Music’s Impact on the Mind – Remedy or Recipe for Rumination?

Alannah Marriott

Welcome back MUPA besties!! In light of Semester 2 commencing, we want to share some tips and tricks to foster a productive and optimistic mindset! Further, we hope to encourage you to evaluate your Spotify Wrapped profile (not just because it’s an embarrassment to your character), and appreciate the power music has to prime your thoughts. Although the pressure of University assessments and commitments will undoubtedly rise over the upcoming weeks, we’re here to help you ‘hack your brain’ and channel a state of calmness amongst the chaos.  

Today I’d like to take you through a thought experiment, a deep delve into your psyche, a projective test of your unconscious. Nah, just kidding! There’s no need to be afraid…

No time. You’ve overslept the morning of your first shift at a new job and can’t find your keys. 

No fuel. Your sister took your car out AGAIN, and apparently, she remains oblivious to the invention of petrol stations. 

No money. Like I said, you were unemployed…and it’s looking like it might stay that way. 

You pick up the phone to call your boyfriend for a lift. 

That’s before the memory hits you like a sledgehammer. He cheated. It’s over. And just like that you’ve lost your keys and the love of your life. Begrudgingly, you walk towards the nearest bus stop, already 30 minutes late and almost certainly fired. 

Which song do you select as you begin the torturous journey? 

1. abcdefu (angrier) – GAYLE 

2. Jar of Hearts – Christina Perri 

3. I Gotta Feeling – The Black Eyed Peas 

4. 10 Things I Hate About You – Leah Kate

Now, if you picked option C, then I’ve got a feeling you might have some psychopathic tendencies, because seriously, there’s nothing worse than hearing “tonight’s gonna be a good night”, while you’re having a certifiably disastrous time. Me personally, I’m queuing up A to B to D, followed by the rest of my aptly named “Hater 💋” playlist. Naturally, you are going to be inclined to embrace these feelings of rage and bitterness, and most would agree that this is a healthy outlet. Take Freud’s psychoanalytic theory and his defence mechanism of repression - distancing the conscious mind from distressing memories, thoughts and feelings. I’m sure you would have heard the dangers of emotional suppression, extending as far as physiological consequences: recurring infections, digestive issues, heart disease. Yeah great idea Freud! (P.S. for more slander see our upcoming podcast!!). 

But what type of music would you listen to the next day? How about the next week, or even the next month? 

At what point do you begin spiralling into a deep descent of ruminative despair? It is important to be aware of context-specific effectiveness, identifying when adaptive coping mechanisms have become maladaptive. Take journaling as an analogous strategy. Whilst emotional wellness can be improved through reflective pieces (or perhaps more accurately, furious scribbles) would you go back and re-read your distressing thoughts day after day? Long-term potentiation is both a blessing and a curse.

Unhealthy Music Use

Maladaptive coping is not only limited to the traditionally demonised substance abuse, self-isolation and avoidance, but can also include subtle manifestations such as certain music-listening trends. Use of music can easily become maladaptive, entailing social isolation, avoidance, worsened affect and heightened anxiety (Silverman, 2020). Unhealthy music use, which advances negative self-evaluations and rumination, or acts as a cue for distressing memories, was explanatory for denial and behavioural disengagement.

Whereas, healthy music was positively correlated with positive reframing, socialisation, acceptance and humour, as more adaptive coping strategies. Importantly, it is not the genre itself that dictates healthiness, but rather the subjective experience it brings about, which is grounded in the individual’s pre-existing relationship with music. 

Cathartic Cords

Extensive research has verified the cathartic value of music as a self-regulation technique for expressing, processing and validating your affective experience. Coined as “colorful screams of silent emotion” (Rakici & Karaman; 2019), the arts of all forms, especially music, dance and painting, gently encourage individuals towards positivity. Their study specifically suggests the importance of art in “catharsis, purification, and release”, to improve the hope-life-healing process among oncological patients. 

Similarly, positive music preferences have been observed not only in periods of individual hardship, but also in times of economic and social adversity, in a compensatory manner. Music consumption during the COVID-19 crisis indicated that declined well-being arising from negative community events predicts an increased popularity of positive song lyrics (Palomeque & de-Lucio, 2024). 

Famously, elite athletes often engage in pre-performance routines combining music with mental imagery. Music is an integral part of simulation and stress-inoculation training, as a form of cognitive stress management to reduce anxiety and achieve optimal arousal for maximal success (Mace & Carroll, 1986). Why not apply the same principle to your University performance? Whether it’s before your first tutorial of a new subject, or as you walk towards the dreaded Wilson’s Hall for yet another assessment, here’s a few of our song recommendations for an instant pump-up: 

  • Icon – Jaden 

  • ‘Till I Collapse – Eminem

  • The Final Countdown – Europe 

  • Alors on Danse – Stromae, Kanye West

  • Seven Nation Army – The White Stripes 

  • Started – Iggy Azalea 

  • Congratulations – Post Malone, Quavo 

  • Octane – Until I Wake 

  • Pour It Up – Rihanna 

  • Abigail – Motionless In White 

  • Girl On Fire (Inferno Version) – Alicia Keys, Nicki Minaj 

  • BYE – Jaden

  • Symphony of Destruction – Megadeth 

  • Maneater – Nelly Furtado 

  • Spit It Out – Slipknot 

  • My Prerogative – Britney Spears 

  • I Feel Like A God – DeathbyRomy

Walking the Tightrope 

I hope this post inspires you to carefully analyse how adaptive your music listening habits are, and suggests how you may exploit these to improve your mood and mitigate distress. Of course, there is often a fine line between aiming for healthy emotional processing, and becoming vulnerable to rumination. Let me leave you with this quote: 

Life is a balance between holding on and letting go.       

Thank you, and best of luck for the Semester!