Why Sad Music Feels So Special?

We all have at least one favorite sad music/sad song added to our playlist. Whenever we start feeling low, we used to play that sad song/sad music in a loop. Sometimes people get lost in the beautiful sounds of sad music and even enjoy listening to it for hours. Sad music is also thought to evoke sadness. Then have you ever thought, what is the reason behind this affection towards listening to a piece of such music when sadness catches our mood??? Why do people dealing with depression and sadness like listening to Sad Music or Sad Songs???

Let’s find the answer…

Sad Music and Sad Mood:

Sadness is considered as an emotional experience where disappointment grabs us and makes us unhappy and alone. Human psychology says music acts like a best friend you always want to have with you. Study shows that teens and adults listen to music for approximately two to three hours per day, especially when feeling low. The exact relation between music and emotion is still unclear but, research shows that sad music may provoke sadness. But the experience of listening to sad music would rise positive emotions. Some people seem to just enjoy the emotional journey with music. Some people use sad music, to feel an emotional connection with others. Some people listen to sad music just to cry when they are feeling low or sad because it releases pent-up emotions that can make them feel much better. Music plays its complicated and key role thereby connecting with our soul and telling it, “Don’t worry I am here with you, I know how it feels.” Sad music conveys emotions that are similar to our mental state. This makes us believe that we are not alone in that situation. And it results in a slow change in our mood, we feel that someone else has also experienced something similar to us and understands exactly how we feel at that time. It makes us feel better and slowly improves our mood.

Sad Music and Depression:

Depression and sadness are two completely different terms. Depression is taken under consideration as a mood disorder, with a feeling of sadness that causes loss of interest and motivation. When an individual with depression fights with their own neurotransmitters by asking them to behave properly, Music comes like an angel to deliver that message to our brain. Research shows that people with clinical depression also respond to music differently. They use sad songs or sad music to feel positive, listening to happy music seems like a normal thing to do for a person dealing with depression, but instead of that why do they prefer sad music more?? The reason might be because sad music seems like an empathetic person, trying to console you at your bad times; whereas happy music may seem like an upbeat person, asking you to smile and laugh when you’re annoyed. So people with depression find sad music more moving and understanding. It helps them handle their ongoing mental distress by reducing tension and sadness. It allows them to bring their own negative emotions to the surface. Sometimes an individual handling depression also feels heavy and stressed with their bottled-up emotions, a piece of sad music can vent them out gently by “A Good Cry.” Although depression is a clinical condition, people dealing with it needs to be careful about the music they listen to. A music therapist or clinician can help them choose the right music to make them feel better.

Conclusion:

There is a lot to know about the complex relationship between Music and our Brain. In the past few years research has shown that music has a lot of positive impact on one’s life. Although we need to remember that each and everything that has a positive impact has a negative impact too. There are a lot of things that are still scientifically unknown in terms of music and the brain. In a normal way, we can use music in whatever way we want, but when dealing with some distress of mind or any medical condition we should be careful. Depression and sadness are among the main concerns of the 21st century. While dealing with the people should ask for help from Medical Practitioners or psychologists. Music therapy has grown hugely in recent times, using music as therapy to treat these conditions has a great success rate. In the future, it could be one of the best treatment options for curing these mental distresses. Till then stay happy and listen to your favorite music.

References:

1. Sad music induces pleasant emotion, Frontiers in Psychology. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00311

2. Why Do We Like Listening To Sad Music? By Sushmitha Hegde, Science ABC

3. The sadness paradox: how sad music can relieve a depressed mind. Mental Health Toady

4. Music therapy for depression, NCBI. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD004517.pub3

Digital Illustrations: Anushka Banerjee