Music and Your Mental Health
I have recently completed my Mental Health Informed practitioner certificate and it has really challenged some of the beliefs I may have held about music and reinforced others. We are perhaps drawn to music for the catharsis it provides, its ability to form social connections between us and other people, its capacity to let our imaginations run free and for the pure joy of it. There is a darker side, however, especially for professional musicians.
I have noticed for a very long time that people who work in music seem to be on a bit of a roller coaster, sometimes on a high and never wanting to do anything else and sometimes dejected and about to give up. Dr George Musgrave carried out a survey of professional musicians entitled Can Music Make You Sick? which found that 71% of respondents experienced anxiety and 68.5% reported depression, higher figures than for the population in general.
Why could this be? This isn’t an academic answer but just a few things to think about to help keep us alert to changing moods. One way of thinking is that music attracts people who weren’t feeling great in the first place. Another is that in our profession we face delving into emotions, antisocial working environments (e.g. working at weekends and so missing out on seeing family) and constant rejection. We also live with a certain level of financial instability as the prevailing models in the music industry seem to be in a state of constant flux and the ways we make money may change frequently for some of us. We also often work to tight deadlines under pressure.
Even though experiencing anxiety and depression may be commonplace for musicians, it’s still really important to seek out help if you notice you’re having difficulties with your wellbeing. Music is lauded as being therapeutic but it isn’t actually a form of psychotherapy. Sometimes we need a bit of help from people who are knowledgeable and there are organisations such as Help Musicians who can help us to access this. Your own doctor is a good first port of call, ofcourse.
What I am about to say is not therapy at all, but just a personal reflection on things I have noticed seem to help over the years.
- Perfectionism is not a blessing
We are artists and we want to make perfect art. So, we want to make something that doesn’t exist. No matter how gifted you are, someone will always find a flaw (real or imagined), or maybe we ourselves will always find a flaw. We should ofcourse pursue excellence but not the point where we are stress puddles on the floor.
- No-one is an island
Connection is so important. When we’re behind our headphones for hours at a time in our own world it can be lost. Jamming with other people is creative but also socially healthy.
- Have other interests
When I was doing my MMus I took up baking brownies to the point where I was randomly handing them out to people in the pub. That’s because when music was the focus of my days, music wasn’t my way to relax. There’s a whole world of other hobbies out there. When there’s no pressure to be perfect or make money from an activity or nobody expects it of you, you’re just doing it for fun, that’s a nice break from the pressures of music.
- Don’t say yes to everything
I don’t think this point needs any expansion.
- Rejection hurts but it’s not the end of your career
When you’re rejected for an opportunity you really wanted it sucks, there’s no way round it. Disappointment is a horrible emotion and sometimes anger and jealousy also fester in the wound. Unfortunately rejection is par for the course in our game, so I find that the best thing is to try and find new opportunities as quickly as possible. It’s also not advisable to lose the rag when you’ve been rejected. It just ruins the possibility of working with the same people in future.
If you haven’t been feeling great recently, Music Minds Matter have some great resources to check out.
Stay well and keep making music.
Eve Williams MMus 