Listening to sad music when you're sad~

[ar-ninetysix]

I'm feeling particularly moody right now, I'll say that much lol I'm not gonna get into it, but yeah!

I have this habit of going out of my way to listen to depressing music when I get in a bad headspace. Half the time, I get into this perfect soundscape where that sadness can feel almost empowering and make me inspired enough to get creative and make something out of that energy.. and the other half of the time, I tend to get stuck in a cycle of getting sad because of the music and playing sadder music to fit the mood to kinda balance it out.. which, admittedly, never works, but I'm always optimistic about the odds of that working eventually lol

I believe that music can heal emotional wounds, but if I so strongly believe that, I have to believe that it can hurt us as well if we let it. That's why having a creative outlets such as drawing or writing are super important, y'know? So, we can let all those bad vibes out! There's probably others here who do the same, but I'm kinda wondering which side you guys tend to lean towards. If none of this applies to you, I'd like to hear your thoughts on the matter.

I'll leave a poll because I'm curious to see how we all deal with sadness and music. Oh, and feel free to share what type of music you listen to if you get in that headspace, I'm curious to see if there's something to the types of music we listen to as well that affects how well we fare, I'll share mine in a separate comment~

• I tend to listen to sad music to fit my mood and write/ draw better
• I tend to listen to sad music and get stuck in a cycle of bad feelings
• I do both and switch it up unintentionally
• I avoid listening to sad music overall when I feel sad if I can
• Other (feel free to expand on this in the comments)

Vote now!Show results

[ar-ninetysix]

Matter of fact, I'm listening to sad stuff as of posting this lol Tokyo Ghoul's OST, in particular, gets me. I found this remix and I'm crazy in love with it for the tone it sets in my writing (I'm writing a zombie novel and it gets emotional and dramatic at times, so it's fitting, in my opinion.)

In case anyone's interested to hear the remix:

[HollowEve]

I'm not allowed to listen to stricly 'sad' music. I had an insident involving Next To Normal, then another one with Dear Evan Hansen. Now I'm banned from it.
But I do get what you mean. When I feel down, sadder music does hold a power over me. And when I listen to faster paced, happy music, I feel like a hero from an action comic waiting to start my adventure. The beat resonates with the beat of your heart and gets your blood pumping and the lyrics can give you courage. It's amazing.
Sorry if this got off topic.

[DiegoPalacios]

Listening to sad music while being sad would only make me sadder, so i prefer to avoid it in those situations.

[Jenny-Toons]

Ironically enough, my favorite songs tend to be sad music, but I listen to them mostly when I'm happy

I have a soft spot for breakup songs, 80s sentimental ballads, and the likes. Mostly because I'm a music lover, and some of the best songs that give good vocals are some of the saddest.

Careless Whispers by George Micheal, Two Outta Three Ain't Bad by Meatloaf, Lonely Lover by Marvin Gaye, On and On by Stephen Bishop. These are just some examples of songs that sound so good but are just so sad when you think about it.

[qwerty]

When I'm in a depressed mood, sometimes sad music works for the reason you described, sometimes energetic music works instead to counteract it (basically the opposite strategy I guess), and sometimes silence is the best. Generally I can just tell what will work and what won't, so rather than having a formula like "when feeling down, do this", I treat it on a case-by-case basis.

If I am drawing, I also tend to match the mood of the music with the mood of whatever I'm drawing. For example I'll draw something dark or introspective while listening to sad music, something light-hearted or "fluffy" while listening to happy music, or something lively or "actioney" while listening to energetic music. I feel like it helps me to focus when my mood, the mood of the music, and the mood of the drawing are "aligned".

[ar-ninetysix]

@HollowEve Sorry to hear that, dude, I can understand how music can cause incidents to happen. Even to the point of banning it from your life. Like I said, music can harm people just as easily as it heals.. There's certain songs I love that I refuse to listen to on a regular basis because I know they'll get me trapped in a depressive mood.

Back to what you said, to feel music that strongly when it's sad, I believe you'd also have a stronger attachment to more upbeat happy music. That, in and of itself, is a beautiful thing! I think finding and holding on to the songs that make us feel so empowered is very important, in general.

@DiegoPalacios Yeah, and it's totally understandable. Why would you wanna be reminded of how bad you'd feel? I personally feel like being exposed to sad music like that helps me identify my emotions in the most solid way possible. It's not for everyone, but yeah, that exposure to it can be healthy, I think.

@Jenny-Toons Same, sad stuff is my jam! There's definitely something to sad music being so powerful. I don't think many people can relate to that feeling of being so happy you could cry, and that's how sad music gets everyone. Sad songs don't have to make you feel sad, there can be a simple satisfaction of "Wow, this just sounds so good." I feel that way about my favorite songs as well, great in composition, but sad once you go in-depth. Thanks for sending examples of songs~

@A_Toad I'd like to say I'm the same way in feeling out what works rather than going straight to listening to sad music, but the reality is, that's my go to solution 90% of the time lol even if it's not listening to sad music, my mind tends to make anything else I try to do gravitate towards that sadness so.. sad songs are my default, and I love 'em so. I try to see it as embracing and confronting the feelings head-on to get rid of them faster when I fall into the habit again and again.

