Music Therapy for Eating Disorders | Blog
Written by ‘Ai Pono Hawaii Staff Writer
At some point in your life when you were angry, sad, distressed, or just bored, you have probably turned towards music to comfort you. It seems to be a release from those emotions, or at least something that calms you down, right? Did you know that music therapy is an entire therapeutic practice, one that has a significantly positive effect?
Keep reading to learn more about what formal music therapy is, how it works, the science behind it, and how we here at 'Ai Pono use the ukulele for healing.
Music therapy is more than putting on a pair of headphones…
Music therapy is the formal practice of using musical experiences to improve a patient's wellbeing. Music therapy is done by a trained professional, in a therapeutic setting. Musical experiences can mean anything from playing structured or improved songs on instruments, singing, songwriting, or lyric analysis.
Music therapists play music for patients or teach them how to play. They also engage patients in singing and songwriting, as working with lyrics allows access to emotions and unconscious thoughts in a low-pressure environment. Patients can then take what they've learned and apply it in their daily lives. This may look like listening to music to deescalate painful emotions. It could also be playing an instrument to distract from negative thoughts and the urge to use maladaptive coping mechanisms.
The Relationship Between Music, the Brain, the Body, and the Mind
Interacting with music has several scientifically proven effects, in the body, brain, and emotional mind.
Physical Effects
Music has been scientifically proven to lower blood pressure and heart rate, which are two physical symptoms of anxiety. Listening to music has the potential to curb anxiety and/or prevent a panic attack.
More soft music has been shown to increase levels of dopamine (the pleasure hormone) and endorphins (the pain relieving and good mood hormone). It can also decrease adrenaline and cortisol (both are stress hormones).
Mental and Emotional Benefits
While experiencing music is largely viewed as a creative "right-brain" activity, processing music actually requires several parts of the brain.
Your brain mentally processes music in the following ways:
Perceptual: This is the brain working to hear and understand the soundwaves coming into your ears as music. Focusing on hearing all the sounds of a piece is a way to distract from other things you may be thinking about.
Emotional: Music interacts with the parts of the brain that process emotions. It has been proposed that music can actually activate the emotion processing part of your brain. If you want to access happiness, you may try listening to music that's lighter and happier in tone.
Cognitive: Listening to and playing music uses the same parts of the brain that you use when memorizing, visualizing, using language, and paying attention. Actively engaging with music will improve your brain's ability to perform those functions. And when your performance improves, your confidence and self-esteem will as well.
Behavioral/motor: When you're dancing or just nodding along to music, that's your brain doing motor processing. It's soothing, right?
Psychological Benefits
Listening to music and writing song lyrics are viewed as ways to express things that you can't express verbally. For example, listening to a certain song or sounds may bring up certain memories or experiences that you wouldn't have been able to access on your own. Music has a way of bypassing those unconscious defense mechanisms and bringing up what your unconscious mind has repressed, such as past trauma. You can then process this with your therapist.
It's also a great way of expressing and then releasing emotions. For example, if you are angry but cannot verbally express that, you can let out that emotion through banging on some drums. If you are sad, you can "play how you feel" and then contemplate those feelings with your therapist. Basically, music is an expressive, emotional language that we can use to speak when we have no words.
How is music therapy used for eating disorder treatment?
Listening to Music
Since listening to music is an easy, immediate activity that does not require much on the part of the listener, music therapy is really useful for instances such as after meals and other difficult activities. Music therapists come and play for patients in the residential setting. Individuals within the group setting are often allowed to choose what they'd like to hear from a given set of songs. Hearing positive, inspirational songs has also been proven to improve patient motivation to recover.
Writing and Playing Songs
These activities are widely used to improve self-esteem through mastery experiences. Individuals can also connect the mind and body through music. For example, in this study involving the experience of two women with eating disorders who engage in music therapy, creating music had two outcomes:
Susan gains a sense of self-confidence through the exploration of music, creative writing, and physical movement (only after being cleared for light physical activity.)
Helen finds it hard to connect her mind and her body, and translate her feelings into words. But through music therapy, she finds her inner self and is able to connect her inner and outer worlds. She gains a more objective understanding of reality and her cognitive distortions.
Lyric Analysis
Patients in the group setting or in one-on-one sessions with a music therapist may be asked to analyze the lyrics of a chosen song. Doing this causes many patients to emotionally and/or metaphorically identify with lyrics, and then process those thoughts and feelings with a trained professional.
This is especially helpful for individuals who find it difficult to verbalize what they're going through. Instead of reverting to unhelpful expressions (for example, "I feel fat") a person can express what's going on based on words someone else has already said.
Related: Many individuals with eating disorders say they "feel fat". Click here to find out why "feeling fat" isn't actually possible.
Improvised Playing
This is, as mentioned above, a powerful way to release emotions. It is also a way to experience music without the pressure of being "perfect". Without that kind of pressure, it's easier to experience all the benefits of music therapy.
Related: A lot of people with eating disorders are perfectionists. Read more about the connection between perfectionism and eating disorders here.
“Ukulele Therapy” at 'Ai Pono Hawaii
Here at 'Ai Pono, we have recognized the benefits of music therapy so much that we started our own “ukulele therapy” group! Individuals in our treatment programs will have the opportunity to learn the basics of ukulele in a calm, nonjudgmental environment. In this group setting, the goal is not to be perfect but to experience all the benefits of music therapy.
Clients are taught by our resident ukulele instructor, Joel Katz. He has a master's degree in education with a specialty in counseling. He has taught hundreds of students how to play over the past eleven years, and guarantees that every student he teaches will take something away from his group. Playing the ukulele as a group fosters a sense of community, releases stress, and allows clients to express themselves creatively.
To hear more about our ukulele therapy offering, visit: https://youtu.be/caRYFpGkqic
If you or a loved one is suffering from an eating disorder, take the first step today and talk to someone about recovery or simply learn more about the holistic eating disorder recovery programs we offer.