Why Do People with Depression Like Listening to Sad Music?

My experience of this was that the sad music could connect to where I was, and once I had connected, I could actually slowly shift my mood by gradually changing the music (had to be gradual though).

I kind of stumbled on that, and it worked for me, though in hindsight I can see how it could be seen as a form of musical therapy.

The really essential point though, is that in order for this to work I had to begin with songs that actually matched my low mood (Radiohead and Portishead seemed to consistently do the trick)... trying to shift out of a low mood by playing a happy song directly did not work - it was just jarring.

I imagine that in doing so I was unconsciously reproducing one of the best impacts of certain kinds of therapy: creating the acknowledgement that yes, I feel the way I feel, that is mirrored by my environment in some way, and it’s not something I need to hide or feel shame about. The music helped me feel that without needing to reveal anything about myself.

My first thought seeing the headline was of this quote:

"What came first – the music or the misery? Did I listen to the music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to the music? Do all those records turn you into a melancholy person?"

- Nick Hornby, High Fidelity

Also relevant from the book:

"People worry about kids playing with guns, and teenagers watching violent videos; we are scared that some sort of culture of violence will take them over. Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands - literally thousands - of songs about broken hearts and rejection and pain and misery and loss."

In my experience, music that matches my mood makes me fee less alone.

I had some tough times when I was a teenager, and didn't seriously get into music until I discovered Rammstein(my favorite band to this day). To most people, it's very brutal sounding, often angry, sometimes depressing. My parents had no idea why I listened to some German guy growling in front of "rock music".

My whole world was changed because, finally, someone else expressed how I feel. Now, the lyrics themselves are often grotesque or even silly, but I didn't understand most of it and what they were saying didn't matter to me anyway. I was comforted by the fact that these guys could put into music what I could fail to put into words or deal with in my own life.

Simply speaking, I find such music to be cathartic. Actually, lots of different moods of music can be cathartic, but negative music sticks out in that category because we're expected to listen to music that "lifts us up". I think that's why I actually become more depressed by listening to happy music when I'm sad; it's as if the world is telling me that I shouldn't feel the way that I do. Having my feelings recognized by music is about as good as having someone tell me that it's okay to feel bad about my situation.

I think it goes further than just music.

There is something that I have noticed in my life, when it comes to the people I'm drawn to and the people that are drawn to me. We all tend to share a particular similarity, in that we end up being 'darker' people in one way or another. When I say 'dark' I dont really mean like 'emo' or 'goth', but in the way that our humors are usually darker, and we all have either dealt with or are dealing with some kind of despair. I think it's a feeling of 'not being alone' when you are with someone who 'gets it', and it's a sort of warmth that you dont come across much in the day to day. I dont think dark people just like dark music, I think dark people like other dark people.

Responding to the headline: Because depression isn't sadness, it's a mental illness that causes a numbing, hollowing feeling that robs you of joy. In my experience, it's more akin to despair than sorrow.

Feeling anything (even sadness) can help make it easier to cope with it if you're unable to seek effective treatment.

Which is most people, probably. Most people I know who have depression can't (or won't) seek effective treatment, usually because of cost prohibition.

Purely anecdotal but when I'm feeling down / sad I find that happy music annoys me where as sad music soothes me. Music too far out of my current mindset clashes with it and causes negative feelings in me.

As a songwriter, I wonder why I write so many sad songs. Like, a lot of them. Really, really sad songs.

I just wrote one last week, inspired by a scene from a science fiction novel. It tells the story of a small fleet of spaceships fleeing a doomed Earth for the stars, and one ship attacking the rest and killing their crews in order to steal their fuel and spare parts. It's not just that what they did is a crime... they knew it was wrong, did it anyway, and feel terrible about it, but they also knew that if they didn't do it, another ship would have done it to them. So it's all guilt and shame from making a totally selfish decision.

Why would I write that way? And it's not like this is an unusual subject for me.

Part of it, I think, is that I do a very good job of covering up some deep depression in my day-to-day life. I'm a much sadder person than I appear to be.

