Singing and eating disorders

Singing and eating disorders

Eating disorders are now epidemic. Singers and others in the entertainment business with the requisite media exposure are, in my opinion, particularly susceptible to these debilitating secret diseases.

No one can reach their full vocal potential while chained to an eating disorder. Why?Because the voice will have problems in these areas:

• Atmen (Kraft)
• Ton (Weg durch einen offenen Hals)
• Kommunikation (Leistung)

That's correct; With an eating disorder, everything I teach in Power, Path, and Performance Vocal Training...everything that is necessary for your voice to function...is compromised and fraught with problems. some very troublesome to diagnose and correct.

From denial to her long-term recovery from anorexia/bulimia, I was Jenni Schaefer's singing teacher and friend. Jenni recovered with a unique therapeutic approach that treated her eating disorder as a relationship rather than an illness or condition. Jenni called her anorexia/bulimia “Ed,” an acronym for “eating disorder.” She and I co-wrote the song "Life Without Ed," which is also the title of her McGraw Hill book, written by Dr. Phil and many others are recommended.

Testimonials tell us their story is powerful, so here from our two points of reference:

What I noticed when I first met Jenni was her strange deafness. She couldn't move from the guarded position - shoulders slumped, head drooping, eyebrows frozen, jaw clenched, spine and hips frozen, arms limp and legs locked. She was like a stick figure. Her voice was thin and colorless. She complained that her throat hurt when she sang. Her range was limited and she had several pauses in her voice. I tried to help her loosen up, but I could barely get her to lift her arms from her sides to allow for chest expansion. She breathed in short breaths from her upper chest.

Jenni speaks..."With Ed, I was disconnected from my body... felt like my head was floating. I was rigid and had difficulty moving. In therapy sessions, I was encouraged to just move - everything."

I also had a lot of trouble helping Jenni connect with her songs. When I asked her to imagine herself singing “Valentine’s Day” to someone she loved, she couldn’t think of anyone! Eventually she began to connect by imagining singing to children in a cancer ward where she worked. A strange thing... She didn't want me to look at her when she sang.

Jenni... "I was disconnected from feelings. I was living in my head. A big purpose of my eating disorder was to starve and stuff feelings - to keep me out of my emotions. So when I was supposed to connect with feelings in a song, not only was it completely foreign to me, it was also terrifying."

Jenni was easily deflated and crushed. I had to be very careful not to push her too far with exercises. She had to sing somehow, but the music didn't seem to move her. Because she didn't have the energy to keep her posture upright and flexible, she usually just stood still and lifeless. Or walked like a zombie.

Jenni... "I had no energy - restricting, bingeing and purging requires a lot of energy (physical and emotional) and leaves little for anything else."

Jenni couldn't understand why she didn't feel something. She watched me express feelings that she couldn't experience, and I think that was a big part of why she asked for help. She asked me to pray for her. She thought since she didn'tFeelingsomething she couldn't pray for herself.

Jenni…"Singing is spiritual. An eating disorder destroys any spiritual connection. This was a big hurdle."

Little by little, Jenni became stronger as she got help. However, language teaching became even more difficult. She developed a kind of diaphragmatic spasm and a kind of fatalism set in, expecting the strange uncontrolled vibrato craziness to occur at a certain point within her range. I sent her to the Vanderbilt Voice Clinic. It wasn't until they found nothing organically wrong that Jenni began to believe she could overcome this strange vocal problem. Soon after, I was able to introduce her to the flexible rib stretch needed to make the problem go away completely.

Jenni... "Anorexia is characterized by intense perfectionism. When singing, I would focus more on being perfect than conveying a larger message."

Jenni continued to improve, but it was two steps forward, one step back. She found it difficult to imagine singingtosomeone. She was trapped in self-consciousness. She began to experience feelings, but with the feelings came anger at being criticized, which caused her to feel judged. At one point I suggested that she practice differently and get angry. I didn't see it coming. I didn't read the signs that said I went too far and the lesson ended in disaster.

Jenni... "All eating disorders are characterized by constant self-criticism. It's difficult to sing when a negative voice is constantly screaming in your ear."

The trust and friendship that Jenni and I had developed made the misunderstanding short-lived. We returned to singing lessons and set another challenge. It was a long period of intense sadness. I was afraid for her; she would literally cry for days and then go deaf. She pushed people away and said she had no friends. She stopped singing for a while and canceled singing lessons.

Jenni... "Depression is often an underlying symptom of an eating disorder. When mired in despair and hopelessness, singing can seem too vulnerable because emotions could spill out. That's why Ed often built another 'wall of protection'."

Jenni and I began working together again, and this time each lesson seemed to break new ground. Her recovery was solid, her physical and emotional health much more stable. I watched her persevere with great courage through these monumental battles of recovery. And then I listened as she finally found her voice.

One of the final pieces of the puzzle was created by brilliant performance coach Diane Kimbrough (615-297-1524). Diane told Jenni to stop worrying about going there every time she sang. She said this was far too much pressure for an artist to have to relive the emotional scene every performance. Instead, Diane suggested forgetting yourself and letting YOU (the audience) feel something! It was a miracle.

Jenni stopped focusing inwardly and made the connection to someone else through the song. Her voice is now strong, controlled, confident and beautiful. She feels joy, frustration, anger and love. All of this gives her a voice to rock the world with. She speaks and sings across the country to entertain, teach, and prove that recovery from an eating disorder is indeed possible. And oh, I so love hearing them laugh!

For those struggling with an eating disorder, we hope you read our story that it's never too late to ask for help, heal - and sing your heart out!

Inspired by Judy Rodman