Sad Songs on Rainy Days – How Music Heals Us
It’s raining in San Francisco. I sit by a large window, watching the traffic on the wet street below. Can’t remember when I started listening to sad songs on rainy days. It just feels right.
The song I’m listening to now is Hide by Ella Mai. The soft, solemn, piano-led ballad about love is strangely comforting, as I contemplate my problems — my father’s recent health decline and a string of uncertainties in my life.
We Find What We Need Through Music
The first time I heard this song was during my contemporary dance class, when the instructor introduced us to a complicated dance sequence. She told us to end the sequence with our own movements, to express whatever was on our minds.
As I watched the impromptu performances by the other half of the class, their different styles of dance movements amazed me — some were raw, some literary, and some provocative.
How one piece of music could elicit so many interpretations, and how fitting it was to each person at that particular time and place.
Sad Songs Soothe Us
A growing body of research supports the therapeutic benefits of music — it decreases stress levels, improves mood, and even eases pain. A cheerful song puts us in a happier state of mind.
Even sad songs can have a paradoxical soothing effect on us.
This study suggests that listening to sad music when feeling down can actually improve our moods. Maybe this is why I enjoy listening to sad songs when it rains.
Sad Songs Make Us Feel
It takes us back to the scarred memories, slowly and gently, massaging the buried hurt and regrets, relieving the sting of loneliness and disappointment, giving meaning to our experiences, and telling us it is all right to feel this way.
Sad Songs Connect Us
It’s all part of life. And we’re not alone. Suffering is universal. Struggles lead to growth and wisdom. Pain paves the road to strength and resilience.
We connect through music, deepening the understanding of our individual sufferings, while waiting for a better future to come into focus.
Dr. Ivy Ge
Doctor of Pharmacy, author of The Art of Good Enough. She writes to inspire women to design their own fate. Her writings and interviews have been featured on MSNBC, Thrive Global, Working Mother magazine, Parentology, and The Times of India.