Because "sad songs say so much" as Elton put it. It's probably considered a bit corny now, but it's dead-on.

"From the lips of some old singer

We can share the troubles we already know

...

If someone else is suffering enough oh to write it down

When every single word makes sense

Then it's easier to have those songs around

The kick inside is in the line that finally gets to you

And it feels so good to hurt so bad

And suffer just enough to sing the blues"

If something hurts, we usually stop doing it (feedback loop), unless there is something else at play: some short term positives, like taking drugs. So depression (even without music) persists because it actually feels good in the short term. I remember when I was a child, and was crying, I could cry myself even more, by just thinking negative thoughts, it kinda felt good to 'release'. Music amplifies this, so I would say this is why depressed people 'enjoy' sad music. Then, I was taught not to have self-pity, and didn't really care to be sad any longer. Instead I chose to solve the problems or move on if they're not solvable.

It's helped me. What do you think?

I can relate to pop music just fine but those tunes are shallow compared to the information packed songs from Radiohead. But I've never loved Radiohead for their melancholy. Only for their outstanding musical abilities. They also seem to be bright, clever, intelligent even, judging from their lyrics and interviews. I don't consider them dark. I consider them bright.

I've been depressed tons of times. I'm bipolar, they tell me. But even outside of a depressive state I return to those artists that try a little harder than those who aim for the top lists.

I think most other people who are depressive by nature, when they feel good about themselves they shy away from things that remind them of themselves in a depressive state. But I love being depressed. It's a much better feeling than being manic.

It always seemed self-evident to me that people who are depressed generally dislike being entrenched in "happy" settings (e.g. seeing happier people around them) because it reinforces feelings of isolation. I don't see why music would be any different.

Put another way, misery loves company.

Same with depressing literature. When I am in depressed mood then listening/reading depressing material gives me peace. When you have depression you generally don’t get much acceptance so it’s nice to be allowed to be as you are and not constantly being told “lighten up”.

When I'm fairly depressed, my goal is just to get to neutral. Trying to skip strait to happy is counter-productive. In that state of mind, happiness doesn't seem attainable or even real, it is a lie and a facade. Trying to talk myself into being happy is at best empty hype, as I can't genuinely embrace or believe the words I am saying. Happy music, or happy environments are likewise unembracable. When surrounded by them when depressed, I inevitably just retract into my head. This is a waste of time at best - being around people or participating in an activity but not present or enjoying it. At worst it can lead to spiraling negative thoughts that drag me deeper down.

Listening to "sad" music on the other hand can be very theraputic. Sometimes, it intensifies the feelings, confronting them, pushing through them, burning them inside of me. Othertimes, I melt into the music, letting go of my thoughts and feelings, letting them seep calmly out of me. I think it partly depends on exactly how I'm feeling: self-hatred or hopelessness or numb. Either way I come out the other end with a sense of relief, and evened out.

At this point I can move onto activities that are enjoyable, but not ones that are taxing (eg socializing) or which require lots of decisions to second-guess (eg coding), or can be frustrating (eg video games). For example, reading or whittling are good stepping-stone activities for me. Listening to upbeat music at this point can also help to continue the progression to a happier state, but I have to be careful not to overshoot with music that is too happy or driving.

My impression is that sad music tends to have more substance than happy music. Happy pop music is especially guilty of this where: "it's the summer, everyone is having a good time etc..."

I'm really drawn to metal because it creates something beautiful out of difficult emotions. I actually don't get the association to anger at all, it's like saying people who like watching action movies are psychopaths.

I would argue that more art is rooted in pain than in happiness.

My dad often said, "When you are cold, eat ice cream. It lowers your mean temperature."

That said, we always knew he just wanted ice cream.

Personally I find that I can use certain sad music to push through vague mopey depression into a state where I can do something about it.

If I just sit there being sad and useless I’m gonna start feeling sad about how long I’ve been sitting there moping and it’s a horrible downward spiral.

If I lay there on the floor in the dark with headphones on listening to a double album full of exquisitely constructed instrumental crystals of particular flavors of sadness then I am likely to actually start crying and find some release from the endless circles around the mental drain. Or I might also start laughing at what a caricature of an emotion I’m being by doing this - and then the sadness is banished in another way.

