Substance use disorders (SUDs) can negatively affect every part of your life. Your dependence on substances can begin to affect your physical health, but it can also affect you mentally and emotionally. When you are preoccupied with substance abuse, it will affect your relationships and your ability to fulfill your daily responsibilities.  

Most people struggling with SUD have replaced healthy coping skills with substance abuse when faced with difficult emotions. When a person is in recovery from SUD, it is essential that they develop healthy coping skills to help them deal with symptoms of mental health challenges like depression and anxiety. 

There are many different things strategies that you can experiment with to help you boost your mental health. Some people might enjoy walks in nature; some people might enjoy meditation or yoga. Utilizing your creativity is a great way to boost your mental health if you are feeling low.

When we listen to music that we love or play an instrument that we are passionate about, we activate almost every part of our brain. From auditory processing to pleasure centers, music produces a profound physical response that affects our mental and emotional state.

Music Therapy and the Brain

Listening to music produces amazing responses in the brain. Music therapy is a powerful tool that can help you regulate and process your emotions. It can also help you experience pleasure and improve the way your brain functions.  

Music and Memory

Music is often associated with powerful memories from our lives. Maybe there was a song you danced to at your senior prom or an instrument you played with friends. When you hear or play those songs, they can have a significant impact on your mood as they remind you of pleasant times in your life. 

Music and Stress Relief

Music stimulates the parts of our brains that help us regulate our emotions. If you are listening to upbeat music, you will start to feel upbeat. Listening to moody music might help you find the ability to work through feelings of sadness. Music can help reduce the stress-related hormones in your brain.

Music and Hormones

As soon as your brain recognizes a familiar tune, the pleasure center in the brain lights up. It releases chemicals like dopamine and oxytocin, which are the main contributors to feeling happy. 

Music and Brain Function

Music stimulates many different parts of your brain and can improve the way your brain functions overall. Like physical exercise can improve your body’s overall function, music is an exercise for your brain. 

Coping Skills Learned With Music Therapy

There is a variety of coping skills that music therapy can help you develop. Getting yourself up and moving can often be helpful in moments of distress. Upbeat music can inspire you to tap your foot, bob your head, or get up and dance. Soothing music can help you relax and clear your mind during moments of high stress or anxiety. 

Music therapy can also help you discover and explore your emotions. When you hear other people’s emotions expressed through music, it can help you identify your emotions. While listening to or playing music, you can express your emotions in a safe and healthy way. All of these are coping skills that can help you increase awareness of yourself.

Music therapy is also a wonderful way to be creative and have fun. All of our lives can be enhanced by art, joy, and creativity. Listening to and creating music is a way to combine all of these things in a positive way that is accessible to everyone. 

Malibu Wellness Ranch, Music Therapy, and Developing New Skills

At Malibu Wellness Ranch, learning life skills and developing healthy coping tools is a significant part of our treatment program. We encourage our clients to develop in positive ways in every aspect of their lives. When they gain and maintain important life skills and hobbies and establish healthy routines for themselves, our clients increase their chances for success in sobriety. 

The Malibu Wellness Ranch team understands that developing healthy coping skills is vital to success in recovery. We also believe that individuals who are entering recovery after treatment can benefit extremely from having hobbies that will be conducive to a sober lifestyle. Learning to make healthy social connections and enjoy life without the use of substances are two tools that we want every one of our clients to develop during their time with us. 

Some of the recreational activities that we employ as part of our treatment program include hiking, fishing, and team sports like basketball. We also have weekly music sessions that our clients can enjoy together. Malibu clients can socialize and have fun at bonfires and movie nights. We love to see our clients having fun and finding their joy.