Kimberly Williams-Paisley felt shame for losing her voice for 2 years from terrifying health crisis

Kimberly Williams-Paisley opened up about a “terrifying” health crisis.The “Father of the Bride” actress, 53, revealed in a new interview with People that in the fall of 2022 her voice disappeared — and she couldn’t speak louder than a whisper for nearly two years.“I felt trapped in my own body.

There was so much shame involved.I felt invisible,” she said.Williams-Paisley recalled that her voice issues started at an annual fundraiser for Alzheimer’s that she threw with her sister, Ashley Williams.“I put the mic to my mouth, and nothing came out,” she explained.

“It was terrifying.”A few months later, Williams-Paisley was at the premiere of her movie “Dog Gone” in January 2023 and realized the event was too loud for her to do interviews.“I sounded weak, and it’s not how I felt,” she said.“I went into the bathroom and cried, and a couple of friends held my hand.”Williams-Paisley detailed how much she struggled mentally with not being able to speak.“Days when I didn’t want to do anything.

Days when I was extra tired.Cycling anxiety thoughts in the middle of the night.

I wouldn’t say I had clinical depression, but I was sad,” she shared.The “According to Jim” star said she eventually went to the Vanderbilt Voice Center in early 2023 and was diagnosed with muscle tension dysphonia, meaning “the muscles in my neck were tensing up to help my vocal cords hit each other.”Williams-Paisley spent the next year doing treatments like antidepressants, Invisalign braces, a vegan diet, hypnosis and seeing a psychic and astrologer, but her voice still didn’t return, so she isolated herself.“I love dinner parties and being around people, but I didn’t want to go out,” she said.“I couldn’t be a part of the conversation.”“There were days when I grieved and sobbed,” Williams-Paisley continued.

“I wondered, ‘Who am I without my voice?'”Earlier this year, Williams-Paisley returned to Vanderbilt and doctors ...