Copyright 2019 © All Right Reserved Living on the B-Side | Website Designed by Tracey White
I don’t have to tell you the impact a band, solo artist, genre of music or song can have on us. Music can truly touch our hearts, make us feel many emotions and enrich our lives overall.
Yet, how often do you stop and ponder how you use music in your daily life? Do you listen mindfully? Are you present, or does it become a ‘soundtrack for the background’ often? 🤔
In this blog post, I want to shed light on how your favourite songs can influence your emotions and how these songs can be a tool for self-refection and discovery. I will also share how you can start to understand your musical habits and use it with more intensions.
The impact music has on us is more than a collection of sounds, it is a powerful too that makes you feel a wide range of emotions.
This can be an upbeat song to make you want to get up and dance or a more sad or sombre melody of a ballad that can make you cry. Music has an enormous impact on your emotional wellbeing. 🌿
The starting point is the here and now; what music do you currently listen to? I have put together some questions that can help you make a start with this process:
As with anything else we want to be better at and improve, it starts with awareness, intention, and being present. That will lead to more engagement when you listen to songs and decrease the time you passively consume it. Some mindful music listening benefits are:
Better emotional awareness: The more you pay attention to how music affects you, the more you can gain insight into your emotional state. 💞
Reduces stress: Allowing yourself to focus on music regularly can be meditation, which helps reduce stress and anxiety. 😎
Increase your appreciation for music: Mindful listening can help you find additional aspects of familiar songs/artist and hence deepen your appreciation for music. 😊
Better mood regulation: If you can choose music based on our emotional needs by becoming more conscious about it, you can regulate your mood more effectively by using music. 🤗
A bit of research for your information
It is exciting to see all the new research being conducted to understand the immense power music has in our lives. Whilst us music lovers already ‘know’ this, having scientific backup and confirmation makes it even better.
For the impact of music on our emotions and mental health, I wanted to share one study that shows both the negative and positive influence music can have on us.
The study, published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, found that:
“… anxiety and neuroticism were higher in participants who tended to listen to sad or aggressive music to express negative feelings, particularly in males. “This style of listening results in the feeling of expression of negative feelings, not necessarily improving the negative mood,” says Dr. Suvi Saarikallio, co-author of the study and developer of the Music in Mood Regulation (MMR) test.”
On the other hand, the study also revealed that:
“In females who tended to listen to music to distract from negative feelings, however, there was increased activity in the mPFC. “The mPFC is active during emotion regulation,” according to prof. Elvira Brattico, the senior author of the study. “These results show a link between music listening styles and mPFC activation, which could mean that certain listening styles have long-term effects on the brain.”
The findings in this study highlight the complexity of our music listening habits and emotional wellbeing and draw attention to the importance of being mindful about how we use music in our daily lives.
Link to study: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/10/151022094959.htm
I regularly share songs or artists that have a massive influence in my life on my website. I believe that this blog post I have written about the song ‘Wild Flowers’ by RM (of BTS) showcases the amazing power one song can have on us, our emotions and wellbeing very well.
It helped me overcome a darkness that I fell into in early 2023. It was a time of loss, external effects on my life and living through a time when my emotions were these creepy and nasty voices that I could not silence. My whole wellbeing suffered badly; I was unsure how to get out of this darkness.
Then I discovered this song and slowly my emotional state changed. I was able to find my way back into the light and my whole being started to feel better.
If you want to read and listen to the song, you can find it here: Wild flowers.
I have shared a lot about how music affects your emotions, and I feel now it is time for you to explore how you can use your favourite songs for self-reflection and discovery.
Now that you have a better understanding of how music affects your emotions, let’s explore how you can use your favourite songs for self-reflection and discovery.
Here are some tips to get you started:
Create a playlist: Put together a playlist of songs that make you feel different emotions. I recommend using a mix of different genres and tempos.
Start to reflect on how you feel: Whilst you listen to the songs, take note of how they make you feel. Preferably, write down anything that comes up for thoughts, emotions, or anything else. 🔀
Look for patterns: What are your emotional responses? Can you see a pattern emerge? Do certain types of songs or tempos bring up specific emotions? 🤔
Use Music Intentionally: With this newfound knowledge, you can start to create playlists for different moods or situations. Examples are for motivation, relaxation, workout or work. 🧐
If you would like to learn more how to build your listening skills and habits and the impact Music has on your emotions, I have created a short eBook about 5 little know music strategies to help you with your busy life!
The eBook is part of my email community freebie, don’t forget to grab your copy. I would love to welcome you to the B Side.
By joining my list, you will receive regular updates, tips and other content to help you harness the power of music in your life. I would like for you to be part of this amazing community who wants to make the world a better place, one song at a time.
I truly believe that music is a powerful tool to use for self-reflection and discovery, especially around our emotions. By spending more time looking at your music listening habits and the impact on your emotions, you can not only gain insight into yourself but also become more intentional in how you use music in your everyday life.
Love Music? Love expressing your life through it? Awesome, you are at the right place. It’s all about using songs/artists to share what we’ve experience in life.
Copyright 2019 © All Right Reserved Living on the B-Side | Website Designed by Tracey White