Shania Twain Says Sadness Stole Her Voice: Science or Psychobabble?

by SodaHead Living Posted 2011/05/05 11:00:00

Related Topics: Shania Twain, voice, Divorce, Best Friend, Husband, muscles, Years

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	Science	93 votes	57%
	Psychobabble	69 votes	43%

We feel Shania Twain's pain -- we can't imagine how we'd feel if our husband ran off with our best friend. But did being sad really take her voice away?

The country-pop crossover star says she was such an "emotional mess" when her husband fell for her best friend that she "figured mentally that I would never sing again."

"I hadn't written a song without this man in 14 years ... How do I even get started?" she told Oprah on Tuesday, referring to her ex-husband/co-writer/producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange.

Twain, 45, also revealed that she suffers from dysphonia, an ailment where the muscles squeeze the voice box. But she seems to link her life's tragedies to her issues with her voice.

"My fears and anxieties throughout my whole life have been slowly squeezing my voice," she said. "I was losing it slowly and progressively."

Do you think there's something to Twain's theory? Or is it just a lot of psychobabble?

+10

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cmdrbnd007 2011/05/05 13:56:08

Science

+14
As a nurse you are taught that one person's pain is just that. You can not feel what the other is feeling and you must treat it according to their description of the pain. I'm not going to judge her on this. Stranger things have happened. However, her husband is a freaken idiot! Shania is beautiful.
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Hannah Shania Campbell 2012/02/29 10:42:19

Science

shania twain's interviews prove it c'mon she looks so sad whenever someone mensions mutt. guess its the right nickname. i hate mutt what a jurk to run out on a beautiful woamn. shame on ppl who hate or dislike shania twain. she is slowly getting back into music yay maybe even a new album soon. hope so

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Marilyn Maas 2011/11/16 05:17:10

Science

Shania Twain has always been a very pure and genuine inspiration. Her voice has always stood out...and she seemed to sing flawlessly. I am sure once she gains her perspective back, and where she longs to be, her voice will follow. I think she's had some strong emotions and sadness touch her personal life, and we never know just what impact that can reach in anyone personally. I hope she realizes how many people absolutely love her, and thoughts and prayers reach out to her to be happy and fulfilled. She has a gift....may she always hold it close to her and never lose it.

Marilyn = New Jersey.

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Marcus Pollio 2011/06/13 18:56:32

Science

It's totally science. I studied voice for more than a decade and can tell you that vocal production is intimately connected to your emotional state. Voice teachers frequently find that students who are under emotional stress cannot phonate freely; and conversely, they often find that liberating a student's voice often leads to big changes in the student's life like divorcing an oppressive spouse, quitting an unhappy career, etc. If you've ever been very badly emotionally hurt and needed to cry, you probably remember that awful painful feeling in your neck and throat? That's a real physiological response and it's produced by the wrong muscles tensing and pulling on your larynx. Shania Twain's trauma was so bad that this response has been perpetuated and has distorted the very fine coordination that's required to let go of the interfering muscles of the neck and shoulders and let the larynx move freely. Anyway I think she's a really, deeply nice lady and i just wish that she would accept what everyone's telling her -- see a therapist regularly, and let yourself cry!!! You can just hear the tongue tension in her voice, caused by very strong muscles at the root of the tongue that are activated by the "crying" impulse and can best be released by... crying!

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patchulie to Marcus ... 2011/06/25 17:22:01

I agree, as I have been crying a lot myself, and as one who has this condition, the physical act of speaking, for me, is now gone... Not from a betrayal from a husband, but STRESS, from my JOB
I saw the doctor, this past Wednesday, we talked how I had to take a Xanax, because I was going to a funeral(there would be crying, of course), and I drank a glass of red wine, and guess what? I had a voice that night ... Doctor said" you were probably relaxed"... And you know what? I was, but the next day , I had to deal with some work issue, voice gone again... But not being ABLE to speak, secondary to stress is a very REAL thing...

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jojo2323 2011/06/12 21:29:53 (edited)

Psychobabble

Funny thing... my fiance left me for my best friend and I didn't lose my voice. If she had dysphonia before, I imagine stress could have exasperated the condition. But overall- I think it's a publicity stunt.

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patchulie 2011/06/08 17:07:01

Science

+3
Pathology is the study of the " path way" to why or how an illness presents...it is unknown, or idiopathic , why she has lost her voice... But it is a very real condition.
She said quote" emotional mess" unquote... There is no doubt, she cried, a lot, that is a stress for her vocal cords, mabey there was yelling/screaming... The point is, she has done some behavior, to present this condition

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patchulie to patchulie 2011/06/08 17:15:34

+2
And the whole " husband and best friend" thing, really made me made, once the " best friend" accepted or initiated an inappropriate behavior, with the husband(turns out, the mutt, is a dog. Who knew?)
she is no longer, the best friend... That is not a friend.

