Almost everyone likes music of one kind or another. We tend to be passionate about our favorites and dismissive of things we do not like. We attend concerts, stream songs and albums, and eagerly follow gossip about the musicians we adore or abhor. We hear music in commercials and in nearly every show, movie, and video game. Whether the style is classical music, rock and pop, country music, jazz, or any of the many, many other sorts of sounds available for listening, music can seem like a constant companion as we move through the world.
It only makes sense, then, that music and musicians have made the occasional occurrence in our blog posts about substance use disorder recovery and mental health. Let’s take a look back at three of those entries.
Our Tay-Tay Era
In a post titled “Inspiration From Swift’s ‘Taylor’s Version’ Project,” we argued that the recovery journey has a lot in common with Swift’s efforts to reclaim her early music by rerecording the albums that other folks held the rights to. (We are delighted, by the way, that she now owns the rights to her full catalogue.)
Here’s an excerpt from that post:
…Taylor’s version of each record in her early catalog is a largely faithful recreation of the originals. But she has also made some improvements. First and foremost, she’s simply a better singer than she was when she was younger. In the songs themselves, she has changed the occasional lyric for one reason or another, made slightly different musical choices, and released tons of material that never made it onto the original records.
When your treatment comes to an end, you will start reintroducing yourself to the people in your life. In many ways, you will be just like the person you were before drugs or alcohol got their hooks in you. But in other ways, there are likely to be subtle changes for the better…That is to say that after treatment for a substance use disorder, you will be familiar but also changed—just like Swift’s new versions of her original records. And you will have reclaimed something of inestimable value: control of your own life.
Songs From the Past Can Be Relevant to Your Present and Future
We wrote “Oldies but Goodies Offer Musical Recovery Advice” shortly after the passing of Beach Boys legend Brian Wilson. The post includes ideas drawn from a number of different songs and artists, but the excerpt we’ll share here is based around the Beach Boys’ hit “Surfin’ Safari”:
The song kicks off with a suggestion: “Let’s go surfin’ now/ everybody’s learning how/ come on and safari with me.” As it would turn out, those opening lines can be a useful reminder for a person in recovery from a substance use disorder. But you don’t need a longboard to do the kind of surfing we are referring to. Instead, we’re talking about something called “urge surfing.”
Urge surfing is a kind of mindfulness practice that can help a person who is experiencing cravings for drugs or alcohol successfully manage the moment. When you are urge surfing, you alternate your focus between the physical manifestations of your cravings in your body and your breath. To connect it with the kind of surfing the Beach Boys so frequently sang about, think of a craving as a wave and your breathing as a surfboard you are skillfully riding.
Being Lady Gaga Is Not All About Glamor and Glitz
In “Listening to Lady Gaga About Mental Health,” we explored quotes from the musician related to her mental health struggles because your mental health is inextricably tangled up with your recovery efforts. Here’s one example of her wise words related to good mental health:
“If you see somebody that’s hurting don’t look away. And if you’re hurting, even though it might be hard, try to find that bravery within yourself to dive deep and go tell somebody and take them up in your head with you.”
It can be hard to ask for help. You might feel embarrassed or like you should be able to take care of your problems—including mental health issues—on your own. But seeking help when it is necessary is, as Lady Gaga points out, a brave thing to do. And having empathy for someone else who is hurting is a good way to build empathy for yourself, too.
Even More Recovery and Mental Health Messaging from Music
We encourage you to read the full blogs we quote from here. In addition, longtime readers might have already realized this is not the first time we have rounded up blog posts centered on music and musicians. If you are looking for even more music-related ideas and tips, you can find them in our post titled “Some Sobriety Suggestions from Songs.”
Music to Your Ears: Wooded Glen Can Help
Located in Henryville, Indiana, Wooded Glen Recovery Center helps individuals who are struggling with a substance use disorder. We are also able to address any co-occurring mental health disorders. We create personalized plans of treatment grounded in evidence-based practices, and our commitment to an empathetic approach ensures that you will never feel judged while in our care.