Using music to calm me down

[Alex]

I'm not sure if this helps people, but I have several playlists that I compile, so that when I feel anxious or a panic attack coming on I can play it and then keep it on repeat. I find it can help, because I have songs that have a feel good factor and remind me of good times. I have several ones; some with good old classics, a classical music one and with soundtracks, and one with lyrics that can inspire such as "I will survive" by Gloria Gaynor. That one always helps me. "Somewhere over the rainbow", and "Moon River" are other ones that can be calming, and i keep them on my iPod.

 

[pwarbi]

For a lot of people that are dealing with anxiety, including myself, music is a big help and is one way to try and forget about your anxiety for a while and helps to calm you down. We are all into different genres of music no doubt, so personally I'm not sure if one form of music is better than another when it comes to the choice of music we listen to, but i know that when I'm feeling particularly anxious or if I've had a bad day, the first thing I do when I get in is put my headphones on and shut the world out, even if it;'s just for an hour, and it helps me to relax enough to get on with he rest of my day.

 

[mauricioq]

Yes, that's actually a technique that works with me too. When I start to feel stressed and anxious music is actually one of the best solutions. I like to listen to instrumentals and slow music in general in order to calm me down.

 

[pwarbi]

Just to touch on another point about using music, while it does help a lot of people (me included) it's important that you don't overuse it, if that makes sense?


Putting your earphones on and blocking out the world is a way to de-stress yourself but you also have to make sure that you don't shy away from the world and live in your own bubble for too long. I got into the habit of listening to music everywhere, not only at home to relax but also when I was out and about and the fact I had my headphones on and the volume turned up meant that I didn't have to speak to anybody and I had an excuse that I could fall back on as to why I was blocking out the things around me.


When we're in our own little bubble or world, we don't have to deal with life, and with a lot of people the anxiety comes because they DO have to deal with life, so listening to music is bound to help the symptoms. The problem is though all you're doing is hiding away,and eventually there will come a time when you DO have to turn the music off and face up to the problems around you.

 

[katjamas]

In my opinion music helps a lot with anxiety, especially if you know what type of music calms you down. For example I like the band Daughter. Sometimes I am so stressed out that I feel like I just want to run away from the place that I am in or faint or do something to not feel the anxiety, but just plugging in my earphones and listening to some songs, sometimes closing my eyes to escape from the stressful scene really helps.

 

[justsayyes]

In my opinion music helps a lot with anxiety' date=' especially if you know what type of music calms you down. For example I like the band Daughter. Sometimes I am so stressed out that I feel like I just want to run away from the place that I am in or faint or do something to not feel the anxiety, but just plugging in my earphones and listening to some songs, sometimes closing my eyes to escape from the stressful scene really helps.[/quote']
Wow i love Daughter too! They are pretty great and so underrated. And i do agree music does help and when i feel anxious i tend to listen to a more upbeat music to get me all pumped up.

 

[joshposh]

Music does sooth the savage beast. I use to put on Tibetan gong music in the background to go to sleep at night. It really helps and you feel rejuvenated after awhile. Music and in my case natural mono tone sounds do help alleviate stress, tension, and anxiety.

 

[Alex]

Actually making the playlists also is a good thing, because it makes me feel good to know I have a 'security blanket' which is why I like to create several play lists. If I am stuck in traffic on the bus, I can play the list one after another and it sees me through to the end of my journey. In some ways the songs or music can trigger feel good moments that can prevent an anxiety attack too.

 

[DeButters94]

Using music to help with anxiety is a fantastic idea! I actually arrive at work twenty minutes early so that I can decompress in the car with some relaxing music. Usually something along the lines of Grateful Dead, Cat Stevens, or Rod Stewart. I find that even listening to my ipod on my breaks help to ease the tension. If anything music has become a security blanket.

 

[bachelor56]

Music definitely helps me calm down and become less anxious. When I listen to music I usually just focus on listening to the music while completing tasks. This helps me also when I am writing things that I need to get done but I can't completely focus on without listening to music.

 

[SirJoe]

Music has been shown over and over that it does alter your mood. Everyone has different types of music they like more that relaxes them. It's up to us to find the type of music that will relax us.

 

[DDNatureLover]

Those sound like nice songs to help you cope. I sometimes use it when I get overwhelmed and need to block out real life events and lift my spirits. I tend to use other methods first, though, and I'm starting to think they're not working all that well, so perhaps I should move music up on my list of coping techniques.

