Embrace Music to Foster Mental Health
Music has been used to heal, communicate, and much more over the centuries. Because of this, it’s no surprise that music can be used to better our mental health. This Psychology Today article, written by Barbara Robles-Ramamurthy MD, explains how we can embrace music to help our mental health.
I grew up in a house where the music never stopped—my dad literally played music all the time, in the house, in the car, at his office, and pretty much everywhere we went. He was always whistling and tapping his hands on surfaces to the rhythm of songs. My sisters and I continued this tradition, playing music on TV or on the radio while getting ready to go to school or while doing our homework. I am no stranger to the soothing, empowering, and sometimes healing power of music. Yet, as a child psychiatrist and public mental health advocate, I rarely see mental health providers and systems incorporating music into their practices. Why would this be?
I spoke with AZA Allsop, a psychiatry resident at Yale and a researcher of music mindfulness as an empowering healing practice. Allsop shared his insights about the powerful effects music can have in our minds and lives. He told m, "Music is one of the most powerful stimulants of the brain and the earliest forms of healing across the globe have always included sound.”
When I do a quick search on the scientific literature of the impact of music therapy in the recovery of patients, hundreds of articles show up, just from publications in the past year. Clinicians and researchers have been studying the benefits of music on the body and the mind, and on clinical recovery. The work shows clinicians are using music for patients including those struggling with mental illness, recovering from a stroke, or dealing with Parkinson’s Disease, and those recovering from surgical procedures and severe burns, among many others. The benefits have also been found in children dealing with or recovering from conditions including Autism Spectrum Disorder, learning disorders, depression, and more.
Music is a tool that fosters collective healing in families and communities, yet many of us have lost our connection to this easily accessible tool. Here are four easy ways we can incorporate music in our daily lives to foster mental health, healing, and connection:
Background music can help your mind relax, focus or enjoy the moment. In a busy world, our minds can go at high speeds for prolonged periods of time, if we let them. Mindfulness, or the practice of learning to be an active participant in your present moment, is a gift from ancient spiritual practices. Community leaders have advocated for increasing the practice of mindfulness as a public health effort to foster community mental health and overall well-being. In schools, this can be easily incorporated by playing relaxing background music while students work or when they need some breathing room, literally and figuratively. At work, music can help us focus by drowning out background noise from co-workers. When cooking, cleaning, or doing other “mundane” activities, music can offer a boost in energy and motivation while allowing our minds to focus on the task at hand.
It's a tool for cultivating mental health and wellness. Music offers an easily accessible boost to our confidence, motivation and empowerment. All of these are important components of our overall mental health and wellness. When you’re feeling down or the weather is gloomy, notice the change in energy when listening to different genres. Listen to your body’s response and strategically use music to support invigorating feelings when you need them.
It can strengthen ethnic pride and empowerment. Racial and ethnic pride have been linked to positive mental health effects in certain communities. Black, Latinx, Indigenous and other communities of color may often struggle to find TV shows, books, or music that represent our cultural backgrounds and values. Music offers an easy way to connect to our home countries and cultures.
It can foster deeper conversations and connections with those you love. If you find a song that moves you, don’t be afraid to play it for someone you love and share what it is about the song that touches you. You may also strategically use background music to invite feelings that may lead to deeper conversations. The memory of these experiences will likely stay in their minds for years to come.
It's a way to encourage judgment-free movement of our bodies. From an early age, most of us learn whether we are “good” or not so good at singing, dancing, sports, etc. Instead of using these judgements when engaging with music, allow your body the freedom to feel, experience, and move as it wishes. You can create a “safe” space of empowerment to be as you are and move as you please that we rarely get to experience. Offer this freedom to your children, observing without commentary how they choose to sing or move to different types of music
Music is a powerful tool that invites us to slow down, look inward, and connect with others. It is surprising that its healing nature is largely absent from modern society. As caregivers seeking to positively impact children, we can use music to expand their horizons, reconnecting with our cultures and spiritual needs—and letting kids choose the music invites them to engage with the experience at a deeper level.