Inside my headphones
“Music can heal the wounds which medicine cannot touch.” - Debasish Mridha
Surveys and studies show that over 85% of people believe that music has a positive impact on mental health and wellbeing.
Can music transform your brain? is a Youtube video explaining how music can have an impact on your wellbeing. I felt that it broke down the ways our brains work when we are feeling different ways.
Personally, music has always been a huge part of my life and it probably has been in yours. From being sat in the back seat of my mom’s car listening to the music she has a love for to being a teen and dancing around my bedroom to the same music, music is something that was constantly around me and those same songs will always give me that same feeling as I had when I was younger. Music holds memories.
A Doctor at Durham university has written a piece on why music brings back memories and the science behind it. Why does music bring back memories?
I would also like to touch on how as humans when we are feeling down and sad, we listen to sad music that validates our emotions. It’s almost a comfort blanket, people who are sad will listen to sad music so that they can stay drowning in the feeling for a bit longer without feeling guilty. I used to do it too, I even had a playlist full of sad or slow songs that I would listen to when I was in a bad mood. Although it is completely fine to sit in your emotions to understand them, as humans we need to have an understanding of when it gets to a point. When I am feeling down now, I listen to music that will lift my mood and instantly feel like myself again.
The psychology of people who love sad music is a video explaining why we tend to listen to sad music whenever we are feeling down.
I do think that listening to sad or slow music can help us process our emotions but I also believe that listening to upbeat music can really motivate people. It goes both ways. Not only does upbeat music make me personally feel happy, I have seen it in others. Like when my step mom doesn’t have the energy to clean the house on a Sunday afternoon she will put her headphones in and listen to “feel good” music and it motivates her to do the things she didn’t want to do originally.
Interviews
I interviewed some people I know on their love for music and what it means for them and their mental health. These people are the reason music has surrounded me, their own music tastes influencing me as I grew up.
An extract from a written interview with myself and my older step sister and best friend, Grace Salter
Emma - “Can you tell me a song that reminds you of a certain point or moment in your life?”
Grace - “Whenever I hear any song by Oasis, I think about my mom and dad, which is unusual because you don’t usually think of two things in relation to an artist or song, especially because my parents are separated. When I was younger I used to listen to Oasis with my dad, we even went to see a tribute band but I also saw Oasis live in 2025 with my mom so that’s really a lovely moment to be reminded of.”
Emma - “How would you describe the feeling of finding a new favourite song?”
Grace - “It’s really hard to explain the feeling, some lyrics can really hit you when you're listening for the first time because it’s like that feeling of being understood so deeply by someone that doesn’t even know that you feel the same way about something. I hold those songs really close to my heart and sometimes I even cry, because it can be emotional.”
Emma - “Do you have a song where the lyrics touched you like that?”
Grace - “Yes, ‘Blackbird’ by The Beatles. The lyrics in that song are so meaningful to me ‘Take these broken wings and learn to fly’ being a main one because I struggled a lot mentally a few years ago and it kind of showed me that I can’t wait for someone to come and help me, I have to pick myself up and learn to fly again.”
Emma - “Is there another song that somewhat helped you through a difficult time in your life like you just mentioned?”
Grace - “The song I listened to when doing my GCSE’s was ‘Stop crying your heart out’ by Oasis. The lyric ‘Don’t be scared, you’ll never change what’s been and gone’ to me, meant that no matter how much I worry and overthink these exams the result will always be the same. My worrying and stressing myself out will not change the outcome”
End of interview.
In this interview Grace talks about how some lyrics can hit you hard even on the first listen because they make you feel deeply understood by someone that doesn’t know you feel the same way about something, listening to her talking about this made me think about a time I felt less alone in my own feelings because of a song, a couple came to mind.
Holding On To Heartache by Louis Tomlinson is my favourite song ever written, the first time I heard it it instantly clicked with me. This song gives out a very strong message about struggling to let go of things that have happened in the past but knowing it is the best thing for yourself. This song for me is almost like a comfort blanket, I listen to it whenever I am feeling down or anxious and it instantly relaxes my mind.
I always wanna die (Sometimes) by The 1975 was the first song that came to mind when I was having this conversation with Grace because during a very difficult time in my life I would listen to this song. I am aware that the lead singer of the band, Matty Healy, is a controversial character but I cannot deny how seen I felt listening to this song at that period of my life. The song does bring back memories of that time but I wouldn’t say that the struggles I was facing are what I think about whenever I hear this song. I would say that I think about my life now and how things will always get better, even if it doesn’t feel like it at the time.
