Seehafer News Investigates: The Impact of Music on Mental Health

“Every time I hear that song, I’ll go back.” Kenny Chesney

The brain is a fickle beast.

Those who have experienced trauma or have struggled with depression know exactly what I mean. You could be having a great day, and suddenly, BAM! Your brain brings back all of the bad things that have happened over your entire life.

I had a very similar situation happen to me last year. I was at my desk, working on getting stories scheduled to post on social media, listening to the music of my youth. I was in a great mood when “My Immortal” by Evanescence began playing in my headphones. For the first couple of seconds, it wasn’t a big deal. But eventually, my brain was transported back to 2004. Not because I was remembering the good times I had as an 8^th grader, not with all of the positive memories, but rather the date of April 10^th, 2004, when I learned a friend I had made while playing hockey had lost his battle with suicide.

His name is Garret Buckley, and he was 14 at the time.

It took me a couple of days to get back to reality, as my brain was stuck asking the same questions I had at the time. Why? How could someone so happy and popular be struggling so much? If we hadn’t drifted apart over the previous few years, could I have helped him?

Then a new question popped into my head. Why did all of these emotions come flying back at me 21 years later just because of a song?

That is what I aim to address in this article. What role does music play in your mental health? Can you “rewrite” what a song does to you? How can music and sound be used in a therapy setting, both in children and adults? I hope you stick with me as I address each of these topics and I research into correlation between music and mental health.

“Your brain is a sponge when you are small.” Becky Richards – Summit Clinical Services

I started on my journey by speaking with Therapists Becky Richards, Susan Shopodock, and Nicole Bonin from Summit Clinical Services in Manitowoc to talk about the science of what I experienced. Richards explained that the fact that I was only 14 at the time played a huge role in the lingering effect of that song on my emotions and memory recollection.

“Your brain is a sponge when you’re small,” she explained. “And when we have experiences that are tied to things like sound and smell, it just has this really powerful adaptation of like creating these neural pathways.”

Shopodock went more into the science of it all, specifically the difference between implicit memory and autobiographical memory. The American Phycological Association defines implicit memory as a “memory for a previous event or experience that is produced indirectly, without an explicit request to recall the event and without awareness that memory is involved,” while autobiographical memory is defined much like it sounds, “a person’s memory for episodes or experiences that occurred in their own life.” It is also referred to as episodic memory.

“When you think of implicit memory, it’s like driving a car, riding a bike, those types of things,” Shopodock explained. “So when you first start to hear a song, and it starts to play in your head, and you start to memorize it, it gets transitioned more over into that implicit memory system, and those are stored in different spots in the brain.”

That is why you can remember all of the words to a song you haven’t listened to in years, but you can’t remember why you went into the living room. Shopodock also noted that autobiographical memory is what tends to decline with age, which is why people with dementia still remember songs from their youth. MedicalNewsToday.com has a fantastic article regarding music and the recovery of memory in dementia patients.

As far as my experience with Garret, Shopodock echoed Richards’ comment on the brain being a sponge, specifically noting the connection between song and memory. She explained that when we, as people, go through salient events, or events that are significant parts of our lives, the music of that time becomes intricately linked to that memory in what is referred to as classical conditioning.

“That emotion that you were feeling at that time becomes linked to that song and then when that song starts to play again in the future, all of that comes flooding back because they’ve been paired together,” she noted.

In my case, the ghostly sound of Amy Lee singing “These wounds won’t seem to heal, this pain is just too real,” my first experience with death came rushing back, much like how Ivan Pavlov trained his dogs to associate food with the ringing of a bell.

Now, I really enjoy that song and would love to listen to it again without being launched into those emotions again. I asked the trio if there was a way to “rewrite” what that song means in my brain. Shopodock said she likes to use what is referred to as “exposure therapy”, which is when you expose an individual to the trigger in different ways, causing the brain to associate it with a different memory.

Richards also uses exposure therapy, where she works with the patient, “Just sort of exploring where that takes you and kind of understanding why it takes you to that place. And then maybe considering pairing it with more favorable memories, like of you and your friend doing some cool s*** together.”

She also spoke about “bilateral music”.

Richards revealed, “When you use a bilateral music system, you can hear things shifting from left to right, and it kind of connects the left and right hemispheres of your brain and gets them kind of working together at the same time and improves communication, and when that happens, we have the ability to improve our regulation.”

This form of therapy has been very successful for people who are undergoing a panic or anxiety attack. This is a tactic you can use at home as well. Richards suggested either putting on a set of headphones or putting your phone behind your head, and listening to music for 10-15 minutes, and she says it will help ground your brain.

