A new study, published in the academic journal, PLOSONE, suggests that a number of music and other auditory stimuli like ABS (auditory beat stimulation) can help reduce symptoms of trait anxiety.
I’d recommend reading Corrie Pelc’s write-up on the study in Medical News Today, but here’s the bite sized verison.
First, a few definitions.
ABS “uses sound waves to produce combination tones, binaural beats, or monaural beats […] with the intention of producing a neural frequency following response.”
Trait Anxiety refers to a “relatively stable disposition within the individual to judge a wide range of environmental events as potentially threatening.”
If you don’t have trait anxiety, you might not get what that means. If so, awesome.
If you do have trait anxiety, you know exactly the feeling that definition describes, so I need say know more.
Anyway, as context, the study’s lead author told Medical News Today that past research shows music can have a powerful effect on anxiety.
However, it seems that music can be particularly powerful when it’s personally curated and matches the individual’s current state of mood.
You and I can relate.
Sometimes a melancholy song hurts too much, sometimes it’s exactly what we need when we’re melancholy.
Only we know.
Sometimes a hymn can mean a great deal, other times, it can provoke trauma from childhood churches that simultaneously sang those hymns while soon thereafter preaching a graceless gospel of a jesus who was anything but loving (I don’t capitalize “Jesus” there, because it was anything but the real Jesus) .
Only we know whether that will help.
For example, I have a friend who can’t hear the Doxology without spiraling into a pit of trauma.
It’s not the words, it’s the context where they heard the words.
So the study.
The team put participants in four groups: 1) a playlist personally created by AI for the person + ABS. 2) Music playlist only 3) ABS only 4) Pink noise only.
Some findings:
–Participants with “moderate trait anxiety” experienced the largest reduction in symptoms when listening to a combo of ABS and the AI-personalized music playlist.
–Participants with “high trait anxiety” experienced the most relief from their anxiety symptoms when listening ONLY to their AI-curated music playlist. In other words, no ABS.
There are a number of potential reasons for why ABS appeared to help for some, but not others, but I won’t get into that here.
But the point is — this is more scientific proof that music YOU like, that fits your mood at the moment, can help relieve symptoms of trait anxiety.
The researchers are next going to look into a study where this phenomenon is measured over a longer period of time, to test whether it can provide lasting relief.
And yes, as I write this, I’m listening to a Spotify playlist that never fails, regardless of mood, strangely.
If you struggle with anxiety.
Find a psychiatrist here.
Find a therapist here.
And find salvation that leads to resurrection at death here: Jesus: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by me.”
One of my favorites here.