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2011/05/14 18:11:20 (edited)

Psychobabble

OOPS... my comment should have 'definitely' been checked Science. Why? Because my neighbor lost her grandson several years ago and this horrible tragedy caused Dysphonia or SD to happen to her. However, at that time i didn't know it had a medical term. Since her loss of voice... she has undergone voice therapy, throat injections (small amounts of botox), etc. To this day her voice sounds strained, strangled and higher pitched. Like talking with a bad sore throat. So this is NOT psychobabble... it is very real!! I <3 Shania and have 'always' <3d her singing. I soo pray that she will rebound, gain her confidence and voice back. :) Truly i'm a firm believer that beauty is only skin deep... but when i saw Mutt's photo... my first thought was W-O-W his mega talent surely covered a whole lot of mega ugly. Sad but true!! :(

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patchulie to 2011/06/25 17:29:47

I spoke to my doctor this week, I am to begin 6 weeks of speech therapy... If that doesn't work, BOTOX... What did you mean by " lost her grandson to this horrible tradjedy" ?
Shania Twain is unable to sing, but is able to speak...
I am unable to speak, and I am a physical Therapist
but the stress of my job, has now, taken my voice...

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JenSemPa 2011/05/07 07:42:11

Science

I think there's something to her story, for sure.

If my husband ran off with my friend like that, I probably wouldn't be able to function very well either.

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Treedy 2011/05/06 15:54:03 (edited)

Psychobabble

+1
I think it's a bit of both actually. The effects of the stress and anxiety are what strained her voice and inflammed her dysphonia. Of course emotions didn't like grow hands and go and strangle her voice box, but being in emotional turmoil causes stress and anxiety which in causes chemical reactions in the body that affect the organs, muscles, tissues, functions of the body. Therefore, her emotional turmoil slowly and progressively squeezed the life out of her voicebox. See, both science and psychobabble working in quiet harmony as always.

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John "By God" American 2011/05/06 10:35:20

Science

+1
Mutt, perfect name for him. I feel terribly for her and I think you're an idiot for even asking this question...

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Follow The Money 2011/05/06 10:14:29

Science

Singing is an emotional activity. You either feel it or you don't.

I have a hard time comprehending a man cheaying on Shania...She's goregeous with a killer body.

Unless of course, the other woman was freakier in the sack.

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Rave 2011/05/06 10:12:21

Science

Many people don't seem to understand that our emotions are physical, not just imaginary forces that don't really exist, they are physically caused by our bodies, chemicals and hormones and many physical side effects often follow.

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elptrek P.H.A.E.T.'s wizard 2011/05/06 09:09:55

Science

psychosomatic
1. Of or relating to a disorder having physical symptoms but originating from mental or emotional causes.
2. Relating to or concerned with the influence of the mind on the body, and the body on the mind, especially with respect to disease: psychosomatic

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teenager 2011/05/06 08:15:22

Science

I´m not sure. I feel so sorrow for her: it´s too bad to lose her husband and at the same time her career. It would be just too much.
I´m sure her voice will come back gradually, when she feels better. And she will feel better of course: time heals this sort of pain.

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Pseudonym 2011/05/06 08:10:27

Science

She probably watches all our Twilight Zone News stations here in America. She lost her voice for being a screamer when she cries in utter frustration, seeing our robot reporters pump out the endless propaganda.

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Some guy 2011/05/06 07:34:36

Psychobabble

I'm not so sure about this "sadness took my voice" thing, seeing as its sadness that gave people like Kurt Cobain his signature singing sound, the angsty bellow. Maybe she just needs to change her style is all.

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patchulie to Some guy 2011/06/25 17:32:40

Kurt Cobain, also shot himself

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Myrle Hulme 2011/05/06 07:16:25

Science

She just needs to take a break and meet someone nice and gentle and she will sing again.

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patchulie to Myrle H... 2011/06/25 17:34:28

She did meet some other guy... The husband of her" best friend" ... She definitely traded up

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Myrle H... to patchulie 2011/06/27 06:54:26

Fantastic, and she has a new song out

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Peon of the Masses 2011/05/06 06:29:14

Science

Psychosomatic, but still, stress hormones by their effect of destroying brain cells can affect permanent changes in people's abilities and behaviors.

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DiViews2013 2011/05/06 05:42:05

Science

The voice is fragile and many seemingly unrelated factors can definitely take a toll on it.

