his relationship with the student, and the credibility it inspires in sharing his knowledge.
The teacher’s requirement to divide his attention during group work and classroom discussions, motivate students, illustrate lessons so they are more entertaining, use computer resources, continually evaluate his skills, take part in research groups, and stay up to date with the world’s social and economic situation, can easily lead to occupational stress.
Other professionals are also susceptible to vocal stress. In the case of the lawyer, the tension of his first court case, facing the judge, having to demonstrate oral and discursive fluency (even when he is not confident) and having to persuade the jury, all cause anxiety. Likewise, it is difficult for the recently vested judge to render a judgment when lawyers for the defense and prosecution are famous and mythicized by him.
In the case of the actor,
after months of stress contributing to the production and searching for sponsorship to stage the play, when it’s time to perform, he often has to overcome panic to go on stage and face an audience; he is then anxious about his voice, body expression, the performance and criticism. This panic is reflected in his voice, which becomes breathless, shaky or weak.
For the journalist,
especially in television, any mistake is live. For this reason, early in his career and often during the course of it, the journalist suffers from a fear of losing or compromising his voice, and of public and professional criticism. And so, in just a few examples of professions, we see several examples of factors that can lead to vocal stress.
Making a speech or speaking at a conference can be a stressful and arduous task. The speech becomes more worrying when the audience is composed of allied professionals or people with the same background, usually because of their shared knowledge on the subject. This is an inhibiting stress factor for many speakers.