You’ve probably heard of the runner’s high, where the brain releases endorphins—feel-good chemicals—during a sweaty exercise session. “Patients frequently report decreases in their own perception of pain, anxiety and nausea after a typical 30-minute music therapy session,” says Ringgold. Like most forms of language and expression, music has the power to express a full range of emotions. Studies confirm that music can improve your mood and your sense of self-awareness. Not only that, but the catharsis of playing and feeling your emotions itself can be a powerful release from negative energy.
Professional music therapists will meet your needs on both an emotional and physical level. Overall, music therapy has the ability to change your life and help you manage social anxiety in a beneficial and healthy way. In order to know which styles of music help you reduce stress, start with the ones you like! The musical styles that we find pleasant and pleasing are the ones that have the most positive affect on our emotions and our stress levels. It’s not helpful to force yourself to listen to classical music to relax if you know you hate classical music.
People have used music for its powerful effects on mood and emotions for a long time. There is also evidence to suggest that those undergoing music therapy experience reduced anxiety immediately after the session, which indicates that music therapy could be a convenient way to reduce symptoms quickly. Music therapy does not rely on verbal communication, so it can be better for people who struggle to communicate verbally.
Eric Clapton penned and sang Tears in Heaven, a heartfelt expression of grief after the death of his son. Some people feel that the lyrics and instrumentals of a song can appropriately and succinctly say what they cannot. A song has the capability of sparking a prior memory of where you were when you once heard it. Sweitzer currently runs a therapy group via Zoom for COVID-19 survivors and says that playing music has helped patients open up about their struggles with the virus.
Music heard as a child can become a source of security when listened to as an adult. If music was originally paired with feelings of refuge or safety, it can have strong impact on present day anxiety. Certain songs or lullabies that soothed during childhood child can help an adult block out and ignore anxiety and stressors. Music shows great versatility and can be a powerful outlet for many people. Some individuals have difficulty verbalizing their thoughts and feelings and use music as a means of self-expression.
Finally, the broad majority of previous work has used only one control group , and has not examined whether positive effects of music are due the nature of music itself or due to a calming (non-music) acoustic stimulation. Consequently, the particular effectiveness of music listening on stress cannot yet be determined. It is of great interest that the lowest concentrations of cortisol were observed in the acoustic control condition (i.e. listening to the sound of rippling water).
Surgeons have long played their favorite music to relieve stress in the operating room, and extending music to patients has been linked to improved surgical outcomes. In the past few decades, music therapy has played an increasing role in all facets of healing. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, social anxiety affects more than 15 million adults in the United States alone.
Music has the quality of sharing relatable experiences in a way that allows your burdens to feel recognized and expressed. Chances are, you already have a number of songs that feel like an intimate part of your life. Learning to play these same songs can be a powerful expression of the same feelings. It enables you to get closer to the music than you’ve ever been, which can give you the perfect experience for catharsis and relief. Music can be extremely effective for people who are physically deep sleep or mentally unstable.
Consider the trend centered on meditative music created to soothe the mind and inducing relaxation. According to one study conducted by Harmat, Takács and Bódizs, 94 students with sleep complaints were brought into the lab. The first group listened to classical music at bedtime for 45 minutes for 3 weeks. The second group listened to an audiobook at bedtime for 45 minutes for 3 weeks. A study from Austria’s General Hospital of Salzburg found that patients recovering from back surgery had increased rates of healing and reported less pain when music was incorporated into the standard rehabilitation process.
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.