Spiritual Music: Listening Tips for Better Mental Health
It is not a secret that music stimulates positive energy and elevates a person’s mood. According to research, music positively impacts a person’s brain chemicals such as dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and cortisol. These chemicals are responsible for the feelings of pleasure, ability to connect to other people, relating to immunity, and stress level, respectively. Therefore, music naturally lightens your mood, provides relaxation and improves productivity. Other benefits of music include enhancing focus and memory, giving comfort, decreasing fatigue, improving sleep, and pain management.
Music itself is already beneficial, but spiritual music offers even more. Spiritual music started as a type of folksong that expresses the hardships, longing, and religious passion of enslaved African people in the American South. Vocalists usually sang spiritual songs in a freestyle tune and rhythm in a call and response form. A leader would improvise the mainline, and a group of singers sings a refrain in accord.
Spiritual music is best for meditation. At times, you might want to take a breather on all of the cares of the world, put on your headphones, play spiritual songs, and meditate on God’s goodness. This will help you feel less lonely and feeling refreshed. Spiritual music provides a sanctuary from the mayhem that we encounter day after day. Its peaceful beat and prayerful lines are what make it powerful for the mind.
Research says that religion has a positive impact on the mental health of people. Often people lean on their religion when they are feeling depressed or feeling not their best selves. They find strength and get encouraged when they are engaged in activities relating to their faith. However, not everyone encounters the same effect. For some, the cause of their indifference is their beliefs. But it is proven that people who belong to a religion, have faith in Christ, and have a relationship with other believers, are less likely to develop a mental disorder.
Use spiritual music to further your walk with God and strengthen your relationship with other people by sharing your playlist and listening together. Not just listen, but sing and worship God through these songs. When you listen to music, there are particular strategies that you should know and adapt to ensure that your mental health is benefiting from your listening to music.
Therapists use two methods during music therapy sessions, and they are called active listening and lyric analysis.
1. Active Listening
Try listening to music without doing any other activities. Don’t just put on the music as background but listen to it with all mindfulness. Give your attention to the rhythm, instruments, lyrics, and the message of the song as it gives you a different feeling, brings back memories, and stimulates body movements and sensations.
When you actively listen to the music, it becomes a whole new song, not just some instruments played by chords and sung by an artist. As spiritual songs tell the people’s sufferings, you might feel nostalgic about it and reminisce those triumphant times and feel happy. Indulge yourself with the music and let your emotions and feelings get swept away by it.
2. Lyric Analysis
From the word itself, this method involves the analysis of the song’s lyrics. Analyze the lyrics of the song and the message it gives. You may find yourself relating to it and being encouraged by the content of the music. Analyzing the piece could help you understand your feelings and naturally express your thoughts and emotions. There could be words or phrases on the song that stands out for you or anything that correlates with your experiences, which can help you tell your friends or family about it.
Speaking out what is in your heart and mind helps keep your mental health in good condition, and talking about a song might feel less tense than directly saying what is in your heart or discussing the problems you are facing at the moment.
The music will be the tool for you to open up and speak up about whatever causes you not to get enough sleep, have no appetite, feel helpless, less motivated, feel like nothing matters, and have thoughts of harming yourself. These things are already early warning signs of mental illness, and you might want to reach out and not fall into the trap of mental illness.
It is important to be aware of your mental health situation at every stage of your life and maintain the fullness of your mental well-being. Statistics show that mental disorders are the most common disease source, which proves that mental health is closely related to physical health.
The ability of a person to stay physically healthy depends on the state of one’s mental health. People experiencing depression, anxiety, and PTSD might find it challenging to engage in physical activities, leaving them prone to acquire various diseases. Likewise, a person’s ability to maintain good mental health is its capacity to perform physical activities, and chronic disease might also affect one’s mental state.
The good news is that there are other ways to stay mentally healthy if you cannot perform physical activities, such as remaining connected with the people you love and being rooted in Christ. Always be in a positive mindset by listening to music as it can help you with that.
Enjoy every stage of your life as you will only pass through this once in your lifetime, and you can only do this by staying healthy physically, mentally, and socially. And one thing is for sure: we can take control of our thoughts. When you feel sad and lonely, you can allow yourself to get driven by the power of music to make you think differently and remember that God is always with you. Connect to God at times like this through spiritual music and build up your faith and relationship with Christ.
Angelus Music is for those looking for a contemporary, joyful, and prayerful sound that could lead them to a new experience. Don’t let the world deceive you but strengthen your mental health and always be ready to face the battle of your everyday and conquer the world. No matter what life throws at you, remember, God is for you, and some people care for you, so stay positive and pray.
You can start listening to spiritual songs or watching uplifting videos on Angelus Music. We offer spiritual songs on a CD album and mp3 format. After hearing those songs and feel like you want the sheet music for yourself, don’t hesitate to contact us. Out sheet music is readily available for you. Please share this website with your family and friends and start encouraging one another.
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