Emotional Regulation

Music and emotional regulation — what's your go-to?

Posted by felix_hyper · 3 days ago · 22 replies · 476 views

I've started being much more intentional about using music to regulate rather than just listening.

Meaning: I have a specific playlist for when I'm in an RSD spiral (it's weirdly effective). A playlist for when I need to process something sad rather than push it down. A playlist for when I'm overstimulated.

What's your emotional regulation music look like? I'm curious about the different functions, not just 'what's good.'

4 replies

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ingrid_calm 3 days ago

RSD music for me is specifically things I loved as a teenager. Familiar enough to be comforting, attached to a time before the current situation. It doesn't fix the feeling but it provides a container.

▲ 6

omar_loops 3 days ago

I use completely wordless music when I'm processing something. Lyrics pull me out of my own processing and into someone else's. Instrumental or ambient, and I specifically don't pick things I associate with other memories.

▲ 8

dev_adhd 3 days ago

There's a certain type of melancholic acoustic music that I use when I'm sad and need to stay with it rather than distract from it. If I use upbeat music when I'm sad it feels like a betrayal. Better to let the feeling move through with music that matches.

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clara_parent 3 days ago

Overstimulation: brown noise or very simple piano. Nothing that requires attention. I need something that occupies just enough of the sound-processing channel that the overwhelm doesn't amplify.

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Music and emotional regulation — what's your go-to?

4 replies

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