Sad songs can help you deal with grief
UK – New research has shown that sad songs can help people deal with the loss of a loved one.
The study found that listening to sad songs can actually help people work through their grief more effectively than happy music.
By listening to music of artists such as Adele, Radiohead and Muse, people were able to come to terms with the loss of a loved one better than more upbeat music.
The team, led by Dr Annemieke Van den Tol of De Montfort University in Leicester, looked at the listening habits of around 450 people going through a range of emotional circumstances.
Over two studies with almost 450 people, the researchers showed that emotional involvement with sad music helped listeners to cope with and accept feelings of loss, whereas happy music was not linked to dealing with grief.
‘The only real way to move on and feel better is by accepting the situation, and we found that people were able to do this by listening to sad music, but not so much by listening to happy music.’
Data showed the emotional involvement with sad music helped listeners to cope with and accept feelings of loss, whereas happy music was not linked to dealing with grief.
‘Ultimately, this study shows that even though many people prefer listening to happy music in general, they find sad music helps them deal with sadness more often,’ said Dr Van den Tol.
She added: ‘By connection to the sad emotions in the music, they are able to turn negative emotions into something more peaceful, allowing them to move on and accept these.’
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