Music has become a silent but powerful tool within medical settings, especially for patients facing long periods of hospitalization.
Such is the case of 20-year-old Roxana Maestre. Diagnosed with sarcoma four years ago, she has undergone multiple treatments and has been hospitalized for two months due to a lung infection.
Without physical activity, any distractions and accompanied only by her mother, she found in music an emotional refuge that sustains her day after day. “After God, music has been a hiding place, a haven. My body connects with it, and my anxieties disappear; it’s like therapy for my mind,” Maestre said.
Her primary physician recommended that she listen to music to alleviate the psychological burden of hospital confinement and prevent her from falling into depression.
Stress cortisol levels decrease when music is being played, especially in surgery rooms and family offices. Music can be used as an antibody weapon against harmful cells in the human body which allows the body to thrive depending on the music.
According to the American Psychological Association, notably males were negatively affected to have a more aggressive approach to music. It has positively impacted kids to adults throughout research, compared to those whose not listening to music was in severe pain.
Music allows vibrations to calm the body while distressed, in a way, everyday music provides a helpful impact to everyone’s mental and physical health without realizing it.
Music therapy isn’t only a single option for others in need of it, there’s multiple different types of music therapy for every person out there. It’s acceptable to everyone depending on the program. According to the Cleveland Clinic, it’s acceptable in schools, hospitals, nursing homes, senior centers, outpatient clinics, mental health centers, treatment facilities and correctional facilities.
Music therapists focus on patients and find options for the patient which strategy works best for them.
Usually it’s an acoustic instrument, being in the moment rather than digital media has a healthier and stronger impact. Which is why therapists allow their patients to write their own lyrics to playing an instrument.
“I would say, like being in person with that instrument would probably have a more profound impact just because you’re actually experiencing the vibrations of those instruments,” said Chase Masoni, an associate marriage and family therapist at Wellness View Corp. “Being in person in an orchestra in person is probably a lot more moving and impactful than just hearing it through your headphones.”
According to Dianne Hales with Julia Hale’s book, “Personal Stress Management From Surviving to Thriving,” music therapy benefits after surgery recovery by boosting memory with individuals such as Alzheimer’s to their caregivers. Music therapy is an umbrella of definitions and meanings to therapists to officials. It’s commonly used as a health agent for everyone, and it’s easy to access.
Allowing music, it eases up with stress, anxiety, depression and regulating heart rate by powerful vibrations. Depending on the music playlist in question, it can increase stress or decrease stress. Happy music or calming sensations of music will obviously calm down the person’s state of mind, saddening music may or may not help the person in question. “It’s sort of each individual interaction that would be the difference,” said Angela Williams, Manager of Mental Health Services, Student Health and Wellness Services.
Finding out which types of music and exploring different types of music with friends or by yourself, depending on what’s comfortable for that individual can benefit people’s self being and can share with various others, a circle of support and music therapy benefits others’ mental state in the mind.
Currently, various medical institutions have revealed that music is not simply a background pastime but rather a therapeutic tool with the power to transform emotional experiences in diverse patients.
The Cleveland Clinic, one of the most highly regarded healthcare organizations in the United States, states that music therapy helps reduce various symptoms such as anxiety, can improve mood in a matter of seconds, can help regulate breathing and, above all, decrease the perception of pain.
This scientific support aligns with the experiences of many hospitalized patients, who find in music a space for emotional relief when isolation, uncertainty and lack of mobility begin to affect their mental health.
Music has become a silent but actually very powerful tool within medical settings, especially for patients facing long periods of hospitalization.
For Natalie Rodriguez, a fifth-semester psychology student at Cerritos College?, these effects have a strong basis in brain function. Natalie says, “Music directly influences areas related to emotions and pleasure.
Calm music reduces anxiety and regulates breathing, while more dynamic rhythms increase energy and motivation.” This process she describes creates stimulation that causes the release of dopamine, a substance associated with well-being.
In an environment where isolation and uncertainty tend to profoundly affect mental health, music becomes more than just entertainment; it is a form of mental therapy, a source of emotional support.
In healthcare settings, music as mental health therapy becomes an accessible and powerful form of psychological support.
Music offers companionship that doesn’t rely on medication or invasive interventions; rather, it fosters a human and sensory connection that helps maintain your spirits and hope.