A lyric from this song has stuck with me since I first heard it. “If you can’t survive, just try” though this lyric sounds like simple advice, it was exactly what I needed to hear at that time. That lyric alone helped me through what I would consider the hardest time of my life at only 17 years old.
I BELIEVE by Erin LeCount is a song that only came out a couple of months ago but it was one of the first songs I thought of. The first time I listened to this song I instantly got it, not only was the beat and the melody catchy but the lyrics were so vulnerable. This song made me feel so unbelievably seen to the point it made me emotional. To me, this song is about doing everything you possibly can to find something to truly and devotedly believe in with zero doubt.
I was so connected to this song because it completely validated my feelings that I have had and felt guilty for having for so long. Ever since I was young I desperately wanted to believe in something or to be truly religious because I have always envied people that genuinely do believe that there is something more. I grew up in a catholic school and was around a semi-religious family, I have always felt so out of place and I couldn’t find the words to explain this feeling I had for so long and this song says it so beautifully.
An interview with myself and my dad, Adam Leatherbarrow
What can live music do for the mind?
It is scientifically proven that live music makes people happy and distracts the mind from other stressful things happening in their lives because it lowers cortisol levels. Not only does it help people destress, live music triggers the release of dopamine in the human brain and that leads to feelings of happiness. The screaming crowds you hear at concerts isn’t people being “crazy” they are just excited and full of adrenaline.
Photography by @emmaleatherbarrow_ on Instagram
Music therapy
I listened and took notes from a podcast called Episode 3: Music & psychosis - the life of a music therapist inside an acute in-patient psychiatric ward by Katy Georgiou.
Katy Georgiou and Phil Clarke made some really good points about what music therapy does for patients like how some people may find it really difficult to speak out loud about their feelings and emotions, in music therapy they can just play instruments however they like to express how they are feeling. They also have a recording room that patients record themselves playing instruments or even singing a melody into the microphone and the therapists listen back to show them that they are heard.
Mental health disorders in musicians
Mental health issues are very real and common in many people, even the people that help us with ours. A recent survey of 1,500 independent musicians found that 73% have symptoms of mental illness, this could be due to the physical and psychological challenges in this area of careers. It is found in researches that musically active people have, on average, a higher risk for depression and bipolar disorder.
Many different artists such as Adele, Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, Kendrick Lamar, Matty Healy of The 1975 and Demi Lavato have spoken out about their mental health battles. As much as this must be a difficult topic for them to speak out about, hearing these high profile artists talk about their struggles so publicly can open up the conversation about the importance of mental wellness and can make a lot of people feel understood and less alone in their problems. These people raising awareness can help many other people get the support they need.
Billie Eilish talks about struggles with her mental health
Eilish, who’s gearing up for the release of her third album “Hit Me Hard and Soft“ next month, reflected on her lifelong battle with depression in an interview with Rolling Stone published Wednesday. The “What Was I Made For?“ songstress revealed she suffered an intense bout last summer.
“It was just realer than it’s ever been before,” Eilish told the magazine. “My whole life, I’ve never been a happy person, really. I’ve been a joyous person but not a happy person. I experience joy and laughter, and I can find fun in things, but I’m a depressed person.
“I’ve suffered with a lot of depression my whole life. When things happen in my soul, or whatever, the thing I’ve always held on to is, ‘Well, it’ll pass. It’ll come in waves, and it’ll get worse and it’ll get better.’ And that’s always brought me comfort. And this time, I literally was like, ‘I don’t care. I don’t even want it to get better.’ “
In conclusion, music is and will always be a huge part in many peoples lives and healing mentally through either just listening to music playing in the background, actively helping with your mental health or processing your own emotions, even if you don’t recognise it happening!
Thank you for reading!
Visit here for a feel good playlist made my myself and many other music lovers, being updated regularly with more and more songs to lift your mood instantly.
If you are struggling with any mental health disorders mentioned, you can contact these links suggested by the NHS to get support for free.
Call 116 123 to talk to Samaritans, or email: jo@samaritans.org for a reply within 24 hours.
If you’re under 19, you can also call 0800 1111 to talk to Childline – The number will not appear on your phone bill.