How music helps to cope with Mental illness

For most people, music is a consequential part of daily life. Some rely on music to get them through the morning commute, while others turn up a favorite playlist to stay pumped during a workout. Many folks even have the stereo on when they’re cooking a repast, taking a shower, or folding the laundry.

Music is often linked to mood. A certain musical composition can make us feel ecstatic, woebegone, energetic, or relaxed. Because music can have such an impact on a person’s mindset and personality, it is evident why music therapy has been studied for use in managing numerous medical conditions. It doesn’t matter if you love metal, pop or EDM, music can help your mood and help you cope with (or even take control of) tricky emotions.

Both heedfully auricular discerning and engendering music can have sundry positive effects on mood and noetic health. Incorporating music into your everyday life can help elevate the mood, aid relaxation and increase the efficiency of the brain processing.

Research shows the benefits of music therapy for various mental health conditions, including depression, trauma, and schizophrenia (to name a few). So what is Music therapy?

Music therapy is a non-verbal approach to the person using instruments and music in general, the use of interventions to accomplish individual goals within a therapeutic relationship by a professional who has completed an approved music therapy program.

https://www.musictherapy.org/about/musictherapy/

Music therapy interventions can be designed to:

• Promote Wellness

• Manage Stress

• Alleviate Pain

• Express Feelings

• Enhance Memory

• Improve Communication

• Promote Physical Rehabilitation

Music therapy for depression:

There are two approaches used while treating depression through music therapy. Active techniques might be used when participants cannot articulate arduous feelings. Here the therapist uses clinical techniques to connect with the patient in an improvised dialogue, which can then act as a springboard to emotional cognizance. Receptive techniques involve the utilization of pre-composed music for relaxation, reflection, guided reminiscence and transmute of mood state.

A personal perspective:

Few people share why they find music so powerful:

“Music shows the diversity in people, for me the most calming of music is Black Metal. It really helps me focus and calms my nerves. But not any people will share my views, I find the growls overpower every other sound and resonate within my mind and grant me clarity” – Omair Saleh Khan

“I have social anxiety, so if I'm alone, i feel pretty awkward and anxious. So music helps me calm down, it’s a good distraction.”- Hiba Rehman

“The best part about music for me are the lyrics, when I can relate to the lyrics it's like I'm in harmony with person singing and the way I feel is not alien and sometimes the lyrics are so amazing and honest and profound that it blows me away and makes me euphoric to think how someone poured what they were feeling like that into words.”- Rimsha Jalil