The topic of mental health is becoming more and more relevant in today’s society. Lots of us look for answers about how we can improve our mental state, particularly with conditions such as anxiety and depression becoming frequent parts of our lives. Music has long been considered as a way to help keep those demons in our consciousness away, and there are many different ways in which it can be used to great positive effect.
A 2011 study found that music releases dopamine, the chemical that makes you feel good, when we listen to it, or play it ourselves. It has been discovered that the release of dopamine is increased by 9% when people are listening to music that they love.
Typically, music has been used as a way of dealing with conditions such as depression, addiction, trauma, and grief. Most people who have these pent up, heavy emotions find solace in music as it provides us with an anchor to link our emotions to, and a way to let out all these emotions that might be too difficult to otherwise comprehend or deal with.
People who suffer with anxiety have also been known to use music as a calming agent, with classical or easy listening described as the most popular genres in these situations. Although this might be expected, most people with anxiety are advised to stay away from heavy rock or any genre that might cause a rise in heart rate or stress. This can sometimes not be the case, as some tend to find comfort in a song’s lyrical content rather than the music, as they can relate to the song writing, so the type of music becomes irrelevant in this case.
Notably, there are five ways that music can help with any mental health issues that we may be facing, according to experts in the field. These are: elevates mood and motivation, reduces stress, improves focus, helps relaxation, reduces anxiety and depression. Most of these are common and well-known positives for using music to support mental health but it is useful to know exactly why music is so key for our mental states to remain healthy.
Using music as a way to channel emotions and thoughts can also clear our mental slate and make something beautiful out of something that we can only see as negative. Meanings can be said without words through music, by letting the emotive nature of sound and melody say what we can’t. Music and grief are a combination that come together quite naturally as a way to deal with overriding feelings that cannot be articulated purely through speech or action, allowing us to grow and discover our hidden strength as human beings and as people with real, valid feelings.
Music has become therapeutic for many who use it to support their mental health. As such, music therapy is now a distinctive branch of therapy in itself. The British Association of Music Therapy, or BAMT for short, is the body for music therapy in the UK, and provides both professionals and individuals with information, support, training and access to therapists who can provide treatment for mental health through music. They are fully trained professionals, who must be registered and regulated by the Health and Care Professions Council, with a masters degree in music therapy.
This training allows them to tailor their sessions to the individuals, and work in a specific way that suits people with certain conditions.
We spoke to some music therapists from the North West about why music therapy is so important to supporting the mental health crisis we are facing in society right now.
Sarah Morgan is a music therapist based near Preston who specialises in dementia and brain injury therapy. She says that people are starting to recognise mental illness as something that everyone experiences at one time or another in their life, and that it therefore shouldn’t have the stigma that it does. She also talks about how therapeutic we all find music, whether it be in an actual therapy session, or just by listening to our favourite songs when we aren’t feeling quite ourselves. You can see my chat with Sarah and hear more of her comments in the clip below.
Mary Clayton, a music therapist from Music Place North-West, in Liverpool, says that that it is key for people to have the access to music therapy but it can be difficult, whether due to money, or accessing the right support at the right time. She also highlighted that music is a much easier way for people to articulate their emotions when they are too strong or tough to verbally express. “We’ve all been through a collective trauma, and music can help us with dealing with it,” she says, concerning the coronavirus pandemic. “Music therapy provides a unique format for people to have unspoken connections with others and find a way to get across that communication barrier.”
Both therapists made clear that there has been so much research done on the subject, so now there is scientific proof that music does have a significant and positive impact on the mind. “According to neuroscience, music has been shown to light up certain areas of the brain and stimulate it in a different way to other art forms, which shows it can act as a tool in treating some neurological conditions,” Mary says.
It is clear that music is a crucial device that can be used to help people with their mental health and that access to it and therapy which uses it is vital. However, the funding of specialist service such as these are under a lot of strain, as both Mary and Sarah highlighted during our conversations. “Music therapy needs more funding,” Mary tells me, “And at the moment it can’t always be accessed by those who need it, especially given the impact of the last two years.”
One of the things that Mary finds so special about music therapy is the way it focuses on a person’s well-being, and she knows how important it is that that is considered when treating someone with a mental health condition. Mary summed up the usefulness of music therapy in this comment: “Music is so comprehensive, it has many styles, genres, moods, harmonies. It has so many different applications that you can draw from it. There is a lot of flexibility, and less limits than with words.”
Music is always going to be crucial to mental health, and it seems like music therapy is becoming an increasingly popular way of getting treatment, or just using music to help calm yourself when you are feeling overwhelmed or stressed with life.
Do you use music to help with your mental health, or with stress and anxiety? Let us know. You can visit www.bamt.org to find a music therapist near you.
