One of the most important skills to have when it comes to communication is emotional intelligence. This gives you the ability to be aware of the emotions that you and the people you are communicating with have, and to empathize with the emotions of others. Working through your own emotions is a great way to increase emotional awareness. During a therapy session, your music therapist may use different techniques in order to help you work through your emotions. One of the ways to do so is by listening to music and then discussing the memories or emotions that the song brings up. More active approaches to releasing emotion include writing song lyrics or singing; both of these methods can allow a patient to process emotions in a less direct way if needed.
David Barlow, Ph.D., founder and director emeritus of the Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders at Boston University, believes that anxiety and depression are intertwined. “Anxiety is a kind of looking to the future, seeing dangerous things that might happen in the next hour, day or weeks. Depression is all that with the addition of ‘I really don’t think I’m going to be able to cope with this, maybe I’ll just give up.’ It’s shutdown marked by mental, cognitive or behavioral slowing,†explained Barlow.
Salivary free cortisol was determined by using a commercial chemiluminescence immunoassay . All samples of one subject were analyzed in the same run to reduce error variance caused by imprecision of the intraassay. Activity in sAA was analyzed using the microplate reader Synergy HT Multi-Mode and adapted assay kits obtained from Roche. When it comes to lowering anxiety, the stakes couldn't be higher.
“Music is an incredibly complex stimulus—the most multifaceted in nature for the brain to process,†says music therapist Tim Ringgold, MT-BC, director of Sonic Divinity Music Therapy Services in Orange, California. Listening to music involves several regions of the brain, including those that affect emotion, cognition, sensation and movement. So it stands to reason that it could also help treat issues in all those areas. Apart from helping you recover from stress physically, playing music can actually help take your mind off of your triggers. Many people who play music find it takes them to a meditative state, helping them forget their troubles for a while while they focus entirely on what they’re playing. Getting away from what stresses you, even if you’re only putting it out of your mind temporarily, can be a huge help in lowering the amount of stress and anxiety you’re coping with.
Children or adults with anxiety may have difficulty falling asleep at night, especially when worry and fear engulf them in the darkness. The links below each open relaxing musical selections in YouTube. If you have an anxiety disorder or just the occasional feeling of anxiety, consider deep breathing to help soothe your worries. Listening to your favorite music has more benefits than you realize. Doctors may refer to the parasympathetic side as “rest and digest,†since it takes care of things when the body is at rest, while sympathetic is “fight or flight,†in charge of the body in motion. Music may be one way to help manage them and their troublemaking.
If you’re not sure where to start, look for music that plays at about 60 beats per minute. Researchers say that this tempo is best for encouraging the alpha brainwaves that signal a relaxed and conscious mind. Research shows that listening to happier music can make you feel happier, especially if you try to lift your mood while listening. There’s also evidence that formal music therapy can help with depression when used alongside other therapies. Music therapy offers people a creative and accessible way of expressing their feelings and processing their experiences.
Classical and meditation music offer the greatest mood-boosting benefits, while heavy metal and techno music are ineffective and even detrimental. The researchers suggest that music and lighting help create a more relaxed setting. Since the participants were more relaxed and comfortable, they may have consumed their food more slowly and have been more aware of when they began to feel full. One of the most surprising psychological benefits of music is that it might be a helpful weight-loss tool. If you are trying to lose weight, listening to mellow music and dimming the lights might help you achieve your goals.
Music therapy also had significant benefit in preventing burnout in operating room staff. A 6-week study showed that after having access to 30-minute music listening sessions each day at work for a month, staff reported decreased stress levels and less emotional exhaustion. Ongoing or chronic stress can lead to developing an anxiety disorder, depression, chronic pain, and more.
Music has been widely studied and revered throughout human history for its ability to both entertain and heal. Countless experts have investigated how listening to music can potentially have therapeutic effects on a range of mental and physical health conditions, or just as a way to cope with everyday life. If you’re feeling anxious or stressed, calming music can help to settle your mind. Several studies have shown that when people undergoing surgery hear calming music, they have lower blood pressure and need less pain medication than those who don’t listen to soothing music. Aside from helping with mental health conditions, music therapy also has numerous other benefits, such as providing a creative outlet, expanding knowledge and cultural awareness, and improving cognitive skills such as memory. In addition to lessening acute pain, fall asleep music music can also help decrease chronic pain from recurrent bleeds in muscles and joints.
It’s also important to consider that while music can be a powerful tool for regulating and shifting your emotions, it's not a substitute for mental health treatment. If you have distressing emotional experiences that interfere with your ability to function, consider talking to a licensed mental health professional. The best music for stress reduction is the kind that works for you.