Easy ways to lessen anxiety and stress through music

 

The world we live in today is a very fast-paced and complicated one. As a result, most of us experience anxiety in our lives. It is important to address this and ensure that we take care of ourselves and prevent burn out.

Here are five ways you can ease anxiety and stress in your life:

 

Listen to music

Most of us listen to music regularly, whether it is in the form of listening to the radio, putting on a CD, or streaming music off a platform. Research has shown that listening to relaxing music can decrease our biological stress responses (Thoma, 2013).

Being intentional in choosing what music we listen to can help with our mood and mental state. It would be helpful to have a playlist of music that we find relaxing to listen to at the end of a busy and stressful day, or when we are feeling overwhelmed by all that is going on.

 

Learn an instrument

Many of my students, whether adult or younger students, often come into their lessons telling me that they are stressed or frustrated by something but leave feeling much more relaxed and refreshed.

When you are focused on learning a completely different skill, your mind is temporarily distracted from the problems and stressors that you are thinking about and dealing with. Not only does playing an instrument provide you with relief from stress, it also helps train both sides of your brain and teaches you different skills, both mentally and physically (Stoklosa, 2016).

 

Join a choir, band, or orchestra

Playing an instrument or singing provides you with the same relief from stress while exercising your brain. However, some people find learning an instrument or solo singing to be stressful in a different way – there’s the pressure of needing to practice, and some people feel nervous about playing in front of their teacher.

Singing in a choir or playing in a band or orchestra means that you are not performing alone, and that you have the support of all your fellow musicians if you have less experience or did not have as much time to practice during the week. There is also the added bonus of having plenty of opportunities to make new friends and create meaningful and supportive friendships to help you deal with the anxiety you are experiencing, even outside rehearsal times.

 

Join a community drum circle

If you like the idea of doing music with a group of people, but singing or playing in a band/orchestra is not quite your thing, it might be a good idea to see if there are any community drum circles in your area. Drum circles are similar to choirs, since it involves playing with a group of people, but also provide a physical way to release pent up negative emotions.

 

Music therapy

Last but not least, we would definitely recommend looking into music therapy if your anxiety and stress is becoming too overwhelming.

Music therapists are trained to use music as a tool to improve your mental and physical well-being, and we can create a unique plan to help you with dealing with the anxiety that you may be feeling. From simply helping you find relaxing music, to songwriting, to learning a new instrument, we are able to help you find what works best for you. Contact us to set up a consultation.

 

Resources

Stoklosa, Anne R.. “Instruments of Knowledge: Music and the Brain.” The Review: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Research 17 (2016): -. Web. [April 25, 2022].

Thoma, Myriam V et al. “The effect of music on the human stress response.” PloS one vol. 8,8 e70156. 5 Aug. 2013, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0070156