Photo by Mohammad Metri on Unsplash

Music is one of many art forms that is considered therapeutic. The harmonious sound comes in numerous forms such as Roc, Jazz, western classical, country, and hip hop

Certain people listen to songs superficially, just enjoying the rhythm and beats, while others listen till it raises them to the point of ecstasy.

We all know how excited we become when we meet people that love our taste of music, and we are often filled with so much joy when listening to songs we love.

Researchers have discovered the sanative potential of melodic harmony, leading them to recommend music during therapy. Therapists may tell you to listen to a soothing song when you feel down because it acts as an antidepressant pill.

Good music can heal our heart from the pain it has been burdened with and prevent our mind from plummeting into a deep dark place. You could find it relaxing to use songs as a coping mechanism for anxiety disorder ― We relieve different emotions when listening to music.

When the day is gloomy, we listen to music to forget all the difficulties of life. Soothing music has the power to influence our day, making it better. These symphonious tunes take away our besetting loneliness and give us hope.

Studies show that people who classify their personality as “openness to experience” often encounter music exceptionally. When listening to a song, particularly the one they love the most, they usually have a heightened, emotionally intense level, which leaves them breathless.

Music is quite valuable to some creatives because it gives inspiration. Creatives like filmmakers use music to express their message in a particular scene. A symphony is useful in the creative field because it has the power to provoke inspiring thoughts.

A melodic tune can make us fall in love when we despair. Likewise, a particular lyric may remind us of a past lover. We may decide to listen to romantic songs when we are in love or slow, sad songs when we are unhappy.

Music, as they say, is the doctor of the mind and soul. Good and soothing songs can imprint an impression on us that may change our outlook towards life.

As the pitch and rhythm resonate with how one feels within oneself, man will feel a sense of transcendence. His heart will cling to the song’s pace and feel emotions he has held on to for so long. A lovely harmony can take us to a place that will break all our defenses, leaving us vulnerable.

Influencing our moods

Many musicians use their music as a form of therapy, which may ultimately make the music gloomy and solemn.

The song may be a technique to provide relief to the composer as he expresses his sadness, sorrow, grief, and pain. At the same time, this kind of tune may be harmful to those that are already depressed. This harmony laced with a gloomy tone may be poisonous to an already existing psychological illness.

Music, even when it is not directly stimulating the passions nor inducing depression and discordance, can be harmful owing solely to the fact that it arouses and nourishes an excessive state of emotion which, when it is not transmuted into constructive activity, weakens the character

The composer aims not to impose his pain or grief on others but rather free himself of his melancholic sensibility. Ordinarily, you may think people with depression will steer clear of songs that negatively affects their mood, but such is not the case.

Such a person becomes emotionally dependent or emotionally addicted to songs that reflect how they feel. Although this type of tune will aggravate their depression, they rely on this music as a coping mechanism — almost like an addiction.

Other studies confirm the fact that people with depression are not always able to effectively select music that helps them to feel better (Wilhelm et al., 2013; Hense et al., 2014). They may also use music as part of generally unhealthy coping strategies such as emotion-focused coping (Miranda et al., 2012), rumination (Garrido and Schubert, 2013), or social withdrawal.

Research has shown that people use sad music to cope with their feelings rather than change them. Studies also show that some people pick songs that mirrors how they feel for some form of validation. This same study shows some particular set of people that deliberately choose sad songs to elevate their preexisting depressed state.

We have seen that people make terrible listening choices for different reasons. For some people, the feelings they develop when listening to songs have become addictive.

This apparent addictive pattern is the same as substituting music for other harmful coping mechanisms. The tune makes them feel worse, but they instead welcome the pain it brings than stop listening.

Different individuals contend that listening to sad songs in their depressed state makes them feel better. The melancholy tune provides relief that would last for as long as the music plays.

Further reasons people give for staying hooked are the lyrics. The lyrics draw them in, leaving them to float with so many emotions at once. They resonate with the lyrics, which makes them feel better knowing someone understands.

Most of these reasons do not bring forth a positive outcome, but surprisingly, depressed people lean hopelessly on sad songs, especially when they are at the peak of their miserable state.

Although it appears that people with depression are most likely to use music to intensify a negative mood, they are also the least aware of this tendency. A finding further explains this fact that an individual can become aware of unhelpful listening habits, but can lose that awareness when in a depressive state and revert to intensifying strategies.

Every so often, people with depression do not realize their taste of music contributes to and intensifies their depressive mood. Music brings joy and peace to the heart, but we must be cautious when picking songs to listen to, especially when our mental state is vulnerable.

When we realize our moods are dependent on the songs we listen to, it is imperative to look for other healthy coping mechanisms so we can become better versions of ourselves.

I recommend listening to classical music when feeling down, but you can search for other soothing and calm songs you find more appealing.

Links to all quotes

1. Music Use for Mood Regulation: Self-Awareness and Conscious Listening Choices in Young People With Tendencies to Depression (nih.gov)
2. Music in Human Life | Origin | Importance | Makes Creative (targetstudy.com)
3. The power of music: how it can benefit health (medicalnewstoday.com)
4. Big Five personality traits — Wikipedia