Music is Therapy: Music can be therapeutic when going through a hard time

The only person who can get me through a platonic break-up with that one friend that doesn’t text back or seem to care about me? Taylor Swift. 

In any uncomfortable or stressful situation when I need guidance most, music with insightful lyrics is the best form of therapy and advice.

When I’m in a moment like this, I tend to not want to talk about it. Music makes me feel less alone, even when I’m wallowing in my own sadness. I can listen to a song that tells me exactly what I need to hear in order to move on.

Take for example “It’s Time To Go” by Swift, which gives the simplest explanation as to why sometimes it’s OK to give up in certain situations. If I decide that the energy I put into a friendship isn’t being reciprocated, Taylor reminds me that I deserve better. She explains how sometimes leaving a situation is the only thing that will lead to the “right thing.” It’s just what I needed to hear.

Maybe if I let this person go, someone who will reciprocate the energy will come into my life. 

The best thing is when just a single lyric makes the whole difference. When I feel like time is going by too fast, I need the reminder that growing up brings new opportunities and isn’t so bad. I opt to listen to the song “Flowers In Your Hair” by the Lumineers. The lyrics describe the innocence of youth and I’m able to relate to how they describe growing up.

When we were younger we thought everyone was on our side, then we grew a little and romanticized the time I saw flowers in your hair.

These lyrics remind me that we all grow up and that we all find change challenging.I definitely catch myself romanticizing moments in my childhood. I remember playing Ghost in the Graveyard with my neighbors, listening to Hannah Montana with my sisters or a craft I created in Kindergarten. Throughout all of my childhood phases and friends I’ve gained and lost, I’ve always found connection and comfort in music.