Mental Health Toolbox: Why We Should Be Paying More Attention to the Power of Music and Film
The power of music and film to combat mental health issues, such as depression, may seem so obvious that it is barely worth commenting on. Yet, when struggling with unwanted thoughts or feelings, it is easy to forget that the things that seem simple, are actually the most powerful tools that humans use to bring themselves pleasure.
There is always a risk that the power of music and film can be lost in everyday life, and their true capacity not completely recognised. But engaging with music and film can be an effective and lasting way to reach a ‘target emotion’ – how you want to feel, such as happy or contented.
This power lies in music and film’s ability to hijack the biological systems of the brain, which release certain neurotransmitter chemicals associated with certain emotions. Dopamine, for example, makes you feel happy; it appears in the brain as a reward for human activity that is biologically significant, such as eating. Chocolate, for example, releases dopamine because it is completely necessary to create the insulation essential for my survival in the winter months…
Okay, perhaps I made that bit up.
However, it is true that dopamine does improve your mood, and can often be key to tackling problematic thoughts and feelings.
In 2011, researchers from McGill Montreal University in Montreal released a report in Nature Neuroscience which confirmed that music can release dopamine into your system, especially if it gives you ‘chills’ (also known as ‘musical frisson’). Whilst the researchers focused on the power that instrumental music, and not song lyrics, had over their test subjects, that doesn’t mean we should ignore the fact that Pharell Williams repeatedly singing ‘because I’m happy…’ might actually help you feel happy too; Kelly Clarkson asserting that ‘What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!’ could just be the thing that propels you through that assessment.
On the other hand, the power of film over mental health works in several ways. First, for many, an escape from our ordinary world – that at times seems hopeless, or just plain boring – can be a considerable help in itself. Transporting yourself to a world where you just know Harry is going to vanquish Voldemort in the end, no matter what happens along the way, can be a very reassuring experience. The problem with this tactic is that it can often feel short-lived, and before long you are plopped back into messy, unpredictable reality.
Even so, knowing that the power of evil can be defeated in a fictional world, gives us hope that evil – for example, the patriarchy – can be defeated in our own world. And this is something which is ingrained in us through fiction practically from birth.
However, film can also be used in a similar way to music – to release chemicals which make us feel better on an almost primal level of our biology. The most effective way to do this is through comedy – or, more accurately, laughter.
Laughing (the study of which has the pleasing name ‘gelotology’) releases endorphins, which, like dopamine, make us feel happy. As a bonus, watching films with friends, and laughing alongside friends, is important for creating strong social connections which can often be central to fighting problems with mental health.
Music and film are designed to invoke feelings, and it is completely wrong that we do not always harness this superb power to promote the emotions that we want to feel. Your headphones and your Netflix account could become some of your most powerful devices in your mental health toolbox, if you know how to use them correctly.