Music therapy?

[diagnosedat51]

Has anyone out there used music therapy? Thx

[RenewedAt42]

Not in any formal sense. But I did take up listening to classical music when needing to concentrate on work/school tasks. Turns out that I get caught up in songs with words and do not absorb content when trying to read. I am usually able to harness a lot of focus with some classical and noise canceling headphones! I have found some interesting information on specific classical pieces that help calm the ADD brain. Though, after loading them into a playlist, I also added a whole bunch of movie scores so can't remember what the "good" ones are for brainwaves! : p

[diagnosedat51 in reply to RenewedAt42]

Thank you. Can relate to the filing situation.

[IgnoranceWasNotBliss]

Same here. Not in any formal way. But music absolutely sways my mood. I was raised in a musical family and played classical flute for over 10 years. Music was a very big part of my upbringing.

Now that I am medicated I can listen to music I’ve liked over the years and enjoy it. I can remember the good old days and why I liked the band or song to begin with. However, before I was diagnosed and medicated I learned (rather late in life) that music wasn’t very good for my mood. It could start happy and reminiscent but quickly turn into “missing” the good old days or reminding me of a person or situation I’d rather forget. That would often spiral into sadness and reminders that I would rather not think about because they were hard times. One song could trigger remind me of something sad that would make me miss a different song even more closely related to the memory and then another until I was listening to the most closely related songs to the person or situation and I could feel almost as if I was reliving it. I was hard pressed to find a song that would ONLY create happy thoughts. Likely since my undiagnosed ADHD life had been very difficult for me.

Now that I’m on the proper medication I can listen to so much music! It’s wonderful! I can remember the good times it’s linked to and be reminded of the bad for a second but don’t dwell on it. I can just enjoy it for what it is.

So, I’m not sure why you’re asking about music therapy but I can definitely see how it can effect people. In good, or very bad ways.

Hope this helps.

[RenewedAt42 in reply to IgnoranceWasNotBliss]

Oh my gosh! That is what was happening to me too! Emotional roller coaster with each new song.

[DSCH]

Anything you can engage in to train yourself to concentrate will help you cope with ADHD. I was a lousy pianist for most of my life, but over the past several years, I learned how to practice better, and I found that when I am really concentrating on the next note, I hit it, and hit it with the finesse I want. It works both ways. Learning to concentrate helps my playing, and practicing helps me concentrate better, and I can carry that to other things in my life.

You don't necessarily need to play an instrument to get this benefit. You can work on listening more intensely to music, working out what make it good or not so good, finding patterens, etc. Of course shooting hoops can provide the same sort of opportunity. If you find yourself missing the basket a lot, that is a reminder that you are not really concentrating, so rather than getting frustrated, notice how much better you can perform when you really concentrate.

[diagnosedat51]

Great thoughts! Thank you.

[Hidden]

I like listening to music and it certainly helps me let out my feelings. So yes. It’s not the only therapy I use. I also use writing and I go to therapy.

[diagnosedat51 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you