Artwork by Yujin Lee
Whether it’s lofi music, Korean music, American music, or music from any other country around the world, we’ve all, at one point, sat and listened to music for a certain period of time. We all may have just plugged our earphones in and listened to some music without thinking about how impactful music is on our mentality.
Think about a time when you felt stressed, anxious, and/or not in the best mood in general. What did you do to make yourself feel better? I asked this question to several of my peers, and a majority of them said the same ansewr. “I listened to music”. Music can come in so many differing shapes, forms, and styles. There’s not just one “type of music” that boosts ones mentality. Being able to exit the real world for a minute and listening to music while appreciating what’s around you can be a reliable method to boosting our mentality.
Music is a pathway that allows for us to “escape”. It puts all of our troubles and worries aside, and allows for us to enter a world where the story is being told to us, directly through our ears and into our bodies. Based on the responses I’ve received from my peers, music can make us feel so many different things. Peer A mentioned that music makes her feel lighter and happier. Peer B mentioned that music makes her feel motivated, and Peer C mentioned that music makes him feel a sense of motivation to keep moving forwards, regardless of what setbacks arise. To me, music makes me feel energized and ready to conquer any challenges that may arise at any moment. Regardless of how I was feeling earlier in the day.
As it can be noticed, there are countless different ways music can impact an individual. There is no “one way” that music is being unlocked in our bodies. Simply listening to music unlocks countless feelings, however, producing or making music can also be a way to boosting our mentality. Whether it’s taking music on a professional track and making songs to be released to the public, or simply sitting on your bed messing around with garage band, producing and making your own music can be a strong way of boosting your well-being.
Music is a form of art, and art can be expressed in infinite numbers of ways. Pouring out your emotions through producing and creating music can be one of the most stress-relieving and effective ways to building your mentality. Sometimes, others’ music isn’t enough. It doesn’t “fit” to how we are feeling. Hence, sitting and pouring your emotions and how you view the world in that moment into a song can really be a top method of enhancing your well-being to move forward.
A method of using music to relieve my stress and improve my mental health is by creating “mood-based” playlists. I create a playlist for when I’m happy, sad, mad, confused, tired, stressed, etc, and they’re all just sitting in my account, ready to be played whenever I feel like it. Having these music playlists keeps my emotions organized and ready to be conquered when needed. This is one stragegy I use to apply music to my mentality, and there are countless other ways in which each individual can do so. As mentioned, music is a form of art and has no limit. How you approach it can be up to you. But in the end, music can really help boost anyone’s mentallity and individual well-being for the greater good.
Comments