Finding the tune.

I really can’t put my finger on what it is exactly but there is something about music that is oh so therapeutic.
One of my go-to coping strategies is getting in the car and driving to nowhere with the music turned up. As I sit here and write this blog, the music is playing and helping me stay in the groove.

I find it so interesting that there is a genre of music that always seem to jive with my state of mind. There are some days my stress levels are high and I need heavy alternative rock to realign myself. When I’m not feeling my brightest, I revert to bands/artists from middle school to clear my head. Recently I was jamming out to steel drum covers while on vacation as it made the palm trees sway a little cooler. Of course, my late night (and cleaning) go-to is always classic/southern rock – the genre my parents raised me on.

I work with people of all ages and I cannot remember a client ever telling me that music was not a coping skill of theirs. In therapy, we work to find coping skills that assist clients in managing and overcoming the symptoms that are present. There is no cookie cutter tool box of skills that we, mental health professionals, hand out that works for all clients. However, music seems to be a coping skill that everyone can agree on but yet no one can fully describe why. The way music reaches a client is as unique as every client.

What do you do during emotionally challenging times? Does music play a role in how you work through what you are experiencing? Many a session, I’ve encouraged clients to find a comfortable spot and create a playlist that reaches them where they are mentally. From my teens to my older adults, the action of creating that playlist has had such benefit.

I don’t know what it is about music. Could it be the methodical beat that keeps the toe tapping and anxiety at bay? Maybe it’s the lyrics that touch a piece of the soul when we feel nothing else can. Music just seems to be the calm the brain needs when it is getting in its own way. The vibe music gives off often creates the space we need to fully exist in.

I have accepted that I will never fully understand why music can do what it does. I know that no matter how busy, quiet, hectic, joyful, or sad life can be – music will always be there to help me find peace as I further gain perspective.

What’s on your playlist?

Drop a comment below with your go-to tunes.

Maybe you’ll inspire others to add it to their playlist!