Life has rhythm, drama, and soul. In short: we are all musical, and our individual pulses build to a crescendo of shared harmony and health.
Wellness is not a “one-size-fits-all” experience. The ways in which you embrace your sober life will look and feel much different than your neighbor’s journey. It is important to consider a wide range of therapy approaches to celebrate the many facets of your personality. Music is just one discipline among many that may aid in the quest to be your best.
Setting the Tone
Music-assisted therapy is just that: an assist. Just like in basketball, a player cannot score two points unless she or he gets passed the ball at just the right time. An assist is often exactly what you need, and music sets the tone for achieving greatness.
When your favorite tune blares through the speakers, it elevates your day. Your concerns, if even for a brief moment, fade away as the swell of the instruments eclipses your problems. You may call it a distraction or a detour, but music changes the conversation echoing through your brain.
In essence, you are able to change the station in your mind and tune into whatever thoughts and feelings benefit your sobriety. Music is the catalyst, but you are the conductor of your own destiny.
Focusing the Mind
When an individual becomes sober, their brain chemistry changes. The toxic and intoxicating effects of substances no longer cloud the mind, allowing the overall cerebral landscape to shift. The chemicals in the brain surge and subside in response to stimuli. When a person is under the influence, their brain chemistry is altered in a specific manner, but sobriety can reward the human mind in truly transformative ways, as well.
The feeling of getting drunk or high is brought about due to the rush of dopamine in the brain. Sober individuals can empower themselves to trigger their own dopamine without the need for drugs or alcohol by choosing precisely how to stimulate their minds. Music is a wonderful way to excite the higher functions of the nervous system. It plays upon the senses like fingers strumming a guitar.
As the old saying goes, “music soothes the savage beast.” Stress and hurt can be beastly, and a welcome tune might alleviate some of the duress. Studies indicate that music can reduce the levels of pain reported by patients having an IV tube inserted by taking their mind off the source of the discomfort. The vibrations in certain songs have even proven effective at treating symptoms of Parkinson’s disease and fibromyalgia.
Addiction is also a disease. Music-assisted therapy has treated other afflictions of the body and mind, so now it is getting a chance to belt out a solo in the arena of substance abuse treatment.
We Got the Beat
Songs are not sung in isolation. They are a shared art form, born of collaboration and cooperation. In order to record a song, it requires the efforts of writers, producers, singers, and band members. Their talents align to organize each note precisely and harmonize in an unforgettable way.
The listening experience is the end result of this fascinating mélange of musical collaboration. Your ears register each beat of the drum or tickling of the ivories. By switching on the radio or clicking on an MP3, you are entering a conversation with the musicians whose art you consume.
They are singing for you. They are rooting for you. Music has connected you to a larger sense of community. Sobriety allows you to hear the lyrics and interpret their meaning. You can expand your appreciation for the musical arts by engaging your brain in an immersive listening experience, rather than diluting it with drugs or alcohol.
The music has embraced you.
Amplifying Communication
Sound is not linear. It bounces in playful vectors and emanates in multiple directions simultaneously. When a great song is playing, it fills every corner of a space and invites you to join the chorus.
Passive listening is one stage of music-assisted therapy, but participation is encouraged as you progress with your sobriety. Reacting to the rhythm is sometimes involuntary, but analyzing its effects on you can help draw out some deeper psychological truths. If you hear a loud bass, how does it make you feel? When the song ends, what is your emotional state? By asking yourself how music affects you, it may illuminate some more complicated patterns of your behavior and moods.
Substance use once dictated the ways in which you communicated, but now there is a healthier alternative. Music-assisted therapy gives you an outlet to experience emotions fully and vent about them safely. Our on-site studio here at Defining Wellness offers you the opportunity to put your feelings into song, belting them out as only you can.
Once a month, you will harmonize with a Grammy-winning artist visiting our facility from Nashville. Rock out in a two-day seminar with a music legend who has also faced the demons of addiction and lived to tell—actually, to SING the tale.
It is just one of the many fabulous amenities of our luxury addiction treatment program. You deserve gourmet food and world-class accommodations. During the darkest days of addiction, it may have been difficult to imagine pampering yourself. You were focused on the next drink or pill or fix, rather than seeing the vibrant possibilities that a life well lived can offer.
But now, you can rise above the noise of your own pain and regret, and hear the sounds of a better future. Crank up your sobriety at Defining Wellness by contacting us today!
