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Music is something of high importance. It is something so influential that it even transcends language, making it have a large cultural impact across the globe. With cultural impacts, it can also lead to effects regarding mental health, something I will discuss today.

Connections are a thorough source of happiness which can be formed and strengthened through music. Since music is so vast and expansive, many different artists and genres are left under the radar. This gives the opportunity to share your music tastes with friends, family, or even complete strangers to form tighter bonds or build new friendships. According to WebMD, friendships help prevent detrimental concepts such as loneliness while also bringing an intense sense of belonging and purpose. Music helps guide you to more friendships, while also keeping your spirits high along the way by listening to brand new material that you thoroughly enjoy.

These friendships can be reinforced by listening to the same music with one another. I found that going to concerts or listening to a recently released album with friends has become one of the funniest and most enjoyable aspects in my life. Listening to things we found to enjoy and carrying a conversation about it after the fact is something I believe is one of the key aspects of music.

Music can even help you get through even the toughest times of your life. Reminiscing the past is something I always do whenever I feel down, and music plays a significant role in this. Whenever I go back and listen to the music that I adored in the past, it lets my mind represent these tunes as the stages of life that I have gone through. It allows me to recollect the happy moments that I experienced as an individual, rediscovering the little things that shaped the way I am as a person today. It is an experience that I found to be very calming, soothing, and enlightening.

However, through reminiscing about the past with music, there is a chance that you could remind yourself of your lowest points in life. I often listened to somber music during my most difficult moments in life; it was a way to connect my feelings to a song as a form of venting. Looking back at this form of music may seem detrimental on paper, but I noticed that the experience gained from doing this practice has been greatly beneficial for me. It reminds me that even the biggest burdens that I have experienced in life were not enough to stop me from finding joy in life. Looking back at these instances made me feel strong. It motivates me to keep pushing forward, even if challenges will continue to be thrown my way in the future. There have been times that I have cried while looking back at these somber moments, I will admit that. However,

releasing tears in situations like these can greatly boost your mood after the fact. According to the Cleveland Clinic, crying in specific contexts can serve as an emotional cleanse. It is a fantastic way to release stress, even in situations where you do not feel stressed initially. Allowing yourself to cry feels great, and this is something that could be achieved through listening to music.

Citations:

Clinic, Cleveland. “Why You May Feel Better after Crying.” Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland Clinic,16 Nov. 2022, health.clevelandclinic.org/benefits-of-crying.Brennan, Dan. “Psychological

Benefits of Friendship.” WebMD, 25 Oct. 2021, www.webmd.com/mental-

health/psychological-benefits-of-friendship.

Written by Matthew  Garrett

YHELP! Intern Blogger