Aphex Twin’s “Selected Ambient Works, Volume 2” is my go-to album for this. That or Nine Inch Nails if I want to be more angry. Which probably tells you a lot about my age.

As usual in reporting and PR around brain/mind science, the "why" question posed in the title is not even remotely addressed or even approached by the study. That would, of course, require a theory about why people feel things at all, and why the feelings feel like they do and not some other way, which we are still woefully ignorant about.

The greater (and more general) question here is: why do humans seek out things that make them feel negative emotions? People watch horror movies wanting to be scared. They watch romantic comedies knowing that they will cry sad tears at some point. They read stories containing evil villains who kill and cause great suffering.

Doesn't this presume that "sad music" is - in fact - sad?

There's plenty of music I will sit and listen to that my daughter asks me to turn off because it makes her sad, but I find very uplifting. Examples:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUpvEgJEn94

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIcR7Xkysds

There are plenty of other examples as well. All the studies reveal to me is that we're all wired a little different. Shocker.

Is this that people with depression crave sad music, or that music meant to elicit pathos has found its target audience?

> The controversial implication is that depressed people deliberately act in ways that are likely to maintain their low mood.

How is this remotely controversial? Finding something you like is not the same as liking your state or disposition for depression.

> “… may reflect a desire for calming emotional experience rather than a desire to augment sad feelings.”

So, we've basically confirmed that people get pleasure out of liking things? This study seems weird.

Here is an excerpt from an interview with a music therapist about grief and music (written by a wise and caring friend of mine from long ago): "Music: A Natural Accompaniment to Grief Work: An Interview with Music Therapist Lauren DiMaio, PhD. (Story by Katherine Caldwell)" https://missionhealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/October...

"During grief, many aspects of our life are raw and painful. It’s common to believe we’re better off avoiding them. But magically, on invisible waves of sound, a piece of music can penetrate into pain we swear was carefully locked away. Within a few chords we can go from “doing just fine” to a searing confrontation with heartache. Of course you might ask: why would we purposely want to do that to ourselves? Grief is tough enough without exposing ourselves to tunes that leave us emotionally wrung out. Perhaps it’s only to say that music is strong medicine. “If a certain piece of music is unbearable, don’t listen to it.” says Dr. DiMaio, “Acknowledge that it’s not helpful at that time. Accept that the piece is only useful in gauging your place on the grief journey at that time.” When confronting the heaviest part of grief, that certain song or hymn, or even a whole genre of music may be impossible to take in. Sad songs of heartbreak or loneliness may, out of respect for our vulnerability, need to be avoided at certain times. Trust your instincts, but don’t turn your back on music completely. Fortunately, music takes infinite forms. If sad tunes are off limits, go on a search for a more joyful noise. Surround yourself with music that speaks to another part of you: songs of celebration and gratitude, or melodies that uplift the spirit. If the music you once loved brings you down these days, it might be appropriate to explore new types of music, things you’ve never listened to before. Changing our internal vibration is what grief recovery is ultimately about on a molecular level. Exposure to inspiring vibrations, even externally, can help us change internally. Finding new music has become easier than ever. Internet searches and downloads make everything published in the music industry readily available, including lyrics."

While grief and depression are not identical, there is a lot of overlap.

I’m a bit confused with the premise. It seems like the article is assuming that sad music makes people sad, then wondering specifically why depressed people would listen to sad music.

But why would anyone listen to sad music if the premise was true? Isn’t it much more likely that the whole reason sad music exists is that it helps people deal with their sadness, not that it causes sadness? Under this hypothesis, it’s not surprising at all that depressed people would listen to a lot of sad music.

As someone who has experienced this firsthand, I think deep / sad music is a depressed person's form of white noise. It satiates the part of your mind that wants you to actively think about why you hate life and allows you to be neutral for a short while. I'm still perplexed by this going through playlists I made while in college during the deepest depths of my depression.

