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Best Medicine- [The Wasted Time Project]

The Wasted Time Project Post 4

Whether you’re a musician or not, music is a big part of our existence on this little planet. If you walked up to someone randomly in the street , you’d probably freak the crap out of them, but (once they’d calmed down and realised you’re not a mugger) you could expect everyone to be able to, at least, give you the title of their favourite song. Most people would be able to tell you a song that reminds them of someone or something significant. Some would be able to tell you a song/album/artist that got them through a particular time in their life. Music really is the best medicine, as it speaks to everyone, there are no side-effects and you can’t be allergic to it. If you’re going through a tough time, struggling with negative thoughts or battling stress, music can do wonders.

Using music in different ways has helped me to power through difficult times, block out negative thoughts and even helped me to accept my emotions and deal with them in a healthy way, rather than a destructive way.

Here are three ways music has helped me and hopefully will help you deal with stress and negativity.

Listen!

Why does it help? When you listen to a playlist of songs that you know, you’re just reliving thoughts, memories and feelings that you associate with those songs- that’s why you chose them in the first place! When you listen to an album in its entirety, you will discover songs that you previously ignored or didn’t initially like and unearth some new emotions or thoughts from these songs. An unfamiliar song can cause you to pay more attention to the lyrics (because you don’t know them) and you can actually take in what the artist is trying to say.

Sing, Sing, Sing (or Play, Play, Play)

Why does it help?: I used to love playing pieces I didn’t have to concentrate to play, as it was just a release, rather than a practise session. However, since me and my instrument had a bit of a falling out, singing became something I did regularly as stress relief. There is something incredibly therapeutic about putting a song on, forgetting the world exists and just singing. I sing songs from musical theatre mostly, because you have a lot to think about when you’re performing them, therefore it can be a good distraction from your negative feelings or you can actually use these feelings to convey the emotion in the song, which is quite a healthy way to acknowledge these feelings. Plus I wanted to be in the West End not too long ago, but was too much of a wimp to do the audition for drama school, so I suppose this is my way of living with that regret. I’ve never pursued singing as a career or done any exams in it, so there are no expectations or pressure- it’s just fun.

Whatever instrument you choose, just spending half an hour playing through a piece or singing your favourite songs without criticism or pressure can be brilliant for relieving stress.