How Hearing Your Own Voice Heals, Empowers, and Helps You Overcome Fear
There is something powerful that happens when your words land on the page. The awareness is crucial. If you haven’t read the first blog in this series, go HERE to read. Writing is the first release.
The next step, reading your words out loud to yourself, is an energetic activation.
In the Brave Story Medicine™ method, Step 2 is simple, yet deeply transformational:
Read your words out loud to yourself.
This step is where healing begins to move from the mind into the body.
It’s where awareness becomes embodiment.
It’s where fear starts to loosen its grip.
If Step 1 (Journaling) is about telling the truth, Step 2 is about hearing yourself tell it.
And that changes everything.
I remember one of the first times I stood in front of a small room of women to share a poem I’d written. It was a safe space, yet I still shook as I prepared to read. My heart pounded in my chest, and I took a few deep breaths to calm myself. After I read the poem, I felt a flush of warmth fill my chest and face. I looked up to see smiles and hear clapping. Wow, for me?
It was like I was getting visceral permission to continue writing and sharing.
Why Your Voice Matters in Healing
Your voice carries vibration. Not metaphorically. Literally. Sound waves move through your body. They stimulate your nervous system. They activate memory, emotion, and awareness.
When you read your own words out loud, you’re no longer just thinking your story. You’re witnessing it.
Many people can write hard truths privately. Far fewer can hear themselves say them. That’s why this step is so powerful. When you embody the writing, you live your own truth. Your voice helps you connect with your why.
Your voice does three important things:
- It brings honesty into the present moment
- It reconnects you to your body
- It restores your authority over your story
This is why voice is used in holistic healing, trauma-informed practices, and narrative therapy.
The Science Behind Hearing Your Own Voice
Research in psychology and neuroscience shows that hearing your own voice:
- Activates different neural pathways than silent reading
- Increases emotional processing and memory integration
- Helps regulate the nervous system
When words are spoken, the brain processes them as real events, not just thoughts.
This is why affirmations work better when spoken aloud.
This is why spoken storytelling has been used for healing across cultures.
This is why reading your journal silently and reading it aloud feel completely different.
Your body listens to your voice.
Step 2 of Brave Story Medicine™: Read It Out Loud to Yourself
Here’s how this step works. You take what you wrote in Step 1.
Then you:
- Find a quiet space
- Sit or stand comfortably
- Read slowly
- Breathe between sentences
- Listen to yourself
No performing. No fixing. No judging. Just listening. This is not about sounding good. It’s about being honest.
What Happens When You Hear Yourself Speak Your Truth
Many people are surprised by what comes up during this step.
Some cry.
Some shake.
Some feel relief.
Some feel fear.
Some feel power.
All of it is welcome.
Have you ever heard, “Your why makes you cry?” I’ll never forget an email I received from an author. I helped her rewrite her bio and asked her to read it out loud. “I’m in tears,” she wrote. “This is finally the true me!”
Common experiences include:
- Hearing emotions you didn’t know were there
- Noticing where your voice tightens or softens
- Realizing which words feel true and which feel forced
- Feeling compassion for yourself
- Feeling braver than you expected
This is awareness. Your voice becomes a mirror and a powerful awareness tool.
Overcoming the Fear of Hearing Your Own Voice
Let’s be honest. Many people hate the sound of their own voice. I, for one, have a lot of trouble watching any interview I’ve done and hearing my own voice. I avoid it at all costs.
I’ve said things like:
- “I sound stupid.”
- “I sound weak.”
- “I sound emotional.”
- “I sound annoying.”
This fear is not random. It usually comes from:
- Being silenced earlier in life
- Being told to “calm down” or “be quiet”
- Having your truth dismissed
- Associating your voice with danger or rejection
Reading your words out loud gently challenges those old patterns. You are saying:
“I am safe to hear myself now.”
That is brave medicine.
Voice as Empowerment, Not Performance
This step is not about confidence or charisma.
It is about self-trust. When you hear yourself say something true and survive it, something shifts.
Your nervous system learns:
- I can speak and be safe
- I can hear myself and stay grounded
- My truth doesn’t destroy me
That is empowerment at the most basic level.
This is why this step is essential for:
- Book-writing
- How to write a book that feels authentic
- Healing shame
- Preparing to self-publish
- Speaking your story publicly
- Business-building rooted in integrity
- Creating authentic relationships with prospective clients
Your voice is the bridge between inner truth and outer expression.
Why This Step Matters for Book-Writing and Self-Publishing
If you want to write a book that heals others, you must first feel safe in your own body.
Reading your words out loud helps you:
- Catch where you are writing to impress instead of express
- Hear where your story feels alive
- Identify what belongs in your book
- Build confidence in your message
- Prepare for readings, interviews, and promotion
If you can hear yourself say it privately, you can share it publicly when the time is right. And we’ll get to that in our Step 3 blog!
Voice, Community-Building, and Brave Expression
Your voice is not just personal. It’s relational.
When you practice hearing yourself with compassion, you show up differently in community.
You:
- Speak more clearly
- Set boundaries more easily
- Share your ideas without shrinking
- Lead with presence
This is why voice work is foundational for:
- Community-building
- Facilitating groups
- Leading book-writing retreats
- Hosting healing spaces
- Business-building that feels aligned
People don’t connect to perfection. They connect to presence. And presence starts with listening to yourself. When I’m preparing for a talk I’ll usually read what I’ve prepared out loud to myself two to three times. It’s honestly the best editing tool any writer will ever use.
A Simple Brave Story Medicine™ Voice Practice
Try this short practice today.
- Open your journal.
- Choose one paragraph you wrote recently.
- Place one hand on your chest.
- Take a slow breath.
- Read the paragraph out loud.
- Pause.
- Notice what you feel in your body.
Ask yourself:
- Where did my voice soften?
- Where did it tighten?
- What sentence felt most true?
That’s awareness. You don’t need to analyze it. Just notice.
This Is Not About Fixing Yourself
This step is not about changing your story. It’s about meeting yourself inside it.
When you read your words out loud:
- You become the witness
- You become the listener
- You become the compassionate presence you may have needed before
That is deeply healing.
This is how Brave Story Medicine™ works—quietly and deeply.
How This Step Prepares You for the Next Ones
Step 2 builds courage.
It prepares you for:
- Sharing your story with others
- Refining your narrative
- Claiming your voice publicly
- Using your story for impact
Whether you’re writing a book, building a business, or healing your past, this step creates stability.
You learn:
“I can hear myself. I can trust myself.”
That is the foundation of everything that follows.
Key Takeaways
- Your voice carries healing vibration
- Hearing your own words activates awareness and embodiment
- Reading aloud builds courage and self-trust
- This step helps overcome fear and shame
- Voice work strengthens book-writing and self-publishing
- Empowerment begins with listening to yourself
- Brave Story Medicine™ works gently, not forcefully
Brave Reminder
You don’t need to sound perfect. You just need to sound true. Your voice already knows the way.
Reach out to us to learn about any of our writing or publishing programs! We can’t wait to help you share your words out loud!