> The second part of the study used new music samples: 84 pairs of 10-second clips of instrumental film music, contrasting happy, sad, fear-inducing, neutral, and also high and low energy tracks. In each case the same participants as before indicated which music they’d prefer to listen to again later. They also heard all the samples again at the end and stated what effect they had on their emotions. The researchers found again that people with depression had a far greater preference than controls for sad, low-energy music (but not fear-inducing music). Critically, though, when they heard these clips again, they reported that they made them feel more happiness and less sadness, contradicting the provocative idea that depressed people are seeking to perpetuate their low mood.

Could we control for the musical complexity structure of the samples ? Something along the lines of "complex musical structures pleases depressed people because it requires concentration and cognitive skills that aren't available for negative thoughts pattern" ?

If you're interested in some philosophical perspectives of depression, you may find these pages as interesting as I did:

http://www.newadvent.org/summa/2038.htm

http://www.newadvent.org/summa/2037.htm

As a volunteer at a crisis center, I can tell you that the thing that people most want to hear when they are sad, depressed, or otherwise in crisis is that they want to validate what feelings that they have. In a word, they are feeling awful and want to sit in that feeling, and the music helps listeners process that feeling.

Boomerang effect. You go fast enough into a depressive state to actually feel something, have a good snotty sobbing cry, perhaps with that semi solid yellow stuff coming out of your sinuses, and then come out feeling refreshed and slightly embarrassed hoping you don't enter that state of mind again for a while.

I'm a really happy person but I love depressing music

As miserable as it is to be depressed there may also be something positively reinforcing about it. Anger and hate clearly have that going for them, would it be surprising if sadness does too? If so, listening to sad music may be attractive in that it helps people feel sad.

Music with harmonic frequencies is pleasing. The brain itself has frequencies which can be consonant/dissonant. As other commenters have mentioned, "happy" music is clashing/jarring (which is exactly what dissonance is like) when too far out of that mind-state. I think it's likely that the sound inputs are not harmonic/consonant with the brain's frequencies when the mind-state is much different. Thus, it's not just a matter of the degree of consonance of the input, since music sounds better or worse depending on the state of mind one is in, but the degree of consonance that the input induces in the brain's frequencies.

I find that actually embrassing the depression and be that music or a sad film and letting those negative emotions have focus in a form of distraction. The upside is that after such exposure, the contrast of reality helps raise the mood. Obviously it's not a golden solution and the level of improvement varies as long-standing life issues are still there.

But instead of fighting the depression and feeling more down as you end up failing your own standards - fueling the depression. I find embracing it, have a dam good cry, have no shame in expressing such emotions and with that cut of much of the fuel that whilst does not soley instigate the depression but more prolongs it. Just helps.

Nothing worse than feeling down, and then feeling even more down because your expectation is that you should not feel down. It's a vicious circle of fueling and depressive period. That and worry about how others percieve it and the whole social stigma's of it being a weakness. So being mindful of such a mood and embracing the mood with a good solid cry, whilst not intuitively what you feel will help, actually does. Real key part is that you take control of the depression more than letting the depression take control of you, and by embracing and accepting it you take that step back into a driving seat.

But music is really useful for fixing moods, equally in todays noise poluted enviroments that cause micro-stress (stress you hardly notice but all add up), headphones work wonders. As I have found that stress can and does impact and induce depression. It is identifying those area's of micro-stress and dealing with them that help keep stress in check and with that, depression.

But everybody is an individual, so no solution will work for everybody. Though the side-effects of music are far less than any pharmaceutical offering.

I'd also suggest, try an old album from better times, For me Blondie Parallel Lines does the trick.

Equally some emotionally cold electronic music like some John Foxx renditions help to focus the mood, for me at least. Not what I'd call sad music (though some could), more what I'd class as totally emotionless in many ways.

Because it supports how they feel, this is pretty much how the liking works in general.

I've always found "happy music" to be boring, annoying, and/or aggravating while what most people would consider angry or sad music is uplifting and can positively affect my mood and energy.

