WASHINGTON— Listening to Adele after a bad break up could be good for your mental health, according to a new U.K.-based study.
Researchers at De Montfort University’s School of Psychology and other U.K. universities found that people turn to sad-sounding music more often than happy music when coping with negative situations.
The report, which covers two separate studies based on participants’ everyday listening habits, found that those who listened to sad music did so “to be in touch with or express feelings of sadness” after dealing with a difficult situation.
Turning to sad-sounding music is part of acceptance-based coping, or coming to terms, according to lead researcher for the two studies, Annemieke Van den Tol.
“Sadness often involves emotional loss, which is not a problem which can be solved or reversed,” Van den Tol says in an interview on De Montfort University’s website. “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.”
Although study participants have a strong preference for happy music, findings show that preference flips when people are seeking solace in hard times.
Nathan Heflick, another researcher on the study, says people want to re-experience sad emotions previously felt in sad situations through music rather than try to cheer themselves up with songs off the Top 40.
“In contrast to denial of these emotions, or emotional suppression, sad music listening allows people to feel these emotions (while they are ‘shared’ with the musician) and, in turn, reflect on their situation and ultimately come to a greater acceptance of it,” Heflick writes in a post on Psychology Today.
Yet, Heflick writes it won’t do a person much good if they listen to sad music all the time.
“Of course, doing things that make you feel good are essential to mental health,” Heflick notes. “But, this work does reveal that allowing oneself to experience negative emotions (in this case shared negative emotions) can help people cope with difficult life situations and emotions, and ultimately, accept them.”
