The Healing Power of Sad Music: Why We Listen to It and Feel Better

Music has been a part of human culture for centuries, influencing our emotions and behavior. It can make us feel happy, excited, motivated, or calm. But what about sad music? Why do we listen to it when we are feeling down or going through a tough time? Despite its melancholic tone, sad music has the power to lift our mood, provide emotional support, and even act as a catharsis inducer. In this article, we’ll explore the science behind why we listen to sad music and how it affects our emotional state.

The Benefits of Listening to Sad Music

If you’ve ever found yourself listening to a melancholic ballad or a somber symphony, you’re not alone. Research has found that many of us gravitate towards sad music in times of sadness, loss, or low mood. One study conducted by Berlin-based researchers Taruffi & Koelsch found that positive feelings like happiness and calmness were correlated with listening to typically sad music. The participants in the study were asked to describe why they liked listening to sad songs during tough times, and their common response was that it made them feel nostalgic, a bittersweet emotion that provides both positivity and complexity. This is why sad music can be appealing and pleasurable for people, according to Taruffi.

The study also found that listening to negative and sad music can regulate negative emotions and moods, acting as an emotional outlet. People are encouraged to listen to sad music when they’re feeling down because it connects with their mood and lets them express their emotions in a healthy way. Listening to sad music can also enhance empathy because the listener identifies with the artist and connects with others who have gone through a similar situation. Happy music also has similar benefits, but they are considerably smaller compared to sad music, according to the study.

Sad Music and Catharsis

Sad music does more than just provide an emotional outlet. It can also facilitate catharsis, a process of emotional purification that involves releasing pent-up emotions. Studies have found that crying is a great way to provide catharsis and a positive mood boost, and sad music can facilitate this process. By listening to sad music, we allow ourselves to experience a range of emotions, including sadness, grief, and despair. Allowing ourselves to feel these emotions can help us process them and move on from them in a healthy way.

The Emotional Connection to Sad Music

We form emotional connections with songs that we connect to on a personal and subjective level, even when we’re not feeling particularly sad. Elizabeth Margulis, author of On Repeat: How Music Plays the Mind, has said that a sense of shared subjectivity with the music can arise. In descriptions of their most intense experiences of music, people often talk about a sense that the boundary between the music and themselves has dissolved. This is why we are much more likely to listen to sad songs repeatedly or in a great number over a shorter period of time when we form a deep emotional attachment to them.

Wrapping Up

Sad music has more benefits than just providing a melancholic tone. It has the power to lift our mood, provide emotional support, and act as a catharsis inducer. Whether we are feeling down or happy, we may find ourselves listening to sad music to enhance empathy or enjoy songs that speak to us on a personal level. The next time you find yourself listening to a somber melody, don’t worry; it’s just your brain’s way of coping with life’s ups and downs. So take a deep breath, let the music wash over you, and feel better as a result.