Emotional Regulation through music

Post Reply New Topic

Is this something others here do?
I like to regulate my emotional state with music, I have a massive list of music on spotify and I'll know in my head how each one makes me feel to listen to and if I'm feeling down or angry or happy I'll track down a specific few tracks and play them a few times while listening really intently to either mitigate the feeling or help it stick around.
It's not like a magical bullet or anything, but knowing offhand how each track makes me feel it's almost like blending a melodic potion to ph balance my mental state.

Yeah idk, music does help me get through things...idk I get periods were I feel like how does that even make sense, but idk seems music can help if you let it and idk I have always listened to music to feel better if I was feeling down so music is not nothing when it comes to mental health. Idk I feel my mental health would be even worse if I didn't listen to music.

Music can be therapeutic I suppose, just not sure everyone sees it that way.

yes, music is very important in my life, to soothe, calm, or express joy, or stimulate as needed.

music can be a huge help...
and half the time what helps seems almost counter-intuitive for me.
your style seems more moment-to-moment which is more tuned than how i use it..
i usually look for albums or artists i like who fit the bill...
but it has really often turned things around for me since i was a teenager...
especially when i have long periods of feeling "shell-shocked" from something.

With me, you got to be hep with what I’m listening to in order to figure out my mood. For Example, The humming chorus from Madama Butterfly usually brings on the waterworks. Ditto with Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s Carousel and South Pacific. Sondheim usually triggers my anxiety, etc.

Emotional, sure.

Sensory Stimuli Input and Processing wise?

Only half a time that it does feed my underwhelm; if not, it either overwhelms me the other way (sensory overload) or triggers maladaptive like daydreams through distractible thoughts that will also overwhelm me in another way (mental overwhelm).

And if I have to regulate both?
It's one or the other when it came to music.

Gained Number Post Count (1).
Lose Time (n).

Lose more time here - Updates at least once a week.

I listen to Aphex Twin in much the same way a baby uses a pacifier.

I'd have thought affecting the emotions was the main reason the human race bothers with music.

It's complicated in my case. I've just been through a long phase of being emotionally impervious to the effect. I've also just been through a long phase of being largely alone. My theory is that chronic aloneness > depression > flattened emotions. But there are other factors, such as having played my favourite records to death. And strangely I seem to experience some emotional contagion from other people's reaction to the music, but only when I feel good about those people. I say strangely because I think Aspies commonly don't absorb other people's feelings, and I certainly don't when it's preachers, politicians or advertisers. Maybe that's because I feel that their emotional displays are fake. When I feel good about a person, I tend to trust that the emotions they show are genuine, in fact if I don't, I can't feel very good about them.

Like I said, it's complicated in my case.

Yep, I've been doing this as a kid. In particular I did a lot of proactive sculpting of my internal self through music I loved and asked myself how I could wear those traits in the outside world.

Music is about emotion for most folks I would think. NT or AS.

Like just yesterday...I stumbled upon the video for a particular slightly old song. But the song suddenly seemed all-to-relevant because of the news. Made my eyes well up.



https://youtu.be/6Ejga4kJUts

Very encouraging how many folks do something similar, I know music is about emotions I don't think feeling something when you listen to music is an autism specific trait or anything, I just mean I don't know anyone else personally that does the same thing, essentially microdosing feelings from specific tracks to directly manipulate your mood. It's nice to see other folks here do something similar.

Sounds like the OP has a great alternative to pills. And to drink.

But no ...I for one...dont fine tune my emotions through music quite that way.

Though I will do things like put on Mozart while...doing my taxes, or filling out medical insurance forms. Helps keeps you focused.

I do hour long drives and more to worksites when its still dark out in the morning. So I make mixes of music for each leg of the journey. Funky get down music for the outgoing journey (you cant see the scenery so you..pretend you're dancing with a hot chick in a night club- and the beat just gets you pumped and keeps you awake). And for the return trip mixes of classic rock /folk/ country songs/ about...the open road (Gordon Lightfoot's Carefree Highway, the Doobies' "Rockin Down the Highway", Glen Campbell "By the Time I Get to Phoenix.". Tricks your mind into thinking ...you're enjoying the long commute (WOW ...the open road...this is the place to be).