Happy first-post for me!
After spending what has to be the better part of the past several days reading through every page, thinking about it throughout the days and absorbing an overwhelming amount of information to ponder, reflect upon, and take to heart, I've come to realize this is what's been missing for me and why I've had such a crushing anxiety condition & depression in recent years.
Previously I'd written off the risks & potential gains of voice surgery as too great and too scant to even consider it. But I've still felt not myself. It's always something I'm trying to compensate for. As a trained singer I've mastered the resonance, inflection, and singing capability I have, but unfortunately it takes unnatural effort, and when it comes to speaking the only way my voice sounds truly good is if I try to sound like I'm narrating for NPR or speaking calmly in soft tones. I cannot sound ok yelling, coughing, using squeak register (harsh falsetto breaks around E4-G4) or exiting that narrow range.
My voice passes great in these aspects and can be quite sexy at its best, but it becomes tired quickly and I end up with a limited expressive range. I often sound much more tired, drug-addicted, and older than fits my personality, emotional state, and behavior; being an inherently aware & empathic person, I can't help but notice constantly how it affects me socially. I even lost the will to continue my career largely because that is one area where my voice's limitations just really showed. I cringe hearing myself on evaluation videos (pitch often sits around C3-E3.)
Learning about Yeson and hearing the voices & reflections you, friends, have posted... this has been as a fog clearing under the radiant sun. My enthusiasm and hope are returning! I'm so happy that I don't have to give up on my dream of sounding the way I should.
I'm going to try and get an appointment scheduled right away - soonest I could probably do is in that week or two that college students get in between finals and the winter holidays. It sounds like a chilly time to visit. But it sounds like a breeze.
Surely I'll have some questions as things begin to materialize. This is the first thing on Susan's that has really made me feel called to participate in the discussion. Tytytyty for a very +1'able post!
~Rachel