[TheNiceGuys]

I could never listen to sad music because it was sad and i am sad. That will 100% of the time cause me to just be depressed and do nothing while listening. However, I oftentimes listen to sad music that is linked to something that inspires me. So i would be totally down listening to the Tokyo Ghoul remix you've linked while sad and I'd probably be pumped because i love that series.

[shazzbaa]

Hmm!! None of these poll options really fit me, I think.

I find when I'm feeling something very intensely, I absolutely do have angsty go-tos for kind of, getting those feelings out. I'll put on Snuff or Jar of Hearts or Flare (don't judge me) or Illusion or pretty much anything by Evanescence and sing along really passionately and probably cry, and it's a cathartic experience for me; music is absolutely something that helps me express intense feelings.

It's possible for me to listen to sad or depressive music and get in a funk, but that's usually something different, where the music is dragging me down. When I'm just kind of quietly very depressed in the background, I avoid a lot of music that's going to exacerbate that, and I avoid listening to new songs that could go either way.

But all of that said, sadness has never made me more creative. Whether it's overwhelming, screaming unhappiness or lowkey energy-sapping depression, it's extremely difficult for me to make art in the middle of sadness. Sometimes catharsis art does happen, but that's less "I channeled my sadness into creativity" and more "I had to do SOMETHING with all these feelings and this weird half-symbolic drawing is the only way I could get them out."

So, I voted Other -- I do often listen to sad music when sad, and it does help me express my feelings, but this combination of feelings and music does not make me write or draw better 90% of the time.

[Amithea]

I like to listen to sad/mellow songs when I'm in a fragile mood for sure~
If I try listening to happy/cheerful sounding music, it usually makes me feel worse. Some of my favourites would have to be I follow the moon and irony right now, but there're definitely more that I'm overlooking.

[ar-ninetysix]

@TheNiceGuys Yeah, I can relate and agree, that's why most of the sad stuff I do listen to for creative writing ends up being songs from anime, cartoons, TV shows, movies, and video games. There's a certain attachment to these that keeps me from just staying sad. It's weird I can't really explain it. If it were songs from any band that I normally listen to, more often than not, I'd get lost in the music and go down a spiral of emotions. Knowing what songs do what to you is definitely important!

@shazzbaa Makes sense, I'd actually wanna add that option into the poll, but I'm not sure if it'd mess with the numbers that it already got.. So, I'm gonna leave it as is for now. Anyways, I do the same from time to time and it's different for sure. The music I tend to listen to that gets me in a spiral usually has screaming attached to it. And me being a metal vocalist, screaming can get a lot out real fast. It's a second way that sad music in hard times can be a good thing. It can be a creative outlet or coping method, and both are just naturally cathartic, I think.

@Amithea Oh, god, I relate to this so much! Happy music when I'm sad actually causes this weird reaction in my head, making me feel almost insulted that I would do that to myself and rejecting my feelings in the process. But it's like "I'm just trying to fix the issue- No? Alright, you're the boss. What you say goes."

[Lyrienn]

Yeah, am that kind of person that can caught up in a cycle of sadness or irritation for a day or so, it it worse. And sad music would just drag me down even further. There was a time when listening to Rob Zombie always put a smile on my face, unfortunatelly I don't exactly remember which song was it. As well as Therion, which is to some of my friends is overly depressing. Yeah, I was told I have wierd taste in music

As for writing, I usually try to search for something that matches the mood of the scene I writinh on. With sometimes less luck finding it...

[vworksart]

I've done that a couple times and mad does it make me feel awful. I've since either listened to happy, exciting or inspirational music to kick me back into shape. I probably listen to "You say run" too often haha

[LittleMissDevil]

Depends on the type of sadness. If it's just a normal bad mood due to idk a person being mean, a bad day at the job or something like that, I like to listen to things that cheer me up. Happy or more often aggressive music usually does help, especially when I still need to draw. It helps me get energized.

However... when I am actually feeling existential feelings of sadness or depression... I need sad music or media. It helps me feel validated and helps with the feeling of isolation that tends to come with that particular state of mind. ("No one understands me" or "why am I so sad now? Am I going crazy?") Seeing other artists express similar emotions to what I am feeling helps to not feel alone with them.

Sometimes music also helps to get out a good cry, if needed. I will never ever be productive, when I slip into this headspace. Mostly I just lie around until I am tired enough to get some sleep, so I can sleep the sadness away (works most of the time). But sad music definitely helps to get me through the bad times faster.

[PaulieBlade]

I think listening to sad music while feeling sad can be done for cathartic purposes. I don't want to sound cliché, but for me it's a case of living through your pain, so to speak. If you experience it fully, it won't haunt you back (at least that's the theory). And music helps to achieve this.