In light of May being Mental Health Month, I decided to share a piece of my life.
Hope somebody will learn from this.
Music is a combination of sounds and silences pleasant to the ear. Not a day goes by without me listening to music. The same applies to most people around me. Coincidentally, or not, music is part of our daily routine. Music has been known to be a powerful form of expression and a source of comfort for many people. Just like any other medium, music can also have a negative impact on mental health. Through research, I have discovered the adverse negative effects music has on a person’s mental health.
Negative music is songs or genres that focus on themes of sadness, anger, despair(negative emotions)Violence, drug use, and harmful behaviors. Music that has a negative impact on a listener’s mental, emotional, or behavioral well-being.
Music elicits different emotions, consequently, influencing our mood. When we listen to music, our brain releases neurochemicals such as dopamine and serotonin associated with; pleasure, motivation, focus, anxiety, sleep patterns, mood, and stress regulation. After completing high school, I listened to a lot of emo/sad songs. Funny enough, every time something upsetting/annoying happened, my first instinct was to grab my earphones and blast music into my ears. ‘I’m shutting everything out’, I thought to myself. Truth is, things got worse. Weeks went by and so did the cycle. I became irritable and lost the simple joy of life. I turned to other unhealthy coping habits(will not mention) but it all began with listening to a sad/negative melody and lyric, which in turn affected my moods.
According to an article by Embark Behavioral Health, music can intensify depression and even anxiety by influencing our thoughts and perspective. Some genres, specifically those with violent lyrics, promote negative attitudes, aggression, and sometimes self-destructive behaviors. Constant exposure can make a person develop a negative mindset, leading to increased depressive symptoms, low self-esteem, or a distorted sense of reality.
The illusory truth effect, is “ hearing or reading a claim, especially repeatedly, makes you more likely to think it’s true”. According to the ‘Illusory truth effect’, if you continually hear a claim, even though false, you are more likely to take it as the truth.
How many songs do we listen to that are untrue or illusionary? An example: Ariana Grande’s ‘God is a Woman’?. It’s perilous because you may believe a lie due to repeated exposure. This is why we need to be careful when selecting the music we listen to.
Expose yourself to music that builds your confidence, refreshes your soul, and enriches your life. Choose to listen to words that build up your personality. Be careful since music can easily help in ruining your perception and life outlook.
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