Music and Working Through Your Grief

Music is an essential part of the human social experience. IT helps us tell stories, share emotions, and express our thoughts. Music can also play key roles in society. One way it can help in everyday life is by motivating you through chores or getting you through the workday. When you feel overwhelmed with grief, music can help provide a similar outlet for your feelings. Sometimes a sad song can kickstart a good cry. A bright, poppy song can act as an emotional pick-me-up. In this article, we will discuss how music can help you navigate your grief. 

Music as an Emotional Translator

    Words may not always suffice when dealing with complex emotions of loss and grief. However, music can often reach depths that words cannot. Notes from a violin or guitar can hit you differently. Studies have shown how notes of music can affect the brain’s emotional reactions. Even the sadness in a singer’s voice can move you. Overall, different melodies and harmonies can affect us on a deep, emotional level. This can happen without needing words to articulate feelings. Songs without lyrics, or those in languages you don’t understand, can elicit strong emotional responses. 

Processing Your Grief While Listening

    The right music can help push emotions to the surface. It can be a helpful tool for those who bottle up their emotions. Some people try to show a brave face against grief, especially when other family members are grieving too. But a playlist of sad songs can help you release these bottled-up feelings. Engaging with music can also trigger dopamine responses, creating feelings of pleasure. Music that makes you feel good can be important when overwhelmed with grief or loss. As such, the right playlist or album can help you regulate your feelings or bring emotions to the surface when you need some release.

Expressing Emotions Through Playing Music

    Playing music or singing songs can help you release your emotions. Even when playing alone in your room or singing in the shower, music can be an important vessel for your emotions. Playing an instrument or singing can act like a release valve for your feelings. This cathartic release is a fantastic therapeutic tool. Many people find that playing music or singing can be a good way to process emotions. For some, writing songs can be a way to express your emotions as a creative endeavor. 

Music and Memories of Your Loved One

    Music can also be a good vessel for connecting to important memories. Songs from your childhood can often elicit an emotional response from associated memories. Try listening to music you enjoyed with your loved one or some of their favorite artists. This can help you feel closer or more connected to them. Try looking through their albums or playlists to find music that makes you think of them. 

Music as a Tool For Grief

    Grief can be very personal and complex. Everyone experiences it differently. But music offers a variety of tools for expressing, coping with, and processing grief. Music can touch us in ways that words cannot, and often at depths we forget are possible. In times of turmoil, loss, and pain, music can be a salve and a balm. It can heal and uplift us. When processing grief, it is important to recognize creative and artistic outlets as an important tool in your arsenal. Grief and loss take time and patience to reconcile. But sometimes, music can bring more color back into your life.

The author of this post is not a professional therapist or counselor. For more personalized grief care, find a grief counselor who is right for you. For our Grief Resource Center, written by Dr. Bill Webster, click here. 

For over 50 years, Matthew Funeral Home has been serving the Staten Island community. We can help with almost every aspect of your loved one’s memorial service. Our family is here to serve yours, every step of the way.