Music4Life® seeks to change a universal cycle of unsettledness that breeds a leading cause of death: suicide. This is the cycle we seek to break: Unsettledness creates music, and music creates unsettledness. Think about what might come first (like the dilemma of the chicken or the egg). Is it the unsettledness that produces the music, or is it the music that strengthens the unsettledness? It seems to be an endless cycle with escalating unsettledness breeding divisiveness, riots, shootings, violence, and suicide.
Unsettledness Produces Music
We know that, more often than not, singers-songwriters of popular bands create music out of trauma to express the hurt in a way that provides relief, to feel better. The music becomes a hit because fans support their favorite bands and identify with their trauma. Music production costs and resulting popularity force singer-songwriters into music industry contracts requiring them to relive the trauma by singing their hit song every night on tour. Then, they may stay trapped in unsettledness, seeking self-medication that may lead to addiction and suicide.
Music Strengthens Unsettledness
Chronic Unsettled Comfort Zones™
Thousands of Music4Life’s music therapy clinical hours uncovered serious conditions connected to common music listening practices. Discovered by Music4Life® music therapists providing treatment to more than 11,000 patients in residential addiction treatment centers, these common music listening practices are identified as Chronic Comfort Zones™ where mixed features of mood states mask complications connected to preferred music. Anxiety, anger, depression, and sadness were found to be misinterpreted and fueled by music, which can lead to Chronic Unsettled Comfort Zones™, which may contribute to suicide ideation, attempted or death by suicide.
DIY Programs are Essential
Because there are not enough mental health providers to prevent suicide, effective music methods are essential and facilitated by music therapists during clinical sessions. When you cannot access a music therapist, music therapy-informed DIY programs and products effectively manage moods through Music4Life®.
Playlists: Helping or Hurting?
Advocates for the power of music to manage mood and heal lead people to special playlists that may provide only short-term relief of an unsettled mood, or temporarily sustain a positive mood. Because problem moods arise if they stop listening to that music, listening escalates with the length of time almost nonstop. This cyclical problem of managing unsettled moods with preferred unsettled music requires effective education about common music listening practices, empowering habits that produce cathartic results, and music creation methods for effective mood support.
All of this has been developed over decades of clinical evidence, evolving the evidence-based practice of the Music4Life® Music Medicine Protocol. Now converted into DIY digitized programs and products, Music4Life’s Power Up Your Life collection supports prescriptive playlists and empowering music listening habits applied with virtual and physical products, programs, and training, now automated for easier access, to start feeling better – now. Read our new release book “Thriving Through Adversity” to learn through dozens of case stories about turning your life into a thriving lifestyle.
Music As Medicine For Active Duty Members or Veterans
92%
Gained new strategies to use music for personal growth and well-being.
75%
According to ABC News' analysis of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services data (2022), 75% of rural communities in the USA do not have mental health providers.
67%
Experienced reduced feelings of unsettledness with music applied as medicine.
Case Story "Annalisa"
Annalisa is an intelligent, well-liked, and very privacy-conscious 80-year-old who has faced significant challenges throughout her life. Growing up in an extremely dysfunctional and abusive large family led to constant anxiety and genetically predisposed depression. Raised Catholic, she was sent to a convent at age 14. Her memories of nine years in two different convents are filled with rejection and punishment, with leadership dealing with her depression by forcing her to undergo multiple terrifying electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) sessions.
During Annalisa’s 46-year marriage to her kind and faithful husband, who was a Marine veteran, she worked full-time and cared continually for him as his physical condition deteriorated. He died within three weeks of diagnosis almost six years ago. Since then, she has survived the isolation of the COVID pandemic and the death of her beloved kitty. Enduring a 30-year period of attempted suicide three times, Annalisa was admitted against her will to five psychiatric hospitals over a 50-year period, including one stay when she was raped. Living with post-traumatic stress (PTS) and daily suicidal ideation, Annalisa was referred to music therapy by another client.
Nearly two years ago, Annalisa declined to continue anti-depression and anti-anxiety medications, against the advice of her physician, due to significant physical problems caused by those meds. Recognizing the power of music therapy, her physician regularly prescribes it due to Annalisa’s continual struggle with saying “No” to life, but immediately responds with “Yes” to life because her prescriptive playlists support emotion regulation. Through tailored music-based interventions, from drumming and singing to songwriting, her prescriptive playlists provide a core support system for life. She has progressed from being a shut-in to driving, maintaining eye contact, and overcoming her fear of flying by traveling to another state to participate in a remote self-development retreat.
Annalisa now utilizes her 18th updated Music Medicine Pill, plus several other types of prescriptive playlists, to address prevailing therapeutic goals. Annalisa continues to survive by mitigating alarming emotions–anxiety, anger, depression, and sadness, with nurturing love, peace, and joy; she desires to thrive in life.
Excerpted from “Thriving Through Adversity: Prescriptive Playlists to Reclaim Joy, Peace and Purpose in Life” (Pinkerton, 2024).
