Does Playing A Musical Instrument Help With Anxiety?

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Does Playing A Musical Instrument Help With Anxiety?

The ways in which music can enhance our lives are both powerful and abundant. It can transport our minds to new places, inspire us with new ideas, stimulate our creativity, and make us feel alive. Apart from mere poetry, scientific analysis has determined that music actually influences our brain like no other medium. It literally has the power to shape our state of mind for the better.

As many musicians have often reported, music can even have healing and therapeutic qualities. Whether responding to trauma, depression, anxiety, or any other serious condition, those who turn to music often find it a helpful method of improving mood and finding an outlet for their emotions. For someone who lives with anxiety, playing an instrument may provide a solution for enhancing your quality of life.

The Psychological Benefits Of Music

According to numerous personal accounts and scientific studies, playing music is a fantastic benefit to our individual health and wellness. Among other things, it’s known to improve cognitive performance, boost motivation, and even enhance your performance in things like studying, work, and exercise. Not only that, but music has a demonstrative effect on our overall emotions both in the moment and over time. Consistently practicing an instrument is one of the best ways to take advantage of everything music does for us, including its many therapeutic benefits.

Music Can Reduce Stress:

According to a 2013 study, music seems to have a particular connection to the human stress response. It’s suggested that hearing music can reduce stress in our autonomic nervous system, meaning it may help you recover from stressful situations more quickly. It also means that having an instrument handy can be an enormous relief on a particularly stressful day. Being absorbed in music can take your mind away from triggers and give your feelings a boost.

Music Can Improve Mood:

Like most forms of language and expression, music has the power to express a full range of emotions. Studies confirm that music can improve your mood and your sense of self-awareness. Not only that, but the catharsis of playing and feeling your emotions itself can be a powerful release from negative energy. We all know the feeling of relating to a song so heavily that it moves your inner self like nothing else. Playing music can have that effect too, only making yourself part of the process by playing the tune.

Music Can Improve Social Skills:

Learning to play music can also help you improve other areas of your life. Like any skill, playing an instrument exercises particular areas of the brain and modes of thought. The same focus, precision, and expression that enables you to play beautifully may also help you engage with others and work more constructively with groups. Certain studies point to increased social skills in those who play music, which on its own can be immeasurably helpful for one’s mental and emotional wellbeing.

How Playing A Musical Instrument Can Help With Anxiety

Living with anxiety can take a heavy toll on your everyday health and wellness. It holds you back from living your best life and doing things that could be making you happier and more fulfilled. While learning to play an instrument is no substitute for a cure, it has the potential to change your life for the better. Whatever music you prefer and whatever it means to you, learning to make music on your own has so much to offer you wouldn’t find from anything else.

Learning Your Favorite Songs

Music has the quality of sharing relatable experiences in a way that allows your burdens to feel recognized and expressed. Chances are, you already have a number of songs that feel like an intimate part of your life. Learning to play these same songs can be a powerful expression of the same feelings. It enables you to get closer to the music than you’ve ever been, which can give you the perfect experience for catharsis and relief.

Ease Your Mind & Relieve Stress

Apart from helping you recover from stress physically, playing music can actually help take your mind off of your triggers. Many people who play music find it takes them to a meditative state, helping them forget their troubles for a while while they focus entirely on what they’re playing. Getting away from what stresses you, even if you’re only putting it out of your mind temporarily, can be a huge help in lowering the amount of stress and anxiety you’re coping with.

Practice & Refine Your Craft

Learning music is a craft that requires effort, attention, and regular practice. The wonderful thing is that it rewards you for doing something that puts you in a better mood and transports your mind to another place. To put it another way, your time and effort are not only worth doing in the moment, but you’ll also be rewarded with a skill that can enhance your life. Playing music for others or yourself can help you build confidence, improve your cognitive capabilities, and provide you with a talent that’s worth sharing.

The Power Music Has To Enhance Your Life

There are musicians of all kinds that have struggled and expressed their many obstacles, including many who’ve lived with depression, stress, and anxiety. For many of them, music was more than a hobby or profession. It was a way of coping with their troubles and enhancing their quality of life. Human beings the world over have found comfort, passion, and exuberance in music during even the most grim times. If you’ve ever thought about learning an instrument, even faintly, there’s a chance it could make a difference for you as well.

At Grace Music School, we strive to offer a nurturing and enriching environment for students of all ages. We understand that realizing your potential as a musician can have an impact on many areas of your life, from your professional ambitions to your innermost thoughts and feelings. Feel free to contact us here with questions or concerns, and be sure to take a look at one of our exceptional music education programs!

Sometimes all you need to reduce your anxiety is to play your favorite song. Let Grace Music School help you achieve that peace. For more information or to schedule a lesson, call us at 631-239-6169 (Fort Salonga) or 631-470-9705 (Melville).

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