Taking time off social media, self-care days and practicing deep breathing are all popular ways to cope with stress. While all of those are great strategies, listening to music that matches my mood helps me the best. 

To get a glimpse into what music does for me, think of the famous library scene from “The Amazing Spider-Man.” The librarian is doing his job and he has headphones on listening to music. Meanwhile, a brutal fight scene is going on in the background. However, he doesn’t even notice what’s behind him because the music is keeping him happy and chill. 

That, in a way, is what happens for me. It helps block out the background noise of stress, sadness, anger or even just helps me focus. 

Depending on how I’m feeling the music will change. I think it’s important to feel your feelings. A lot of times you see or hear people blow up because they have kept all their feelings locked up inside of their head. If you don’t let it all out every once in a while, one day you will blow up and all the emotion will come out anyway. 

This is why I think that matching your music to your mood can make you feel better and help unload the emotions in a positive way.

For me, if I’m feeling sad, I have a sad playlist. It’s literally a long playlist of songs that are just sad and might make me cry. A lot of people have the mindset that crying makes you weak, however, I am a strong believer that crying it out is a great way to get through something. 

Even if you aren’t necessarily sad, you can still use this method for any feeling. If you’re mad, make a mad playlist. If you are happy, construct a playlist with all the songs that make you feel like you are having the best day ever.

I connect with music a lot. I use it to express myself all the time. If it’s not the same for you, I still encourage everyone to find their own way to unload.