Musical Moods

Everybody listens to music at one point or another during the day. That made me wonder about the impact that music has on one’s moods and I started to pay a bit more attention. Does the music alter your mood, or do you choose the music you want to listen to based on your current mood? Perhaps it is a bit of both.

I’m Bi-polar. (If you don’t know what this is, Google it.) It is both a boon and a bane to live with. In regard of music, it can make music quite enjoyable, because of the euphoric states involved in Bi-polar; it can really make the music “come alive” as such. The complete opposite is also possible where the music can cause a nice depressive episode. Not that this has happened since I started the medication as such, but thinking back I can identify certain scenarios where the music I was listening to could have been the cause of the mood swing towards the depressive state.

Now, I am only starting to discover and learning to live with this “disease” that I supposedly suffer from. Sure, I have had it all my life. Quantifying it does change the context quite a bit unfortunately. Initially I was a little taken aback when mention was made of the possibility. (Thanks mate, you know who you are.) It was shocking to think that you might be mentally “ill” as such. I’m not so sure that I “suffer” from this “illness” at all now. Yes, I have an issue with regulating my moods and I feel things in the extremes only, unless I consciously spend energy to regulate the emotional output. That is something that can get a bit tiring sometimes and I do fail at it quite often and then I am ruled by my emotions at that point. Most people find that very overwhelming and hard to deal with. Sorry guys, I don’t do it on purpose…

It all sounds pretty bad, but think of it out of this perspective. I “feel” everything a bit more intensely than someone without my imbalance. Now what if I could use my newfound knowledge of the possible effect music has on my moods as a way to regulate the state of my current mood… Now that I think would be worth it.