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Music is the Way to Your Heart and Positive Mental Health of the Soul

Holding on to your Memories - 'Mental Positive' Health

By Jonathan TownendPublished 3 years ago 10 min read
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Music is the Way to Your Heart and Positive Mental Health of the Soul
Photo by Pawel Czerwinski on Unsplash

By now, I would imagine that by reading & hearting my articles, (kindly checked and published by the Vocal platform) that my growing audience will come to understand (and acknowledge) that I used to be a registered mental health nurse and that I am very much aware that music, has both a precious & very important part to play in therapeutic discovery for (not simply vulnerable patients in our care system) but for everyone in our world within society today. It can, and most definitely is, a powerful tool in breaking down the barriers between the many varied and different languages spoken across our world today.

You do not need to speak or comprehend the native language that the song's lyrics are made up of - the very music itself can help you in understanding others, and how they are feeling. Very much, the language is within the music, not the spoken lyrics.

I have certainly listened to much Indian music, in particular, I can recall watching Indian music on many a night shift as a nurse (way back when satellite television had not come into its own at the time) shown on the Independent Television (ITV) channel on every Sunday night - this thought just makes me feel so old now!

Music is very much about the rhythm, tone, and beat of the music score. By actively listening to the music and the words (and yes, closing your eyes whilst you listen, can support your brain to, deeply & solely concentrate, and connect you) to its melodic trance-like effects.

-- Music such as the classical genres can evoke within you, a sense of power or of pure relaxation. It can impress upon you the positive feelings that you once felt 'within you' after accomplishing a task.

-- Slower tempo songs (such as 'Blues' music) can be a little depressive, and the scene must be set to be able to listen to it. My recommendation on this is that, to listen to it (it can be wonderful) but I do suggest mixing your music taste with other genres - just to level out your moods that this type can affect.

Do not take this to your own heart, as these are my impressions on how different music affects every individual, in their own unique lives. I never proclaim to be an expert in the field of music but, my background within mental health nursing has proven to me, that MUSIC can have a powerful evocative force on a person. I have seen ballads (as below) reduce even the most headstrong and angry patient, calm significantly & yes, reduced to tears; which has allowed the mental health team on the ward to engage the patient in good cathartic exercises:

(This being a method I have long used in psychiatry with my patients) a simple tool in supporting people to release, and support the person, to enable them in gaining relief from, strong or repressed emotions, that they have.

Music is a means of catharsis for them, supporting them to positively cope with their troubling negative & insular problems.

-- Faster much more upbeat songs (such as 'Pop' music) can be an effective trigger in lifting your mood when you are feeling low. Faster tempo and cheerful lyrics can bring about strong emotions - yes and increase Dopamine release within you.

-- Songs with a more heavy tone (such as 'Rock or Heavy' music) can have a more destructive influence (for example 'Thrash' music) but an example of lighter 'Heavy' music (one which I like and can be very evocative bringing tearful emotions, to the front can be as below:)

Courtesy Vevo, accessed by author on 23/05/2021.

Written more like a power ballad, by an English pop/rock band written by (Van Eede, N.) & produced by (Brown, T. and Jansen, J.) introduced in 1986, by his band 'Cutting Crew' named (I Just) Died In Your Arms. (Mixed by Palmer, T.) and released by Siren Records Ltd.

Cutting Crew to me had shown that music of any genre was able to mix through a compilation of not just the one genre, but with others to0, to create the right effect upon its audiences.

Cutting Crew was a cathartic song that enabled me in getting through my sixth form years at school. Where at this point, I was struggling emotionally with the tragic loss through the suicide of my dad. And of the trauma & bullying at school.

My link below relates to my experience of school here.

School Sucks!!

I would like to invite you to another article too, in which I have talked more about the effects that music can have on us within the link below:

The Power of Music.

'Holding out for a hero - ' It was an awakening time period in my life, particularly when it was released in 1984. I was just 13-years-old. This song gave me the hope & inspiration to carry on in moving forward. My dad had been my hero, but he had taken his own life a few years earlier, and I never truly recovered. But this song gave me the courage to find out just what I was capable of achieving in my life. I first heard this on 'Top of the Pops,' when it became live in 1985.

Courtesy Vevo, performed by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler. (Track produced by Steinman, J. and Pitchford, D.)

The pure action of listening to music can prompt your body to release the hormone naturally within your own body, widely discovered & called Dopamine. Which is more commonly known as the feelgood' chemical😍. Its sole action is to improve upon the healthy functioning of your heart. It strengthens the pumping power of the blood flowing to your kidneys. Put basically, your brain will release it when we eat food that we crave (and yes) when we have sex, it contributes to our feelings of satisfaction and of pleasure. Which is very much like an inbuilt reward system to us. Dopamine has a great advantage to us all to boost our mood, our level of motivation, & it enables us to improve upon the level of our individual attention span. Dopamine supports and regulates our control of movement, learning, and our emotional responses to various situations.

