Sad music: Depressing but necessary

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Everyone of us listen to songs to feel good, to relax. Ever noted that number of sad songs in your playlists? Take a second and look, I guess it hits the highest. It is the general truth that sad songs make us feel good, something proven with the experience and scientifically.

A team of psychologists from the Free University of Berlin in Germany has investigated what is with this sad song sensation in people; how it deals with the inner-selves of us. They have gathered information from the people over different continents. The research has shown that there is a much tendency to listen sad music in situations of distress, when feeling sad or lonely and it is used as a form of self-medication. Researchers have found that a wide range of complex emotions like nostalgia, peacefulness, tenderness, transcendence and wonder were brought out in the participants by sad music. Some participants have revealed that it’s a good mode to relive past memories while relaxing. It has allowed them to work out their own feelings and it that has helped to make them feel that they aren’t alone. 76% of the participants have showed nostalgia and 57.5% have showed peacefulness and emotions such as tension, joyful activation and sense of power were less reported.

For many individuals listening to sad music has benefitted them emotionally. Sadness caused by the music or the songs can be considered as a reward in the aesthetic sense and also a way of regulating negative moods and emotions. Also there is a tendency that it can console us.

Changing the chemistry of the brain is what lies behind all these emotional changes that happen with sad music. It helps us get over the grief quickly by increasing the levels of some hormones such as prolactin. Prolactin which is activated during human activities such as eating, ovulating, breastfeeding is what helps to get over the sadness stimulated by sad music.

So the negative emotions do help in the survival of humans. We kinda act like everything is fine when it’s actually not but it is needed to focus on what’s wrong with you when you’re feeling down.

References:

http://www.sciencealert.com

http://mic.com

 

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