Manage your stress with music, it can be hugely helpful! 2min Stress Management includes any quick and easily accessible tool that can help you to shift your mood, regulate your emotional responses and feel even a little bit better. Using music with intention can do just that. Music can help you feel energized, calm, happy, or help you create space for sadness, anger and frustration in a healthy way.
To begin and end our days in my house we put on something calming. I’ve taught my kiddos the power of music for emotional regulation and now they do it on their own. We’ve used AC/DC covers by 2 Cellos when we want to make use of the energy that comes with frustration. Piano guys are great when we need a pick me up. Hand Pan, guitar, and harp are great for feeling calm.
It takes planning
Be sure to plan out how you will manage your stress with music. There’s so much out there on all the apps these days! Don’t wing it! If you plan out what you want to use, when you want to use it and think about where in your day you might need some musical help, you can use music with intention. Be proactive instead of reactive, it can make all the difference in the world! Anticipate your needs as best as you can.
For example, I work with college students and I suggest for test anxiety that they have a calming song ready to go on their phones to use right before they take a test. As a homeschool mom I put on some soft jazz music in the mornings before we start our day to help get myself into a calm and centered space. I let it play quietly in the background throughout our morning activities. If I spend 20 minutes searching on You Tube however, I feel more stressed for sure and have lost some quiet time before we start the day. I learned this the hard way!
Need an Energy Boost? Music Can do that!
Overwhelm and exhaustion can kick in easily, especially at the end of a busy day. Anticipating the need to manage that stress with music can get you moving again! When it comes to needing energy, don’t get me wrong, I love food and caffeine for this just as much as the next person. Sometimes though, music is more effective. I used to coach cheerleading and dance at the college level. Planning out our warm-up music with my teams was essential! It could make or break a practice. After a long day of school for them and work for me, we all needed an energy boost! Music get us moving, motivated and ready to work!
Managing your stress with Music in the moment
Sometimes we things sneak up on us and we can’t be proactive. We simply can’t anticipate everything. Try having play lists for managing different emotional responses ready to go for difficult moments
Plan out your play lists:
- anxiety, frustration, fear and overwhelm – calming music
- sadness – happy, uplifting music – until you have the ability to create space for feeling sad at least
- tired, exhausted, depleted – uplifting, upbeat, fun music
You get the idea! Try it out and you will feel the difference! Get yourself some wireless earbuds and be on your way to managing stress with music anywhere, anytime you need to!
Here are some of my favorites!
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