Which of course does leads me to sex - Did you know that it is good to listen to music whilst having sex with your partner😂?

According to research carried out by (Santiago, R. 'Bustle', 07/10/2010), jazz listeners have much more sex than pop music lovers, and classical fans hardly ever get laid (so to speak.) It goes on to suggest that there is far more scope in self-reported sexual arousal in response to classical music. Although what I certainly make from this is that - a lot more research is needed in this varied area for sure.

I know myself personally that, when I eat chocolate I love it - it creates a feeling of warmth and happiness (yes, I do brush my teeth, chocolate has its negative effects there!)

Okay, I am going to stop at this point in going on about Dopamine & research, as I fear that too much of my past nursing degree is chucking these details at you now!!

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Now that we are away from the research, I would like you to invest your time in my Spotify playlists, although I cannot promise that I am not going to link this stuff to mental health, I know many of my readers will already know that, it is pretty impossible for me to write anything without a look at the effects upon your mental health - oh and let's not forget my chocolate addiction there too😂!

This first playlist (below) of mine is shrouded within Genesis in the early days when Phil Collins was with them as their vocalist. It reminds me of times when I was much younger and in junior school. And the fun times when both myself and my older brother were close to each other.

Today, Genesis provides me with a cathartic escape. It is great to listen to when I am writing and when I feel in a low mood. Genesis gives me a sense of hope and the ability to chase and achieve, my goals throughout my life - quite frankly 'it cheers me right up.'

This second playlist (below) of mine is shrouded within the times when Phil Collins went solo in his career. Positively upbeat and evocative in his unique style. It instills within me a feeling of excitement & optimism whilst examing my life. But more importantly to me now, Phil Collins has a better positive effect on my mental health (as opposed to Genesis had done) because Phil Collins portrays me as I am now, and takes my thoughts away from my younger days with my brother - because we are no longer close, or even on speaking terms today - so the negativity of the emotions that I get from listening to the early Genesis era no longer control my emotions.

This third playlist (below) of mine is shrouded within Status Quo. It kind of allows me to accomplish a variety of emotional states that the first two playlists do. The first two songs give a strong feeling of self-positivity in my life. The final third song takes my mind back to the tough, rough & ready moments when initially training as a mental health nurse, and I indeed joined the Army reserves within the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC.) Status Quo in that respect reminds me of the harshness of the RAMC training, and just what it was like to truly work as part of a team. Every time I listen to it, this group reminds me that, to achieve something you want in life - then you have to work bloody hard to achieve your goal. The initial physical training helped me to build upon my strength, and to put my nurse training into effective use. Oh, and yes, within a group of like-minded people - I can now build an army field hospital still to this day (should I need that!.)

This fourth playlist (below) of mine is shrouded within the band called Roxette - of their initial two albums produced. Roxette takes me back to innocent train journey's across Britain, and the many adventures I had in my early life after I qualified as a nurse. Roxette became a prominent moment with me in a period when I married my wife. It created memories of warmth, feelings of inspiration, feelings of hope, and what our future would hold together. Roxette's songs gave me the power to think and strongly believe that 'we do not give a shit and we will do it without you' approach to our families. 'Joyride' represents our emotional journey through life. 'The Big L' is our personal attribute to our wedding vows made back in 1999.

I need not say much more than, the music is within you.

-- Within everybody

-- It is there when you need it

-- crave for it

-- it just lets you listen and NEVER JUDGES YOU for your choices or your decisions

-- and need inspiration from within you when life gets you down.

This final song represents (to me) the very importance of the value of human life. The tragic death of Freddie Mercury was a massive loss to the world.

It represents the fragility of life itself, and just how negatively influential society can inflict upon you. Freddie Mercury developed HIV and AIDS, which contributed to his certified death from Bronchial Pneumonia, on 24th November 1991.

His songs were emotional and true to life. This song (below) just shows how you can achieve when you are happy, and that nobody should be allowed to get in your way from achieving your goals.

God Rest His Soul. Taken from the prime moments in his life.

Source, YouTube (accessed by author, dated 22/05/21.) Queen. 'Don't Stop Me Now.' Composed by the late Freddie Mercury. Released as a single in 1979, recorded at Super Bear Studios (August 1978.)

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Please read and click the heart after reading. Anyone choosing to tip me, well, thank you so much for your generosity and kindness shown by this - hearts are great but tips help me succeed and do better but remember they are not obligatory.

More of my articles can be found at: https://vocal.media/authors/jonathan-townend

My email address for any comments please, to: [email protected]

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About the Creator

Jonathan Townend

I love writing articles & fictional stories. They give me scope to express myself and free my mind. After working as a mental health nurse for 30 years, writing allows an effective emotional release, one which I hope you will join me on.

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