can music cause anxiety?

[qwebnm]

Hey guys I've searched up online if music can cause anxiety but the answer seems to be no, in fact it can lower anxiety according to my research. I've been listening to music most of my life and usually I listen to the same songs over and over again because I'm bored. However there have been moments where I've found a new song and loved it and am in a state of trance and bliss and I've listened to the song constantly over a few days until it gets boring as well.. Recently I've noticed that all the Times I've experienced extreme anxiety I had found a new song which I loved a few days earlier. My guess is that the music causes chemical imbalances? Due to my personal experiences I strongly believe music causes me anxiety but since there is no scientific evidence to support this I feel like I'm just being silly by avoiding music

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi qwebnm,

I'm not sure I fully understand how music is affecting your anxiety.

This is how I understand it so far:

1) You find a new song and you love it.

2) You sometimes enter a state of trance and bliss or it causes emotions like motivation and sympathy.

3) Listen to it over and over

4) It becomes boring and you get restless afterwards.

And step number 4 is why you don't want to listen to new music as it causes this 'restless' feeling.

Have I got that right?

[always_hope]

Hi qwebnm...I'm so pleased to meet you friend

I was recently in a menral health care unit for yhree weeks ,( getying under control my bipolar,ocd,ptsd,bpd)

And while in there,we did a lot of music therapy

Music has always had a calming affect on me ,however I cannot listen to any form of country music,as my abusive mother listened to it constantly, so that must TRIGGER of some part of my sub conscious mind.

I'm wondering if that is what is happening to you my friend .perhaps some part of the tune,or certain words triggers off something in your sub consious mind.

Please find a way to continue enjoying your music.

It really is good therapy and good to beat depression, perhaps try a complete different style of music ,artist,and see how you go

Thinking of you 🙂

[qwebnm]

Hey thanks for the reply. You got steps 1 to 3 right. Step 4 sorry I didn't explain it properly. WHILE listening to the music i get a bit physically restless (heart rate seems to increase a bit as well etc.) but it doesn't bother me too much and I still enjoy the music and continue to listen.

The anxiety, according to my observations, I seem to get a few hours to a few days AFTER these 4 steps and before I never even thought music could be a problem so I continued to listen but recently I've noticed a pattern so now I've stopped listening to music due to recent anxiety I got a few hours after I found a new song and listened to it non stop for an hour.

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi qwebnm,

Sorry for the late reply!

Part of me wonders if the reason that this music is causing you to be anxious and the restless feeling is because you've listened to it for such a long period of time.

When you first found a new song it sounds like it's caused you a lot of joy; sending you into a state of trance or bliss, but over time it sounds like this subsides a bit slowly. Maybe the restless feeling is caused by the fact that the feeling of trance or bliss is disappearing?

If this is the case, I think that it would happen with anything; as we enjoy something for the first time our brains get happy and excited which makes us want to listen to it over and over; but over time this feeling dulls more and more because it becomes less exciting and doesn't produce the same feelings anymore.

This could also explain why you start to become restless after listening to it for a while and while you also get anxious from a couple of hours to a few days afterwards.

[qwebnm]

This is a possibility as I definitely haven't followed the "everything in moderation" rule when it comes to music. There were a few years of my life where I was listening to 5-10 hours of music per week.