We Are What We... Hear?
How sounds influence the way we feel
I like to have the TV on when I’m home on weekday mornings. I’m sort of a morning light news junkie. I enjoy learning about the latest trends in skincare, getting free health advice and seeing clips of the latest Apple TV series I might want to binge. But it’s to the point where I can’t take it anymore. It seems like 90% of the commercials on TV, radio and online are hostile political ads. I can feel the negativity and aggression seeping through my pores and into my soul. Because my intention is to live each day in peace, these feelings are wreaking havoc with my disposition.
According to a study in Social Science and Medicine Magazine, these negative political messages make us feel unsafe and insecure by implying specific candidates who may win the election are incompetent and are putting us in grave danger. They also repeatedly expose us to stressful images like war, poverty and crime. These high levels of fear exceed our capacity to manage them resulting in anxiety, depression and insomnia. After realizing I was annoyed by the bullying and negativity, I started thinking about how all the things we hear impact us. That goes for all our senses but we’ll stick to hearing this week. It also made me think about how we have a great deal of control over what we hear.
The adolescents I work with in our hospital behavioral health unit earn reward time at the end of the day if they’ve followed most of the rules. (I’m proud to say they almost always do.) They’re able to request specific songs if music is one of the activities they choose as part of their reward. If the songs they select are mildly inappropriate, we’ll play the clean version. Obviously we don’t play anything too vulgar but once in a while, one will slip by me. I think about the violence and misogyny that some of them listen to and worry about its repercussions. The song writers, musicians and listeners view it as a helpful expression of feelings; that’s possible. To me, music has energy and feels like something we absorb. I don’t want to absorb violent, hateful energy and I’m concerned about those who are absorbing it, especially our youth. I know, I know, I sound like an old woman. Our parents probably said the same thing about the music we listened to. But remember, wisdom comes with age.
I feel the same way about loud noises, violent movies, gossip and complaining. I don’t like the uncomfortable feelings any of these evoke when I hear them in excess. We all know what it feels like to spend a lot of time with someone who’s negative. It starts to rub off on us and we notice more and more negative events, things we probably wouldn’t have thought much about if we were spending time with positive people. We’re absorbing their energy.
We can’t avoid all negative sounds. Some noises might be unpleasant but serve a purpose. A baby’s cries alert the mother there’s an unmet need. A scream might inform us that someone’s hurt or in danger. A car horn tells us to get out of the way if we’re at risk of being hit. They evoke an emotion that brings us to action. We might feel appropriately upset, panicked or scared. That’s necessary when there’s a real emergency but shouldn’t be our norm.
Sounds linked to positive memories release dopamine, giving us a shot of feel good chemicals. It might be a child laughing that reminds us of how fun play used to be when we were young. Christmas music can place us right back to a a day we spent at a tree farm cutting down a Christmas tree. Or have you ever experienced feeling comfortable in a parent’s or grandparent’s home because their furnace had a particular hum to it? In fact, sound therapy is one of the oldest forms of healing practiced.
The good news is we’re often able to control what we hear. We can allow positive or tranquil sounds to enter our souls. We can choose music that gives us energy, calms us down or helps us focus. We can choose silence when we’re overwhelmed. We can go out in nature and listen to birds singing, streams trickling, or ocean waves rumbling to remind us that the world will go on despite our problems. One of my favorite sounds is dogs crunching on crackers. I often give mine treats for my own benefit.
As for me, I’m going to mute the political ads until November 6th. Then I’m most likely going to refrain from watching too much news until the election results have been sorted out.
Resources
The Benefits of Sound and a Little Bit About Sound Therapy
The Top 50 Most Loved Sounds - Can You Guess What They Are?
The YouTube Channel, 'Positive Sounds'
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Welcome to Let Me Share With You’s first accountability challenge! I’m glad you’re here!
This week’s challenge is to create positive, or eliminate negative, noise in your life. Think about times during your day when you might be feeling stressed by something you’re hearing. You could also think about times when you’re in a slump and need some perking up. Use sounds to your advantage. Here are some ideas to get you thinking:
Go to a park and listen to children playing and laughing.
Turn off all technology in your home. Enjoy the silence.
If your house is a busy one, sit in your car in the garage for a while. Visualize your happy place.
Play a song that reminds you of your first date with a loved one.
Call your best friend to hear their voice.
Go for a hike. Choose a specific sound to listen for. Perhaps it’s crunching leaves, birds or the wind.
Play an upbeat song after lunch to put the spunk back in your step.
Or like me, mute the political ads until election day is over.
Let us know in the comments what your’e committing to so we can cheer your on.
And download the visuals as a reminder to let the good noises enter your soul.
Positive Noise Phone Wallpaper
Positive Noise Poster