 

[Jemina]

Music is a huge part of how I deal with my anxiety. If I'm feeling scared or worried about something I can use music to help calm me down and while listening to whatever music I've chosen at the time I can write down a list of things I need to get done in order to move forward from the place I'm at which is worrying me at that time. I also find that sometimes just having music on in the background can provide me with the motivation to do things, especially when I'm feeling depressed along with my anxiety. We all have those days where we don't feel like doing a whole lot I'm sure. If I have music on though I find I can usually get the motivation to do things and not waste the day away.


I first began to listen to music as a way of distracting myself from parents arguing. I was able to put my music on and get away from all of that and to another world so that I was able to focus more on getting things like my homework done for school. I've found that since then it's still a motivational tool I can use and have therefore applied it to my anxiety.


I also have playlists, as others have mentioned, and I find they're really useful. I have playlists containing some of my favorite songs, playlists containing motivational and inspirational songs and other playlists of songs for when I need something non-specific on in the background that I know won't put me into a worse mood. I also have playlists of white noise so that when I'm home alone I don't have to feel like the house is quite so silent. That helps me too.

 

[Androlo]

Yes! Music is a massive part of my life and always has been and it's certainly helped me get through the difficult times in my life more than anything else ever has. I'm also a musician myself so music really is my life. As was mentioned above, music can be used as a way to cut yourself off from the world which is not always beneficial but in my case, I have indeed used it to do that at times although in all honesty I do think that doing so helped me get through some incredibly painful and stressful situations that I've been through in life. I often use music to put myself into a better mood and to uplift myself. I listen to heavy music when I'm angry and more uplifting music when I need some positivity. Music has also been scientifically proven to be incredibly good for mind and well-being, regardless of style or genre.

 

[amonda]

I agree that music can be a big help for me personally at least, but not always. Sometimes how i feel completely overshadows the emotions that whatever type of music I'm listening to tries to evoke.

 

[beautifullybree]

I love using music as an outlet. Anything I can sing seems to help me. I have several playlists that I listen to depending on my mood. Sometimes I sing the same song over and over until my anxiety seems to lighten up.

 

[DDNatureLover]

That's a good point beautifullybree. Singing along actually helps me a lot. At one point, I was coping with road rage, because the road I lived on was under construction for 5 years. I was constantly going back and forth between work, school and home, and I learned that turning the radio way up and singing along loudly not only helped me cope with the anxiety and road rage, but actually would put me in a good mood. I would imagine people in the other cars wondering what the heck I was singing to, and it always made me laugh.

 

[Goodman]

I'd rесоmmеnd thаt yоu lооk fоr musiс thаt саlms yоu... whiсh mаy nоt nесеssаrily bе саlm musiс. I grеw up in thе 1980s... sо саlming musiс fоr mе is frоm bаnds likе Jоurnеy, Bоstоn, Billy Jоеl, Jоhn соugаr Mеllеnсаmp, аnd еvеn а bit оf оzzy оr Irоn Mаidеn. Rосk isn't typiсаlly саlm musiс... but it surе dоеs hеlp саlm my аnxiеty аnd turn mе tоwаrd tоdаy with а strоngеr аttitudе.


Yоu саn аlsо соnsidеr finding nаturе sоunds... осеаn, rаinfаll, еtс... thаt might hеlp yоu find yоur саlm spасе.


аnxiеty is сruеl but аrt аnd musiс аrе wеll knоwn fоr оvеrсоming сruеlty.


Gооd luсk. аnd tаkе саrе оf thе mоst аmаzing YоU!

 

[Jemina]

I also play music, Androlo. I find that it helps a lot when it comes to getting out some anger or frustrations if I can get to play the drums especially because I can use the rhythm of the drums to get myself to calm down as well as vent some of the emotions I'm feeling at the time. Playing other instruments can also help to some degree but for me drums are the best instrument to play when I'm in need of something to settle me a bit! Unfortunately I don't have any drums here at my house though so I have to go to a friend's house to play them. I think my neighbors wouldn't appreciate me playing the drums at all hours!


It's an interesting point you've made about music that calms you not necessarily being music that''s calming, Goodman. I feel exactly the same way. Much of the time it's rock music that can calm me down as well rather than soft gentle type music. In fact, softer gentler music can actually make me feel worse, as if it's patronizing me or something. Billy Joel is one that I'll listen to sometimes as well actually!

 

[Laneorexorcist]

Those are great songs!


I don't really put on music while I'm having anxiety, it makes me feel worse because I feel kind of trapped for some reason. But I do enjoy listening to really calm piano music or just rain/nature sounds, there's actually a section of it on Spotify, which really helps. I guess that "real music" only has an effect on me when I'm really sad and I cannot control myself, it really calms me down, my favorite is Symphonia IX by Grimes and Let it out by Jake Edwards, so relaxing and relievingat the same time.