Music Therapy?

There probably is an official therapy called 'music therapy' which for all I know may be used to treat people with anxiety.  I wouldn't be surprised if there is, but if there isn't, I'd love to be the one to introduce it into the treatment library. 

Granted, I should have done some research on this before blogging about it.  Anyone who reads this blog with any frequency will soon get to understand that I don't do this...

Anyway, I say this about music because in my opinion it can be such a good remedy.  Anxiety and depression is all about mood after all, and music is the most incredible tool for changing the way you feel.  These days, if I feel anxious or low and I'm in an appropriate situation, I put my laptop on, turn my speakers (complete with sub-woofer, which to clarify is not a hyperactive dog) on to max and blast the house with severe decibels of my favourite music. 

When I feel anxious or low, I often don't feel like listening to music.  It seems contrary to my mood to put anything on, unless it contains lyrics about sadness and frustration, but I've learnt that, usually, my mood lifts at least a little bit when I stick some of my favourite tracks on.  I am a firm believer in the power that music can have on mood, and I've actually got to the point now where I start judging people I meet from what music they like.  This is an unintended and frankly unwanted consequence of my love of music, but still.

Now, I enjoy listening to a vast array of genres, but my main passion lies in trance music.  By that, I mean a sub-genre of dance music and not music that could be mistaken for a complimentary form of hypnotherapy.  I accept that trance is often seen as an accompaniment to get people high on their favourite drug, but I love it for the music itself; so much passion and expression can come out in a trance song and because of the nature of its pace and drive it can really uplift your mood.  I don't want this blog to turn into something that attempts to sell trance but it gets a lot of bad press before people have actually delved into it.  Whatever, it works for me.

And I haven't yet turned to drugs. 

But the genre is irrelevant; everyone has their own favourite genre and favourite song.  My suggestion is to stick it on, loudly, next time you feel like crying or are in the early stages of a panic attack.  I've found that the less you feel like listening to it, the more it can help.

Best wishes
Al