music is my outlet...(long post) music helps me ALOT!

[LoverlyLaurie]

I know that whenever I'm feeling really down, listening to music sometimes helps...for some people listening to up beat music when you're sad seems to help...for me, i listen to slower, more soothing music that's sorta sentimental to me or tells a story in the song that i feel i can relate to at that moment. It helps me to look at my sad feelings and validate them, so i know that it's okay to feel sad. When I'm in a good mood, I like to listen to up beat music because that way I can sort of "keep the good mood going".

All this is the same for me when i play music. I play the piano, and I'm learning guitar right now...Even if you don't think you have "talent" with music, i suggest going to a music store and just asking to play around with a guitar or piano...it has really helped me to express myself instead of holding it all inside.

In my case, I don't like being taught a certain way, or that i need to play from a lesson book, so i suggest just learning on your own...you can work at your own pace, play whatever you want, and there's a really great feeling of accomplishment that you did it on your own with no one else's interference.

From personal experience, today I SI-ed and right after, i played a sad song that related to how i was feeling. It let me feel the sadness rather than the numbness i was trying to get rid of by SI-ing. Then later i felt happy and i played more up-beat songs to sort of "stay with" the happy vibe i was feeling.

Hope this helps someone to cope!

L

[Jamas]

That's really great. I gave away my musical instruments before I moved, but i miss them, and i still find that making music helps me to feel better.

la, la, la la...

[5th section]

I SI-ed and right after, i played a sad song that related to how i was feeling. It let me feel the sadness rather than the numbness i was trying to get rid of

i completely agree. I've always found that using music as a coping method, it's best if you let the music meet you where you are, in other words if you're feeling thoroughly depressed you start with music that's pretty sad and , if you like, work upwards... (as someone from what you might rather pretentiously call a "classical background", wich means nothing more or less than that i've played in a couple of orchestras because they were desperate for players, I absolutely LOVE Mahler's Das Klagende Lied for exactly that reason. just a suggestion?)