Does singing reduce anxiety? My easy guide.

Does singing reduce anxiety?

I was diagnosed with anxiety at the age of thirteen; my medical records say that I suffer from severe panic attacks. I have had a passion for singing since I was nine. I want to share my experience of dealing with anxiety and how singing has impacted my anxiety.

We will be discussing the following:

Does singing calm you down?
Is singing good for Mental Health?
Why do I feel better when I sing?
Why does music make my anxiety go away?

Does singing reduce anxiety?

Yes, singing does reduce anxiety. You don’t have to go and buy expensive vocal lessons or have to go out in public and perform on stage to reduce anxiety. You can just pull up a karaoke version of a song you love and just have a sing-along. I would recommend doing a five-minute vocal warm-up at least before singing just to protect your voice.

Singing releases stress as it encourages you to control your breathing which is the best way to reduce anxiety when you feel anxious. It also helps as a good distraction from what you are feeling anxious about; this is because you get lost in the story of your favourite song and just enjoy the moment.

Does singing calm you down?

During my personal battle with anxiety, I used singing to pull me out of my nightmare reality and into my wonderful world of singing. While singing, I used to daydream that I was the character in the song I was singing and performing in my bedroom like I was starring in a film. I know this sounds embarrassing, and it would be awful if a family member walked in mid-performance (luckily, that never happened). However, my family knew I loved to sing, so they would usually not disturb me.

My story about anxiety developed when I was 13 years old. I didn’t understand what mental health was or what was happening to me. All I knew was my heart was beating loudly in my ears, pins and needles began in my hands and shot up and down both arms. I had no control over my hands; I could not close my fingers or grasp anything, no matter how hard I tried. Black splodges and blobs floated before my eyes, so I couldn’t see anything. My breathing became rapid and shallow. It was like on every inhale, my body wasn’t taking in any oxygen; it felt like suffocation. You believe you are dying. As I stared at the ceiling feeling like it was closing in on me, I was experiencing a panic attack.

At the time, Panic attacks meant nothing to me; mental health was for the insane. This is what I believed as a 13-year-old. I believed I just had a stomach bug or something. I couldn’t believe that your brain is evil enough to make you feel something physical, even though there is nothing there. How can something that physically cripples me briefly be caused by something in my mind? How is this feeling all in my head?

During this confusing time, singing was my escapism. I enjoyed the confidence boost, and the heavy anxiety disappeared for a few moments. Sometimes singing isn’t a strong enough distraction by itself. If you suffer from severe anxiety, then I would try playing an instrument whilst singing, like a guitar or piano, as this will also keep your hands busy, making it almost impossible to zone out and think about what is causing you anxiety in the first place.

Is singing good for Mental Health?

Why I Sing for Wellbeing |Jude Taylor |TEDxRoyalCentralSchool

Singing has been proven to improve your mental health by releasing happy chemicals in your brain, such as dopamine, serotonin and endorphins. As said previously in the video above, singing is also fun, which is also a feel-good factor and can increase your confidence which will improve how you feel in your day-to-day life. Singing can be like a workout because it’s very physical; exercise has proven to also help your mental health. Singing also is a very heavy breathing technique orientated, which is like meditating, which is another healthy mental health benefit as it can lower your blood pressure.

Here are a few books that I recommend for the benefits of singing:

Conclusion

Why do I feel better when I sing? From this post, we now know that we feel better due to the release of endorphins, and it releases tension in your body, which overall reduces anxiety. There is even singing therapy for anxiety. I hope this post gives you the inspiration to start singing for your own benefit, as there are no bad side effects of singing, only spiritual benefits of singing and physical benefits. I hope you will experience the joy of including singing in your daily routine and have the benefits of singing everyday. If singing in your bedroom isn’t for you and you need more motivation and something to work towards whilst singing, then I would recommend looking into joining a choir and learning about the health benefits of singing in a choir. Does singing reduce anxiety? We now know that the answer to this question is yes, and I hope you have learnt something new from this post and have taken away some positivity about how to deal with anxiety in a healthy manner. Feel free to check out the books I have linked above.

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