By Furkan Cakin

Happy music, usually featuring a fast tempo and written in a major key, can cause a person to breathe faster, a physical sign of happiness. Similarly, sad music, which tends to be in the minor keys and very slow, causes a slowing of the pulse and a rise in blood pressure. 
Knowing that music has this impact on the body may eventually influence treatment and care for a wealth of patients. For example, music has been found to boost the immune systems of patients after surgeries, lower stress in pregnant women and decrease the blood pressure and heart rate in cardiac patients, thus reducing complications from cardiac surgery.

Music therapy has also proven to be more effective than other types of therapies in patients suffering from depression, and it’s been shown to lower levels of anxiety and loneliness in the elderly. However, it is also worth to noting that too much music could be too much of a good thing.
Since music triggers reward systems in our brains much like drugs do, music could also become an addiction that becomes impossible to feed. Having music around us constantly — from department stores to elevators to our headphones — could numb us to its effects. Unplugging that iPod every now and then might just help your favorite song sound sweeter later on.

By Taylor Catlett

This Ted Talk discusses how music is a form of meditation. Music is mindfulness at its core, and allows us to reconnect with our inner selves. It’s a universal language, and has the overwhelming ability to make us feel something, that’s why we’re still listening to Bach and Mozart 300 years later. Check out the link below to find out more: http://• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUUFb-1hBtw&t=654s

Mental Health is often left out of primary healthcare in the United States. This neglect has been attributed to poor mental health overall, but more specifically among college students. According to the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors, anxiety disorders are the top mental health concern for college students at 41%. Additionally, 36% experience depression and one-third of college freshman experience some form of mental health issues in general. Being away from home, rigorous course loads, and introduction to drugs and alcohol can put a lot of stress on a person in an already vulnerable time. In the United States, 25% of college campuses don’t have mental health services at all, and 19% report services in place are inadequate. The reality is, many of these counseling services on college campuses are working at capacity, so many students in need of mental help cannot get it immediately or even at all.

Research illustrates that the most effective way to promote mental health is through education. Many students aren’t aware these services exist, or simply don’t know what good mental health should look like. Arguably though, the biggest factor holding these services back is the stigma that comes along with mental health and the word therapy. Prejudice surrounding mental illness, claiming patients are inherently crazy, violent, lazy, or irresponsible, can have an extremely harmful effect on a person’s desire to reach out for help. Music, art, and expressive forms of therapy work to break down these stereotypes. Although music/art therapy is a legitimate form of psychotherapy, it can be equally effective without a medical professional, or the label therapy. This idea works to normalize the act of art, rather than defining it as therapy. Our group’s mission is to create a safe space on campus where students can simply create. It’s not about the product, but more about the energy that is released when someone whirls their paintbrush on a fresh canvas or strums the strings of a guitar. These are simple things anyone can do on their own. In contrast, group therapy has been found to be arguably even more effective than individual, according to a Psychology Today article. Creating a group here at PSU will allow students a safe space to create, share their stories, challenges, and trauma through art. Creating together provides the individual with a sense of purpose in being a part of a coherent whole, and allows us to see we are a lot more alike than we are different.

~Taylor Catlett

Furkan Cakin

Although music has been used as a therapeutic and medicinal healing agent throughout history, music therapy has only become a credentialed profession in the 18th century. Research shows that music can promote physical rehabilitation, manage stress, improve communication, enhance memory, alleviate pain, and help to express feelings. Many people are not informed about what music therapy is and do not understand that it is research based and has measurable results.

I know from personal experience that a single song has the power to change a person’s mood. Different chords release different endorphins in your body. A minor chord usually has a sound that the human mind relates to as sad or dark whereas a major chord sounds happy and light. Some songs are so moving to an individual that they cause a person to cry for reasons they cannot explain. This phenomenon illustrates the strong psychological affect that music can have on a person. I can understand how music can be used as a therapy to release emotion or used as a way to learn how to relate to others through emotional music. Music can also be scientifically used to access different parts of the brain that aren’t normally used.