Music as a mood elevator: get out of those doldrums.
March 29th 2008 23:19
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From Northumberland Today, Ontario:
"When I was a teenager, I used to spend melancholy afternoons, lying on my bed listening to Nirvana's hit Smells Like Teen Spirit and I'm feeling like that now. I know it doesn't do me any good to brood on things but it seems to be a habit I've gotten into, almost like an addiction."
I affirm, "You're right. That's what an addiction is, a way of soothing yourself, but it's counterproductive in the end and dwelling on your misery can be a bit like wallowing in warm dung, familiar and miserable at the same time.
Martin adds, "The more I do it, the deeper I sink, but I know this is not a good way to live. Really, I'd rather be happy, but it's hard to get out of this rut."
I comment, " Your brain likes familiar pathways and you have an old familiar path left over from hanging out with Nirvana in your teen years. If you want to pave a path to happiness, it'll take some time and work."
I remark to Martin that happiness is mostly an inside story, and we all have a familiar "setting," which is more a range than a set-point. Since it's something he has control over, why not hang out at the cheerful end of the range? I ask Martin if he is ready to be happy.
He grins, "Yeah, I'm getting tired of my own gloom. Got any ideas for me?"
"Why not start with music? Music can make you melancholy, but it can also make you happy. That's why bluegrass players call playing their music "pickin and grinnin'."
You get the same effect from exercise. It causes the release of brain chemicals such as serotonin which not only elevate your mood but probably also strengthen your immune system. But the biggest external factor to bring you happiness is socializing. Hanging out with friends brings a feeling of well-being and helps relieve stress, unless they're just as moody as you, of course.
I tell him another powerful technique is to act cheerful even if you have to pretend. In fact, if you make yourself smile, pretty soon you will feel better and your smile will come naturally.
When you smile, people usually smile back, and research has shown smiles, even "phony" ones, can reduce blood pressure.
Even better, find a way to have a belly laugh or two. Belly laughs create healthy positive feelings, as well as turning the immune system up a notch or two.
----------------------------- ----------------------------- ----------------------------- -------------------------
That little extract has highlighted several things about music and the brain and then, again, just simply the brain.
It warns you not to drown in your sorrows and how the brain has its own comfort areas which tend to keep you stuck in your rut.
We know how good exercise is for the brain, and it seems Music can have the same effect releasing serotonin which lifts your mood and strengthens your immune system.
Do you like bluegrass? I do, it's called 'pickin and grinnin" It can lift your mood.
Hang out with your friends and simulate feeling happy, trick yourself into smiling and others will smile with you, roll out those belly laughs even if you don't feel like it.
Thinking about something can have similar beneficial effects to actually doing it.
Intriguing stuff this isn't it? And Music will allow you to turn the key to that mood elevation.
Your comments are welcomed.
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