Music therapy has a myriad of different uses and people approach music therapy with many different outcomes in mind. Maybe you are looking into music therapy to help you deal with anxiety or depression, or maybe you are interested in how music therapy can help people dealing with post-traumatic stress. Music therapy can be used to address all these things and more.
This blog post will focus on explaining the emotional effects of music therapy. Not only can music therapy improve your overall mood, but it can also help you to gain better control of your emotions, and find healthy coping mechanisms. Music therapy can offer so many benefits to one’s mental and emotional health. If you are interested in finding new ways to manage your emotions, then music therapy may be a great tool for you to implement.
What effect does music therapy have on your emotions?
Research shows that music can lift our spirits and make us happier even if we are listening to music typically described as “sad.” Music therapy uses all kinds of music to help us process emotions and handle them in a more positive way. Music of all kinds can provide us with a myriad of different solutions to our emotional needs. Upbeat music can make us feel happier and more confident. Slower music can help us to feel more calm, relaxed, or maybe even help us to work through feelings of sadness and depression.
Not only is this true when listening to music, but playing music has a similar, if not more positive, effect on us. When we are playing music, (especially if we are playing with other musicians) we are engaging both physically and mentally, and are more likely to feel the emotional benefits of the music. Music therapy allows us the opportunity to not only use music that is already out there, but to create new music that addresses the emotions we are trying to work through.
How does music therapy help to fight depression?
There is so much research out there to support music therapy as a useful tool in fighting depression. Struggling with any emotional or mental health issue can make one feel less confident or have low self-esteem. Going to music therapy can help you through those times when you feel your self-image is at its lowest. Music therapy helps you to better recognize your own emotions and improve your ability to deal with your emotions.
Thus, music therapy is incredibly useful in fighting depression. Music therapy has been found to increase the effectiveness of antidepressants too. Music therapy has the ability to lower blood pressure, decrease anxiety, and helps to fight depression.
Music therapy works as a source of emotional release for many people. While it can usually be overwhelming or nerve-racking to express certain emotions in a therapy setting, music therapy is a type of therapy that people often find conducive to self-expression. Because you are interacting with music, you are less likely to feel self-conscious or tense– allowing you to better interpret and convey emotions. Doing this regularly can help to decrease your depression.
How can music therapy help you deal with your emotions from day to day?
Music therapy does not only help you when you are in a therapy session. Music therapy is also able to offer you tools that you can use to cope with the complex mix of emotions you experience in your day-to-day life. By working with your music therapist, you can find out what tactics help you feel less anxious or depressed.
Music therapy can help you to work through feelings of frustration. Many people struggling with their mental or emotional health can feel frustrated easily in certain situations. By learning relaxation techniques and gathering other tools like this with your music therapist, you can construct a plan to help you through possible anxiety attacks or other triggering situations you might experience.
Music therapy can also help you to manage the relationships in your life. It can be difficult to juggle the different communities and friendships you are a part of, and for many people, social situations are a source of anxiety. Music therapy can help to reduce social anxiety by improving self-esteem and help us to practice social skills that we can use in our daily lives. Music therapy works wonderfully in a group therapy setting because it gives you the opportunity to address social anxieties you may be having in a relaxed and safe environment.
Music therapy can do so much to help you process and express your emotions. Not only can it help to address specific issues you may be dealing with, but music therapy improves your overall mood as well.