Bonin, who has a specialty in helping young children, is also a fan of exposure therapy, but also likes to get to the root of the issue. She wants to help patients explore why those memories are linked to a particular song and how to work through those emotions by asking, “Is the grief stuck there? Have you fully processed the grief of losing your friend?”

She did say that exposure therapy is difficult, but worth the effort.

“It’s not a one-and-done type thing,” Bonin admitted. “You’ve got to practice it a little bit. But the more you activate and pair it with that pleasant sensation, the more likely it is to, in the future, it’ll register as a pleasant thing when you start to listen to that song.”

All three therapists agreed that mental health recovery is very comparable to physical rehab. It is long, it can be painful, but if you stick with it and work at it, you can come out the other side a better version of yourself.

“It’s amazing to watch the power of music.” Jessica Hansen – Director of Take Note Studio

The connection between learning and music is very well documented. I would be willing to bet that most of us still instinctively say or sing the ABCs in rhythm with the song that has been used forever to teach children the alphabet. I sat down with Jessica Hansen, the Director of Take Note Studio in Manitowoc, and she said that music goes beyond just helping teach children.

“We are even creating better sports players because they can keep a steady beat,” she explained. “We are creating better, emotionally attuned people because of the use of music within their lives. We are also impacting their verbal development, because it is so much easier to remember things using song, rather than just the spoken word.”

And that innate connection to rhythm, beat, and lyrics extends all the way to the final chapters of our lives. Hansen has seen it first hand, as she has gone to assisted living facilities with her Kinder Music classes, which encompasses infants through age 7, to perform music for dementia patients.

“It’s really fascinating and beautiful to watch the older generation who may be suffering from dementia, be able to remember songs from their childhood and sing in a context where they haven’t spoken in years,” she said. “It’s really fascinating and amazing to watch the power of music on the brain and what is what’s happening within the brain.”

Speaking of finding their voice, Hansen and her team have seen many instances where children come in maybe a little shy or non-verbal, but through the power of music, they come out of their shell a little at a time and find a way to express themselves. This is great not only for the child, but also for the parents, which Hansen says is a key facet of what they are trying to do at Take Note Studio.

“We work a lot on self-regulation,” Hansen noted. “Music is an amazing tool for that kind of thing, too, for giving kids an outlet to know how to calm themselves when they’re overstimulated, when they’re feeling overwhelmed.”

This philosophy has led to the development of many high-functioning children, and has allowed new parents to become even better at-home teachers for their young ones, and Hansen told us that Take Note Studio, being a place where that happens, “is a very powerful thing.”

She has also noticed a bit of a shift in clientele, specifically an increase in the number of students that neurodivergent. A neurodivergent individual is someone who, as defined by Northwestern Medicine, “processes information in a way that is not typical for their age.” This includes people on the autism spectrum, those who have dyslexia or dyspraxia, which means they have difficulty with muscle control, and those who have attention deficit disorders. While those students may continue to deal with struggles from their conditions, Hansen has really enjoyed “being able to watch that happen, even in children who are not developing in a typical way, but in a divergent way.”

While seeing these children grow like this is a very rewarding experience, sometimes you really don’t know the true impact of your work. In this case, while the children are clearly developing, have they really enjoyed their time at the studio? How much of an impact has the studio had on them as people? Hansen is now seeing just how much her work has affected the students since opening in 2006.

“(Last) year was the first year I had one of my students bring their child to my class, which is really exciting to see,” she revealed. “But also a really cool thing is we have two educators who are now teaching in our studio who were Kinder music kids themselves.”

Despite the clear and measurable impact music and the arts have on child development, when school districts start to run into money problems, and programs need to be cut, the first target is always the arts programs. I’m not ignorant of the fact that the reason for that is that those programs typically don’t bring in any cash flow for the schools like sports do, and neither is Hansen.

However, she called that trend a tragedy.

“I think when that starts to happen, we all start to reap the repercussions of that, which is a lack of resources for kids to be able to express themselves,” she predicted. “And there’s so many kids who find themselves in the arts. So not only music, but theater, visual arts, all of that stuff is so important for humans to be able to express themselves and find themselves. And I think if we are starting to take that away, we’re going to see a lot of problems.”

But, even if in-school programs were to be cut, not that there is any inclination that any local school districts are planning to go down that route, there are a ton of local arts programs around Manitowoc that have no monetary connection to the school district. On top of Take Note Studio, there is the Holy Family Conservatory of Music, SoundSpace, the Jean Wolfmeyer School of Dance, Treehouse Theater, the Rahr-West Art Museum, CRusched Smash and Art Studio, and even the YMCA offers classes in the arts.

