Can Music Improve Your Mental Health?

There are very few bigger joys in life than music but did you know that listening to your favourite songs can have a positive effect on your mental health? 

1. It increases motivation

When you’re feeling unmotivated, sometimes all you have to do is put an upbeat song on a speaker. Music has a similar effect on us like sex, food or drugs – when we listen to a song we like, our brain releases a feel-good chemical called dopamine that gives us enough rush to keep going.  

2. It can help with mental health issues

 Music isn’t called an ‘escape’ for no reason. If you’re feeling down, the right tune can help you replace negative emotions with positive ones. Thanks to the effect of dopamine, music reduces stress and improves your well-being. In addition, music therapy is a treatment of choice for a lot of people suffering from depression or anxiety. The therapy involves listening to music, as well as encourages using it for self-expression. When words fail you, you can always rely on lyrics to convey how you feel, which can be therapeutic enough to help you process some of your negative emotions. Paired with more traditional forms of treatment, music therapy has been found to successfully treat depression. [1]  
 

3. It makes you feel understood

 If you don’t have any friends you can talk to in a crisis, listening to songs that you relate to can be very helpful. When you don’t feel like you’re alone with your feelings, it’s easier to process them and overcome adversities. Interestingly, previous studies have found that depressed people prefer listening to sad music, which appears to be a coping method as it has a calming effect and improves their mood as a result. [2] 

4. It improves your confidence

 Finding a song that makes you feel like you’re unstoppable is half of the success but did you know that listening to two tones with slightly different frequencies can boost your confidence in the long run? Binaural beats are an auditory illusion that has surprising benefits. Since listening to the beats improves relaxation, being in a relaxed state allows you to cultivate positive thinking and if done regularly, it eventually becomes a habit that turns you into a more confident person as result.  

 While music can do wonders for your mental health, it’s always worth seeking professional help. Contact My Family Psychologist to see how we can help  

 [1] https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/the-british-journal-of-psychiatry/article/individual-music-therapy-for-depression-randomised-controlled-trial/A1CD72904929CECCB956F4F3B09605AF 

 [2] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0956797615583295