Sing Yourself to Happiness

YouTube video Gnews Health

Sing Yourself to Happiness

More evidence proves that singing, especially in groups, can lift your mood and help those living with mental illness.

With 2018 underway, you may be looking for ways to brighten your year that don’t require cutting calories or hitting the gym.

“Definitely, being in the group was the key aspect,” Tom Shakespeare, PhD, a professor of disability research at Norwich Medical School and author of a paper that evaluated the singing program, told Healthline.

While SYHO began at a psychiatric hospital in 2005, it eventually moved into a community setting. What ‘s so special about groups?
A sense of accomplishment, particularly to those who are coping with mental health conditions, occurs,” Anderson told Healthline.

Participants also commented that singing was a form of communication that allowed them to express emotions in a supported environment and communicate in a socially unthreatening way.

Both happy and sad songs are in the repertoire of SYHO. Does the type of music matter?
“Lyrics with a message of inspiration hope have more of a chance to modulate moods in that direction as opposed to lyrics with a more superficial or base message.

Also, harmonies and melodies are imbued by the composer to elicit certain emotions and mood that he or she felt the need to express through song,” noted Anderson.

While the SYHO study was conducted on a group of people who predominantly had been patients in secondary mental healthcare settings, it was not music therapy and it was not conducted in a clinical setting. Is singing a cure for mental health?

The paper authors state, “For many, this represented a chance to feel good and express happiness with others.

When it comes this expertise, music therapy, which incorporates music activities such as singing, Anderson says it can be a powerful and curative complementary therapy in a person’s journey to wellness and recovery.