Music is double edged sword, so grab it by the handle

Music is great, and it’s very helpful, but it also needs to be used precautiously. While some people may think otherwise — I’ve personally dealt with and seen how music can affect people throughout my entire life. I’ve had friends deep in depression, losing themselves in the music, hurting themselves further because the music influenced them. Although, I’ve also seen friends use music to gain motivation, especially when we worked together to do things!  Music can help you in so many ways; improving your physical health, mental health, and motivation. Although, if not used right or carefully, music can do the opposite of what it does when it helps you, but thankfully it’s mostly temporary.

Not only can music help you mentally, but it can also benefit your physical well-being. This article from Harvard Health is based on a study they conducted about the relationship between music and health. “But the patients surrounded by silence remained hypertensive throughout the operation, while the pressures of those who listened to music came down rapidly and stayed down into the recovery room, where the average reduction was an impressive 35 mm Hg systolic (the top number) and 24 mm Hg diastolic (the bottom number.)” The patients blood pressures dropped to a stable and healthy rate, which lowered  Notably, the music improved the condition of patients and helped keep their blood pressure at a stable and low rate. The music gave them a higher chance of survival, as it lowered the chances of bleeding out on the table, and also helped the doctors focus on their procedure. After the procedure, patients recovered better while listening to music, as it slowed their heart rate and relaxed their bodies.

To help yourself stay positive and better, filter your music. Listen to music that makes you feel good, makes you feel like you should get up and do something productive! Music is a tool to help us feel more in-tune with our emotions, so if you want to feel more positive — listen to music that makes you feel positive! When you listen to music, especially music that makes you feel better, it releases dopamine, which is the brain’s way of allowing you to feel pleasure and motivation. Now because you’re listening to music you like you’re able to do something else, like finally dusting off your shelves and cupboards, and the music is giving you motivation to do it all! Find music that you like, music that makes you feel good and gets your energy flowing, and listen to that! The song doesn’t have to be inherently positive, but it has to make you feel good.

Sad music can help you too! Sad music can help you figure out your feelings about something or someone. From personal experience, sad music has helped me through my grieving process. It helps me release all the negative emotions I’ve built up over time in my own time. Instead of letting all my feelings bottle up and eventually explode, hurting everyone else around me, I try to listen to music when I’m trying to fix my mood or understand the feelings I’m going through. But, sad music isn’t for everyone. I know a friend that hates sad music because it ruins her mood, and I understand that. Please don’t force yourself to listen to sad music — everyone has different ways of living their lives. 

An example of negative music is that there’s a music genre called Narcocorrido, and it’s a controversial topic in Mexico and the United States, especially because of its negative consequences. Narcocorrido is music in traditional Mexican style that romanticizes drug traffickers and what they’ve done and what they still do. Some people love the music, and some hate it, but the government had to ban it for another reason. It’s become a massacre for drug traffickers and civilians. In 1997, alleged drug trafficker Jose Luis Carrillo paid his favorite narcocorrido band to play for an extra two hours after their original closing and then 40 hooded gunmen opened fire on the crowd, killing their target and many many civilians. Narcocorrido became a dangerous music genre, influencing people to become involved with drugs like their favorite songs or surrounding themselves with dangerous people and getting hurt because of it. Music can bring people together, but most of the time it can romanticize your views on things. When influenced by music, it can cause people to do things that they’ll regret. It influences criminal behavior, especially in the youth, so it’s causing discourse between the Mexican communities that have differing opinions on it. 

Listening to music can affect you physically, but creating it can harm you too. I’ve seen people bruise, bleed, and push themselves too hard just to create music physically and digitally. An article from PMC has given a clear view into the effects that lead to music production, and also the effects after working in the music industry. Music production has affected so many people that the music industry is now considered a high-suicide-rate career, as it causes a 20% increase in male suicide rates and a 69% higher suicide rate in females. Music production is an art, so we must treat it carefully. If you don’t care for the artist, there’s going to be negative consequences. Music artists get used by their higher-ups, leading to burnout, quitting, and more. 

With all this information, you may be conflicted on how you feel on music, and that’s perfectly fine. This article was made with the intention to inform you and bring awareness to what music can do to you, so please listen and filter your music, to improve your physical well-being, mental health, and motivation. And spread awareness about this whenever you can — helping others can help you too!