This Emo Activity Cures A Broken Heart Instantly, Says Science
Says science.
Pexels via Canva For centuries music has created a lifeline between the musician and the listener.
Oftentimes it helps us to know that we're not the only ones going through situations, music has a way of better helping us to understand this.
As there's pretty much no situation in life that doesn't have a song to get you through and a lot of the time the playlist that we choose further impacts our mood, according to this study.
Crying to sad music can help you heal after a break up, according to science.
More specifically, researchers suggest that by crying it out to one of your fave sad songs you will feel better, not just during a breakup either.
"According to researchers Kazuma Mori and Makoto Iwanaga, participants found the experience of shedding a tear to sad tunes as being a combination of sadness, pleasure, and psychophysiologically calming."
Did we really need science to confirm this though?
It's the reason why I transition from sad breakup songs after a couple of days and then I turn to trap music (formerly known as gangster rap) so that I can stop sobbing all over the damn place.
No need to keep crying about it once you've let it all out, right?
However, the study says that it takes truly sad songs to have a therapeutic impact without really acknowledging that sadness and any emotion are subjective; it has a lot to do with your experiences in life that determine whether a song is worth crying. Once I put on Lord of Huron or Hozier, the tears start pouring out. Angelic voices will do that, I guess.
What might be a sad song to you may not be one to everyone else.
I've been known to cry while listening to "She Will Be Loved" (Maroon Five) or more recently "Secrets" (One Republic) — and to the rest of the world I'm certain those songs don't bring on a heartbreaking sense of sadness ... but for me they do.
But, admittedly, I always do feel ridiculously better after crying. Sometimes I don't even know why I'm crying, it's just a whole lot of life that I let happen without ever properly addressing coming out through tears all at once.
Truthfully, I never really dwell on the why because it feels so rejuvenating, as though I can think a little more clearly and go back to taking on the world with a fresh perspective. It's like the reset button in a game, except in real life it ruins your mascara.
So, the next time I'm listening to a sad song I'll appreciate it for what it is: FREE THERAPY.
Kiarra Sylvester, MEd, is the founder of Black Girl Book Collective and a sex educator on a mission to decolonize Black women’s sexuality.