Music for Depression

 

  • You can find more details on music streaming for depression, anxiety and bipolar symptoms in our blueprint, recently published in Frontiers in Public Healthjournal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpubh.2016.00217/full
  • Music modulates our emotions and arousal. People living with depression would benefit from daily listening to positive-valence music which activates their arousal, but they are more likely to listen to melancholic and sad music.
  • This figure illustrates relationships between music and mood:

  • Music streaming for depression works like any music streaming, but streaming algorithm helps to “connect” with a person by playing her/his-selected music based on current mood, and then judiciously increases positive valence (toward “relaxed”), followed by gradually increasing arousal (toward “happy”). Such transitions from sad to relaxing to happy music are balanced by ad hoc personal feedback.
  •  There is a lot of research on how music can modulate the affective states and mood, and how it can be harnessed for people with depression. For example: journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnins.2015.00354/full
  • Our hypothesis is that long-term, daily music-based exercises of the affective states may become a therapy and preventive medicine for depression and other affective disorders.
  •  Challenge #1: When you listen to music streaming, please imagine your favorite songs being played along with inspiring images and quotes about how important and powerful you are. Can we stream music together with empowerment, self-esteem and self-care?