Reclaiming Your Voice in Perimenopause: Confidence, Breath & Self-Expression
I’ve always had a slightly complicated relationship with my voice.
As a child with a naturally deeper tone and a not so healthy dose of social anxiety, I never quite trusted my voice to show up when I needed it to. Reading aloud in class felt like a gamble… would the words come out clearly, or would my throat tighten and betray me? I was often told to “speak up” or “tone it down,” depending on the room and the mood, and somewhere along the way, I started to believe my voice just wasn’t quite right.
Fast forward a few decades, and I now run a business that supports women in building strength and confidence (including hosting a podcast).
So yes, irony noted.
Once again, I found myself face-to-face with an old, familiar challenge: trusting my voice. Only now, it came with a midlife twist… hello, brain fog, vocal fatigue, and random bouts of croakiness that seem to appear out of nowhere. Not ideal when you’re recording episodes meant to inspire and empower.
So when I saw that one of my fellow Breathwork facilitators, Laura Dumbleton, was running a workshop on voice and expression, I just knew I had to go. (Okay, that’s a lie… I didn’t jump at the chance. I showed up because I knew I needed it, and because Laura creates such a grounded, welcoming space. I knew I’d be in good hands.)
That session shifted something. Laura's approach wasn’t about sounding perfect; it was about reconnecting with the body, the breath, and the truth underneath it all.
And when she dropped some absolute golden nuggets around what happens to our voice during menopause, I knew I had to bring her onto the podcast so more people could experience her wisdom.
What followed was a warm, funny, deeply insightful and still super practical conversation about voice, breath, perimenopause, and what it really means to express ourselves from the inside out.
Why Your Voice Matters (Now More Than Ever)
Voice isn’t just how we sound, it’s how we show up.
Whether you're asking for what you need, standing up for your ideas, or singing in the car (even if it’s just to yourself), your voice is a core part of how you move through the world.
But midlife, perimenopause, and the burnout that often comes with “doing it all” can chip away at that confidence.
You might notice:
Your voice feels hoarse or croaky in the mornings
You clear your throat more often
You feel self-conscious about how you sound
You second-guess speaking up, even when you know you could share so much value
You’re not imagining it. Hormonal shifts affect not only our mood, energy, and cycles, they also impact the vocal folds themselves.
And with 1 in 6 women considering leaving their jobs due to menopause symptoms; confidence being a major one, it’s no surprise that these changes can take a real toll (Menopause in the Workplace: Employee Experiences, 2023). While voice changes weren’t explicitly cited in the survey, they are often part of a wider picture of feeling less heard, less sure, and less like yourself.
In the podcast, Laura shares a powerful story of a client who began to struggle with work presentations as her voice deepened and lost some of its natural flexibility.
It wasn’t just about sound, it became a question of identity. She no longer felt like herself when she spoke, and that disconnect deeply impacted her confidence at work. Through targeted voice and breath work, Laura helped her not only reclaim vocal tone, but also reconnect with her self-expression.
What Happens to Your Voice in Perimenopause?
According to voice coach and Breathwork facilitator Laura Dumbleton, voice changes are a normal, but often overlooked, part of the midlife journey.
Just like puberty and pregnancy, the perimenopausal transition involves big hormonal shifts. Oestrogen and progesterone levels affect the mucosal lining of the vocal folds, which can impact hydration, pitch, and vocal flexibility. You may notice your voice:
Feels thinner or weaker
Sounds deeper or flatter
Tires more quickly
Loses tonal range or fluidity
These changes, while physiological, can also affect how we feel. Many women report losing confidence in meetings, feeling less like themselves when presenting, or hesitating to express themselves fully, even in personal relationships.
Reclaiming Your Voice: Where Breath Meets Expression
Here's the good news: voice is trainable. And reclaiming it doesn’t mean “sounding professional” it means sounding like you again.
Laura’s approach is centred on breath as the foundation for vocal expression. Because without breath, there is no voice.
When you’re anxious or overwhelmed, your breath gets shallow, and so does your voice. This sends signals to your nervous system that you're not safe, making everything feel harder.
Bringing attention back to the breath can help regulate your nervous system and ground your voice in confidence.
A Simple Practice You Can Try Today: The Kettle Hum ☕
Feel like your voice disappears in the morning? Try this.
“When we're in midlife, you wake up and your voice just doesn't work because your body is stiff and you’re tired. It comes out croaky, deep, inflexible. The hum, while you wait for the kettle to boil, is a game-changer,” Laura shared.
Here’s how:
As your kettle boils (or while your coffee brews), gently hum for 1–2 minutes.
Keep it soft and low… there’s no performance needed here.
Feel the vibration in your chest, your face, your body.
This simple action warms up the vocal cords, brings awareness to your breath, and gently signals to your nervous system that you’re safe. It’s like a sonic stretch.
More Ways to Reconnect with Your Voice & Breath
Try Coherence Breathing: Inhale for a count of 5, exhale for 5. This regulates your nervous system and supports vocal stability… great before meetings or calls.
Speak Aloud Daily: Read something neutral aloud (a dry instruction manual works perfectly). This helps reacquaint your ear with your voice and can lower pitch if you’ve noticed it rising with anxiety.
Anchor Confidence with Awareness: Place your hands just below your throat and say “no, no, no.” Feel the vibration? That’s your vocal sweet spot, your natural voice.
Play with Pitch: Notice how your voice moves. If you tend to flatten or rise (especially under pressure), gently guide your voice toward more dynamic range, think storytelling, not stage performance.
Rediscovering Identity Through Voice
Reclaiming your voice isn’t just about sounding good. It’s about feeling whole.
Our voices are tied to our sense of self and when that shifts (as it often does in perimenopause), it can feel like we’re losing part of ourselves. But it’s never lost, just waiting to be met with curiosity and care.
Voice work isn’t reserved for singers or actors. It’s for anyone ready to feel more at home in their body, more present in their breath, and more honest in their expression.
As Laura reminds us:
“Reclaiming your voice has to be a conscious decision.
You have to ask: What am I reclaiming it for?
Is it confidence, identity, or a sense of power?
Wherever you begin, it starts with breath.”
Ready to Go Deeper?
🎧 Listen to the Full Episode Here:
👉 Reclaiming Your Voice in Midlife – The Strong Bones Coach Podcast
Explore Laura’s Work:
Visit lauradumbleton.co.uk
Follow her on Instagram: @lauradumbleton
Join Laura’s Upcoming Workshop in Edinburgh:
The Art of Being Wildly Yourself
🗓️ Saturday 26th July | 10am–5pm
📍 Edinburgh
🔗 Reserve your spot
A gentle journey from hidden to held – where your authentic self finds safe expression.
Using Breathwork, story, and soul-deep reflection, this soul-nourishing workshop will help you reconnect with your truest self.
You don’t need to be loud. Or brave. Or broken.
You just need to feel a gentle yes in your body.
Before you go remember…
You don’t have to raise your voice to reclaim it.
But you do deserve to feel heard…especially by yourself.
Let this be the first whisper that leads you home.
Until next time… wishing you strength and ease 💖
