Sometimes, honestly, despite the fact that nothing bad has happened, you can have a horrible day. Other times, despite being at the happiest moment in your life, where you're finally in control of your life and feeling good and free, a few things from your old life can come back and haunt you, ruining your day, weekend, or week. I've been stuck in one of the ruts for a few days now. It was celebration weekend this past weekend at my school, and I had a great time seeing my parents and hanging out, but I couldn't get over this depression feeling inside of me. The week before, I went home for a few days for my fathers birthday. During that time, I returned to the hospital, where I had an internship last year. It was great to see my old advisors and co-workers, but I ran into a co-worker who I hadn't seen since his sons-my teammates-funeral this past summer. He acted well, but it was pretty clear that life was pretty tough for him. We caught up, and afterwords I couldn't get rid of the pit in my stomach. A few days later, another friend from home-who's father passed away in a tragic car accident 100 yards from my house-went on a rant about how bad life was and how he was sick of society. Needless to say, it's been a rough week. My usual techniques for getting over this sort of thing haven't been working too well. I'll workout or go running, but after a few hours I'm back in my slump. Then, tonight, I remembered a video a friend of mine made about venting through his guitar. I listened to the song once, and started to feel better. I've been listening to music constantly since, and have been feeling exponentially better.
This is not my first time running into musical therapy, but I haven't needed it to this extent in a long time. I have always been one to support musical therapy, but it wasn't until the end of my sophomore year that I discovered the true power of musical therapy. To make a long story short, a family member suffering from a mental breakdown ended up accidentally burning half of my house down. To say music saved not only my academic standing but possibly my life is an understatement. Despite meeting with a psychologist, increasing my physical activity, and getting extra help in classes, I felt like my life was closing in around me. My family was suddenly at war with each other, pointing fingers, making accusations, and splitting us in two. I had no idea how to deal with this sudden turn of events, especially since-as the only person in my family under 25 at the time-I felt my opinion was often overlooked or ignored. Only music, and its ability to slip you into your own little world, kept my head above the waves of accusation flooding my house. My personal discovery of Vevo, music on youtube, soundcloud, and my re-introduction with Pandora were the difference. Whenever I came home, the headphones went in. Doing homework, studying for a test washing the dishes or reading a book for pleasure, if I did it with music, it was done on time an efficiently, if I couldn't have music, things never got done. With time, like all things, the situation resolved itself, and my family is back together, but I have never forgotten what music did for me, and I have always suggested it to my friends when they are in need.
Simply put, music is free medicine; it can always fit your mood, and you can use it to gradually calm yourself down or pick yourself up. In my english class, we talked about the definition of words, and how definitions can be outdated, limiting, or just downright wrong. Medicine, as defined by western terms, means the act of healing or preserving health with a physical remedy, be it drugs or physical procedure. But music literally saved my life, so shouldn't it too be a medicine? Yeah, it's not something you can hold, inject, or prescribe, but where therapy failed, music picked up the slack and finished the job. Shouldn't something that heals, physical or not, complex or simple, be considered medicine? Consider a terminally ill cancer patient. Her radiation therapy is extremely painful and she seems to be at the end of her rope. Then a 2nd party person, be it a friend, family member, or anonymous supporter, give her tickets to see her favorite band live at their big concert. The excitement of the show blocks the pain, and the show is so good that she is singing along with the crowd and happier then she has been since getting diagnosed. The ecstasy of the show carries for a few more days before the gradually returns to her original state of painful treatment. However, she never gets quite as bad as she was before the show, because purely by experiencing that momentary high, she is better off for the rest of her life. (For happiness sake, lets say that miraculously the new treatment is successful and she lives cancer free into old age). Now, yes, the doctor can't just go in and say "your dying, go to a music concert," but how can one music show make this cancer patient go painfree for a week, and then you turn around and tell me music isn't medicine? It just doesn't make sense. If something makes a bad situation better-or even just not get any worse- it's a medicine. Prescription drug, chicken soup, or an internet connection and a pair of headphones all fit this criteria, and therefore are medicines. If you disagree, hire a children's' comedian to entertain the terminal kids in the pediatric center of the hospital for 1/2 a day. I guarantee it makes a bigger impact then any "real medicine" they are taking.
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I got the missing string for my guitar today. Next post will be a musical update, thanks for waiting guys; I just had to get this off my chest. If anyone has any questions about this post or wants more details about my personal story, message me and I'll be happy to respond.
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