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music & wellbeing - do you use it as a tool for managing stress and mental health?

RachSANECEOSenior Contributor09 July 2025, 1:24 pm AEST

music & wellbeing - do you use it as a tool for managing stress and mental health?

Hi SANE Forums

I'm keen to know if many of you listen to music, play music or use music as a tool for coping, processing stuff, making sense of recovery or for other things like managing stress - particularly whether for any of you who are parents - does music play a role in your wellbeing or recovery either just as a person living life or in your role as a parent?

Keen to hear from anyone with an interest in this topic!

@tyme could you boost this to those who might have a perspective to share?

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In response to: music & wellbeing - do you use it as a tool for managing stress and mental health?

tymeModerator10 July 2025, 5:40 pm AEST

Re: music & wellbeing - do you use it as a tool for managing stress and mental health?

Thank you for sharing @avant-garde - I can relate to your post. It was very heartfelt. I can see music can stir up a lot of big feels within you, and it also has the power to reach you when other things can't.

In response to: music & wellbeing - do you use it as a tool for managing stress and mental health?

orezContributor10 July 2025, 11:39 pm AEST

Re: music & wellbeing - do you use it as a tool for managing stress and mental health?

@RachSANECEO A huge part of my recovery is producing & presenting radio programs for our Local community radio station.

In response to: Re: music & wellbeing - do you use it as a tool for managing stress and mental health?

Faith-and-HopeSenior Contributor11 July 2025, 12:18 am AEST

Re: music & wellbeing - do you use it as a tool for managing stress and mental health?

Hi Everyone 👋💕

Trigger warning ……

I relate so much to what you wrote @avant-garde, and of course others here with similar responses.

Through the worst of it with the ex I listened to contemporary instrumental piano music, earbuds jammed in my ears, nerves fried, using the music to split my attention which also diluted the situation for me. I have found this so useful ever since - splitting my attention softens my anxiety, or stress, or sadness …. whatever is going on, and gentle music does this for me really well.

Now I only have to play that music (which I used to have on continuously on a loop, even to be able to sleep) and it calms my system pretty quickly.

Other music that I found too aggressive had the opposite effect.

In that sense I found that music is a voice, either softly in my ear, or making my heart sing and want to dance, or something to switch off if it’s too powerful for my senses in the moment. Then I crave silence, which isn’t really silent because nature has its own gentle music - birdsong, breeze, crickets, etc

My daughter also talks and whispers to herself all day, so playing the radio in the background softens the effect of that too.

In response to: Re: music & wellbeing - do you use it as a tool for managing stress and mental health?

avant-gardeSenior Contributor11 July 2025, 12:20 am AEST

Re: music & wellbeing - do you use it as a tool for managing stress and mental health?

@Faith-and-Hope

How did you manage to post? It's past midnight...

In response to: Re: music & wellbeing - do you use it as a tool for managing stress and mental health?

Faith-and-HopeSenior Contributor11 July 2025, 12:24 am AEST

Re: music & wellbeing - do you use it as a tool for managing stress and mental health?

I am in the West at the moment - not midnight here yet @avant-garde 😏

In response to: Re: music & wellbeing - do you use it as a tool for managing stress and mental health?

avant-gardeSenior Contributor11 July 2025, 12:28 am AEST

Re: music & wellbeing - do you use it as a tool for managing stress and mental health?

@Faith-and-Hope

Oh I know, I did the time conversions, it's meant to switch off at 10pm for WA, @tyme confirmed it

In response to: Re: music & wellbeing - do you use it as a tool for managing stress and mental health?

Faith-and-HopeSenior Contributor11 July 2025, 12:29 am AEST

Re: music & wellbeing - do you use it as a tool for managing stress and mental health?

🤷🏼‍♀️ @avant-garde ….

In response to: music & wellbeing - do you use it as a tool for managing stress and mental health?

RockdogSenior Contributor11 July 2025, 9:04 am AEST

Re: music & wellbeing - do you use it as a tool for managing stress and mental health?

Hey @tyme ,

I don’t play much anymore, I should take it back up again. I think you said it before but music choice is very important and we need to do it carefully.

In response to: Re: music & wellbeing - do you use it as a tool for managing stress and mental health?

tymeModerator11 July 2025, 4:11 pm AEST

Re: music & wellbeing - do you use it as a tool for managing stress and mental health?

Yes, I play, piano, organ, flute, baritone, french horn. I've tried the violin and guitar, but it's just not me. I don't have a natural ear for music. I am very much a technical player which means I don't have that creative flare @Rockdog

Singing along to a guitar can be so soothing though.

In response to: Re: music & wellbeing - do you use it as a tool for managing stress and mental health?

RockdogSenior Contributor14 July 2025, 12:15 pm AEST

Re: music & wellbeing - do you use it as a tool for managing stress and mental health?

Hey @tyme,

that is so cool. They are very hard instruments. I am not technical. I mostly improvise blues scales. I wish I was technical. Could do so much more. I do use music for my mental health. Sometimes in the wrong way though. Sad love songs aren’t helpful sometimes lol.

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