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ReconMarine~AVA/POTL/JLA/PWCM 2011/05/06 04:33:39

Science

I selected Science, because no "Other" was available
I believe, that her sorrow and the thought that her Husband taking off with her Best friend, just took her to a lonley sad place in her heart and mind. Called Depression. Probably really bad.
With that, she had NO DESIRE to sing, and therefore in her heart and mind, she couldn't.
Her husband was her Manager, her Business Partner and her Best Friend. That is how she always spoke of him on the few Talk shows she did.

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Jaiheena Star 2011/05/06 04:07:18

Psychobabble

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patchulie to Jaiheen... 2011/11/02 18:20:03

Do you even SPEAK english?

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Jaiheen... to patchulie 2011/11/10 22:48:03

Do you?

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Jaiheen... to patchulie 2011/11/10 22:48:56

Dumb question

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patchulie to Jaiheen... 2012/02/23 03:59:23

Whiskey
Tango
Foxtrot
?

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Jaiheen... to patchulie 2012/02/24 18:25:12

Vodka
The Cabbage Patch and the C-Walk dance
?

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TiagoLopez 2011/05/06 04:04:59
wtw 2011/05/06 03:35:51

Science

+2
Emotion effects us physically

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S* 2011/05/06 03:32:20

Science

+1
the science of pyschobabble. Singing is a gift from the heart, and if she was that crushed, it would seem easily understood that was the reason. I wish I had the gift of song, but I think it comes with a price.

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Balladeer-PWCM-POTL 2011/05/06 03:00:17

Psychobabble

+1
Truth is she probably lost the Sound engineer that made her sounf like 'Shania Twain' in the first place

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PrettieReptar 2011/05/06 02:32:54

Science

I've heard that people can die of a broken heart so why not lose a voice?

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the dude 2011/05/06 02:08:04

Science

+2
depression does crazy stuff to people.

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chaoskitty123 2011/05/06 01:34:49

Psychobabble

+1
As I understand, Shania married the ex husband of the woman who stole her husband. There is another side of the story many don't talk about and that's that Mutt was the brains behind the operation but with all the focus on Shania, he was being written out of the picture to a point where the strain on their relationship. The same thing happens to many relationships and because he was the brains and Shania relied on him almost completely... she fell apart without him and her career essentially ended which also has happened in many such celebrity relationships.

She even admitted that her career had created great strain on her when she and her husband moved to Switzerland to work on their relationship.

Quote
"I needed a break, physically and mentally. I needed to leave behind the whole 'Shania' thing and be myself."
End Quote

She made a lot of statements to this effect before the affair revealing something more was going on behind the scenes for some time.

She's a gorgeous woman and she has a lot of talent, but there were many signs that her career was putting strain on her relationship and herself long before her husband was even involved in an affair so that this is more a psychobabble crutch where she didn't need to continue and probably didn't want to without him to manag...

As I understand, Shania married the ex husband of the woman who stole her husband. There is another side of the story many don't talk about and that's that Mutt was the brains behind the operation but with all the focus on Shania, he was being written out of the picture to a point where the strain on their relationship. The same thing happens to many relationships and because he was the brains and Shania relied on him almost completely... she fell apart without him and her career essentially ended which also has happened in many such celebrity relationships.

She even admitted that her career had created great strain on her when she and her husband moved to Switzerland to work on their relationship.

Quote
"I needed a break, physically and mentally. I needed to leave behind the whole 'Shania' thing and be myself."
End Quote

She made a lot of statements to this effect before the affair revealing something more was going on behind the scenes for some time.

She's a gorgeous woman and she has a lot of talent, but there were many signs that her career was putting strain on her relationship and herself long before her husband was even involved in an affair so that this is more a psychobabble crutch where she didn't need to continue and probably didn't want to without him to manage everything behind the scenes.

I won't justify what the man did to her, but she was already telling people long before the affair that her career was putting a strain on both her and her marriage so this isn't a factual situation on her part. If she has suffered true psychological issues that caused her to lose her voice, there's more too it than the affair and many singers lose their voices so that her voice beginning to fade could have been going on for a while adding even greater strain to her which passed on to her marriage.

Remember, in a recording studio singers can make hundreds of cuts before they get a song right but live appearances are a different story where losing her voice would have become more and more noticeable to her fans and to her.
(more)

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holdenferall 2011/05/06 01:06:44

Psychobabble

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sally 2011/05/06 00:37:31

Science

+2
I totally agree with it. Look at depression, it makes you feel like crap and you feel aches and pains all over. My friend says that she gets sick when her depression "acts up", and doesn't feel better until all her worries/stress goes away.

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