I think music has appeal because it's information, albeit processed at a low level, not because it's a mood-altering drug. As with all media, consumers want to feel it's "true". When consuming new information, we need to find something that resonates with our existing understanding to believe its meaningful, and not noise. Somber music feels more like it contains meaning to a person with a somber outlook. Joyful music in that case feels meaningless to the listener, because it fails to connect with what they already understand.

It's math! -1 * -1 = 1

Wait, is it only depressed people that like sad music? What about stories with tragic endings? There must be a lot of depressed people to have made these things so popular over the years.

Type O Negative and reboot everything

In the throes of what was, in retrospect, probably depression, I made a playlist of my 'blues', the saddest songs I knew, to try and get a handle on what I was feeling. Somehow knowing I wasn't unique in sorrow helped, as did hearing how others dealt with it, even in such a packaged form.

Lots of other songs hit closer to home, but, somehow, 'Everybody Plays the Fool' by 'The Main Ingredient' always puts me in a better mood when it comes on.

I’m of the belief that a lot of depression is addiction and accumulated tolerance to the pleasure of being sad. Feeling intense sadness feels really good as your brain releases chemicals to make you feel better.

When feeling sad, a lot of people will tell themselves the worst possible worldview they can conceive to get a surge of deeper sadness and thus relief.

That being said, people tend to listen to music that validates their feelings regardless of the feeling so this isn’t surprising.

I had an epiphany a few years ago related to this while in the midst of a depressive episode. A friend commented on my music selections: "Why do you listen to such sad music?" It caught me completely off guard because to me these were not sad songs but very comforting. I had no awareness that these songs could be interpreted as sad at that time. Looking back it's obvious, but at the time it was just what I felt drawn to...

I've always liked sad music.

But I have to say that I don't associate such music with sadness. Rather more with overcoming things? I am not sure.

When I compose music I focus a lot on half intervals, especially things like major 7th chords and their derivitives.

Obligatory self promotion here: [1].

[1] https://soundcloud.com/philliplyznav/sonic-safety

Funny I was just thinking about this...

I'm actually more productive with music that has a melancholy tone. But it has to be instrumental, human voices are extremely distracting.

Some Chopin works. Some Boards of Canada works. I also get good results with Studio Ghibli soundtrack music:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LEmer7wwHI

I've always considered sad music a kind of ally - in lieu of a friend you can be quiet with and share your moment. It's a form of communication, and sad music is sharing, well, sadness. I think it makes isolated people feel less lonely.

I'm also keen to hear the mentioned sad piece "Rakavot" by Avi Balili but it doesn't seem to exist online, does anyone have a reference?

When you feel completely disconnected from society, the right kind of music gives you something to connect to. Which is something.

The album Lateralus by Tool goes a step further for me. It strikes a balance between depressed and optimistic unlike any other.

As a generally-happy person, I quite like happy songs. I tend to like them more than sad or angry songs.

I'm guessing this is because I identify with them so much more. And I'm guessing that sad people identify with sad things strongly as well.

Perhaps "like" is the wrong word in the title. Perhaps "prefer" is better.

Maybe because when you are depressed you want to hear something that resonates within you? But what is 'Sad' in music? I think you crave for depth in musical emotions, not particularly 'sad' when you are depressed.

In my case, one of the symptoms of my anxiety and depression is to seek out things that make my more worried and sad. It confirms and amplifies my catastrophic thinking. I gather this is a fairly common mode.

Depressed people feel lonely. When you hear a sad song, you relate to the artist. Knowing someone else out there has also been in your situation, makes you feel less lonely.

In order to successfully replicate, the depression meme must get you to feel depressed in the future. Encouraging an interest in sad music can be a part of that cycle.

I love the title and then... "This study is unable to speak to why depressed people find low-energy, sad music uplifting"

Why do sad people like to cry? I think it’s the same answer.

Misery loves company.

Music, films, books, they're virtual companions.

I find musical experience is sometimes push or pull. Occasionally a sad piece will push into that space, but sometimes you are already sad and you search for music to pull into that place with you.

catharsis

So Google/Youtube knows when I'm sad.

TL;dr: "This study is unable to speak to why depressed people find low-energy, sad music uplifting [...]"

LoFi