Sad music helps us to feel more understood. We immediately feel less alone when the lyrics of a song relate to our memories and the music expresses feelings that are comparable to our own. When we think that someone else has gone through something similar and can relate to how we feel, we feel much better about our circumstances.
More significantly, it gives us comfort in knowing that our feelings are valid. The moving music validates our emotions and teaches us that they are entirely normal and human, which makes it easier for us to go on. According to a recent study, that explains what happens in our brain when we listen to music that matches our emotions, sad music can be joyful rather than just depressing since it brings back happy memories that might uplift our spirits.
Even when they are not distressed, many people love melancholy music. Given how music is, this is unexpected. Why would anyone like to run the risk of ruining an excellent mood by hearing something depressing? Let us understand the psychology behind enjoying the sad songs in this article. To hear some of the amazing pop, sad, and many other genres of music, check out the website of pop culture madness. You will be amazed by the various collections they have.
Why Sad Music Is Comforting to Listen?
- Sad music is generally regarded as being more ‘moving’ than other types of music by those who like it. According to one study, sad music evokes a variety of pleasant aesthetic sensations in addition to just grief. It was also discovered that those with strong empathy scores gave sad music their highest praise and enjoyed it the most. They merely take pleasure in the strong emotions that sad music stirs.
- We feel good about ourselves if we concentrate on someone who is performing significantly worse, a well-known practice called downward social comparison, according to social psychology. Suppose if someone tells you that the other person is having a worse time than you are, therefore everything will be fine.
- According to another theory from social psychology, people enjoy listening to music that reflects the mood of their current circumstances in life because these songs serve as a sort of tuning fork for our circumstances and have a strong emotional resonance.
- According to some scientists, the hormonal prolactin, a substance that reduces grief, is connected to melancholic music. In essence, the body is prepared to adapt to a catastrophic occurrence, and when that incident does not occur, the body is left with a delightful opiate mixture and nowhere else to go.
- Dopamine is a neurotransmitter linked to food, sex, and drugs. Thanks to our brain scan, we know that hearing music generates this neurotransmitter at particular emotional peaks. It is also plausible that this is where we get satisfaction from listening to depressing music.
- Another theory contends that when we experience melancholy through the arts rather than directly, our minds respond to it differently.
Depending on the aforementioned variables, listening to depressing music may have either adaptive or unfavourable consequences. Others will dwell and obsess over their feelings as if they are being forced to focus on unpleasant aspects of life, while some people are listening to sad music and appreciate it or feel cleansed.
Read also: Social Reasons For Continuous Satisfaction In Child