Heard a lot lately about singers and musicians having a tough time with their mental state. Seems like it comes with the territory, right? High pressure, weird hours, unstable work. People talk about singing itself being therapeutic, releasing good chemicals in your brain, all that stuff.
I was feeling pretty ground down myself a while back. Not specifically a singer, but just stressed out from work and life. Someone mentioned, “Hey, why don’t you try singing? Supposed to be good for your head.” Sounded a bit wishy-washy to me, but I figured, why not? What did I have to lose?
Giving it a Shot
So, I decided to actually try this out. Wasn’t really looking for a formal ‘center’ or anything, more just exploring the idea. Could just making noise actually help? Started humming tunes while doing chores, then actually putting on music and singing along in the car. Felt kind of dumb at first, honestly. My voice isn’t great.
Then I tried joining this very informal community choir thing. Nothing professional, just folks getting together once a week. Here’s what I noticed:
- The act itself: Focusing on the notes, breathing, trying to blend in – it did take my mind off things for an hour or so. Kind of meditative, in a way.
- The ‘feel-good’ part: Yeah, sometimes afterwards I felt a bit lighter. Maybe that’s the endorphins or dopamine they talk about. It wasn’t like a huge rush, more like a gentle lift, like after mild exercise.
- The social bit: Being around other people doing the same thing was probably more helpful than the singing itself. Just a low-pressure social interaction.
Where It Falls Short
But here’s the thing. It was… okay. Nice, even. But calling singing itself a ‘mental health solution’ feels like a stretch based on my little experiment. It didn’t magically fix the burnout or the underlying stress.
It reminded me of this friend I have, a guitarist. Really talented guy, but struggles massively with anxiety and depression, especially between gigs. People tell him, “Just play your music, man! Let it out!” And yeah, playing helps him cope in the moment, but it doesn’t pay his rent or deal with the crippling self-doubt industry pressure gives him. He needed actual therapy, consistent support, maybe even financial advice – stuff that just ‘singing more’ or ‘playing more’ doesn’t touch.
So, my takeaway from this little practice? Singing can be a decent distraction, a mild mood booster, maybe a nice social activity if you do it with others. It’s a tool. But thinking of it as some kind of dedicated ‘mental health center’ or a replacement for actual support systems? Nah. That feels like putting a band-aid on a broken leg.
For folks in the music world facing real mental health battles, they need more than just being told to sing. They need proper resources, accessible therapy, maybe industry changes. Singing is nice, but it’s not the cure-all some make it out to be. Just my two cents from trying it out myself.