“I feel like for the small size that we are, we actually do have quite a good amount of resources for the arts, for kids,” Hansen noted. “It’s exciting because the last couple of years and again this summer, we here are going to be collaborating with other arts businesses like the RA West and even a yoga business and dance studios to provide a comprehensive, immersive arts experience for kids. So our fine arts camp that we’re going to be offering for three weeks this summer s,o that they can get a little taste of all the different disciplines of arts, including theater, yoga, dance, art, you know, visual arts and music.”

This program, and others like it, just continue to show that people are starting to realize the importance of taking care of their mental health after years of stigma surrounding it. That stigma is continuing to melt away, and Hansen agreed, saying “the arts, and music in particular, have an important and profound impact on (mental health and mental wellness).”

“Music is the language of the soul.” Melissa Freeland – WLKN

Music can be the soundtrack for a generation. For example, what is the first thing you think of when you hear “Fortunate Son” by Creedence Clearwater Revival? I bet the moment you hear the ringing, twanging guitar notes, you immediately envision something to do with the Vietnam War. Or, for our slightly younger readers, when you hear the intro strings of “I Write Sins, Not Tragedies” by Panic! At the Disco, you are likely immediately brought back to a time when black, swooshed hair was all the rage. For over 100 years, radio has been the sounding board for the music of the time, and even though there are countless other ways to consume music in the modern day, that trend still continues.

Melissa Freeland is the Program Director for Lake 98.1 WLKN, and she tells us the songs she chooses to schedule into the rotation, for the most part, are more thought out than one may think.

“I have noticed, especially when it comes to like spring or summer, when it’s more of an outdoor, more energy kind of a season. I love to make sure that there are songs that there are more upbeat and light songs, if you will,” she explained.

Anyone who has listened to Melissa in the Morning on WLKN, or knows her in person would agree that she is definitely a “vibe” kind of person, and that influences her choice in songs. Not just, as she mentioned, the time of year, but also what she has going on in her personal life can sometimes bleed through.

“When I first moved up here, I was going through a lot all at once, and I could tell that I was leaning towards not necessarily emo, but the songs that, you know, definitely held more meaning,” she revealed. “I could sense that I needed to step out of my own brain.”

Through her years of working in radio and seeing the impact her song choices can have on others, Melissa noted that she has definitely noticed the link between music and mental health.

“I think one thing that is extraordinarily wonderful about music is it’s the language of the soul,” she explained. “I think that music, whether it has lyrics or not, harkens to something that is so innate about us as humans. It can switch your mood. You can either dive deeper into the feeling that you’re currently having, or you can use it as a mode to help you broaden and kind of get out of a mood, if you will. And putting on your favorite music or something a little energizing can help you get things done, and you can focus more.”

Sometimes, the best thing one can do while “going through it” is to just sit on the couch, turn on the radio, and listen to music you have never heard before. Even if it’s not a genre you are very familiar with, sometimes, the exact right song comes on at the exact right time, and suddenly, it all makes sense.

“Sometimes you can’t even express the emotions or the anxieties or the joy that you’re feeling, and you come across a song that somehow says exactly what you’re feeling, but you never knew how to say it.”

I asked Melissa how she views her role as the “vibe setter” for the day for so many people, as she picks the music, topics of conversation, and the energy she brings to the airwaves every morning. She had to think about it for a second, but in the end, she wouldn’t want it any other way.

“A little bit of nostalgia, a little bit of extra ‘oomph’ to get you going, and sometimes, especially in the morning, you just need something to help set an okay headspace and energy level,” she said. “For you and for me, music has always done that so heck to the yes, if I can help do that for others, whether they know that I’m helping them do it or not is really wonderful.”

“Souls who are not remembered cannot survive.” David Draiman – Disturbed

This journey through different aspects of music and mental health has been an experience I will carry with me for a very long time. Hearing about the science behind why my brain decided that song was going to bring me back to one of the first traumatic moments of my life. Getting to know more about why music is such a powerful learning tool. The role radio plays in setting the tone for the day. It was all so fascinating and definitely helped me get through it.

At the end of the day, this journey would not have been possible without Garett Buckley. He may not be with us in body, but his spirit, his positive attitude, the way he treated his friends, and the joy he brought into the world will never be forgotten. We will probably never know why he decided to take his own life, but I believe that his presence will continue to shine bright, even nearly 22 years later, thanks to the impact he left on those who had the honor of knowing him.