Recently, my therapist suggested some coping skills to deal with being bipolar and suffering from depression. She suggested listening to music.

I have eccletic tastes and have found that some of the music I listen to really affects how I feel when I'm manic or depressed in a big way.

If I listen to punk rock when I'm manic, I feel like going out and causing some ruckus, thus it's a negative effect. Because of the angst in that music, it makes me feel wild and disorderly.

Funny thing is that if I listen to death metal, it puts me in a better mood, even though it's full of angst as well.

If I'm depressed, I listen to Industrial music or Miranda Lambert, and that usually makes life a little more tolerable. However, when I'm not cycling too bad, both make me happy.

So, does music affect your mood?

[kaliope]

haha........my T must have read the same article as your T....lol

i can see the truth in the fact that music affects my mood. when really manic i will dance around the living room to it. i just cant help myself.

once, when i was very suicidal, i went and listened to this local band play at a bar. the music was so upbeat and everybody was having so much fun dancing while i sat alone at the bar. it made me want to have the fun they were having. i forgot about wanting to die. and then i did something i never did in my life. i invited myself to join a group of people and danced!

[Homeira]

Pop makes me slightly too high, but sure gives me energy. Classical music can be very soothing. Or very depressing. Heavy rock feels perfect to listen to sometimes because it feels like I am getting some frustration out of me just by listening to that.
Meditation mantras chill me out. Hymns feel good to listen to sometimes (even though I am a non-believer) because that reminds me of my childhood. Kate Bush is my spiritual music. Areatha (Franklin); always perfect.
So yes, music is really important to me. I use it actively to adjust my moods.

I only listen to music when I am hypomanic or manic. And then I play the same bands over and over again.

[Turtlesoup]

It definitely does for me-listening to some Lana Del Rey right now. Especially if I'm in a really artistic mood what music I listen to is reflected in the piece I'm working on. I love all types of music-like my moods it runs the full range of the spectrum. I love to just kick back with & drift with the headphones on.

[wildflowerchild25]

Music has saved my life in the past. I have a whole playlist labeled "a positive mind" that I play when I'm down. If I'm too far down I end up playing my rainy days playlist and that often makes me worse. When I am manic I listen to pop punk and ska and get really revved up so maybe that's not so good lol.

Music from my past also can impact my mood. Just a few weeks ago my husband was listening to system of a down and I had to tell him to turn it off because all it was doing was reminding me how desperate and depressed I was when I used to listen to them back in my teen years. Same thing for staind and breaking Benjamin. They just bring me back to a bad time in my teen years.

[Row Jimmy]

I love meditating to music......they say you shouldn't but I try to combine it with a focus on breathing or words so I can call it legit.

Mostly, I often listen to The Grateful Dead. It's a fun band with a great blend of country, blues, and space rock. Most (but not all) of their live stuff is fabulous listening. Sometimes I can dig some Pink Floyd if the mood moves me in a more spacey and cosmic direction.

I try to use music as a balancer in my life. I'm not usually centered so it can help me get through down times. On up times, music just seems to add to the hypomania.

[cmorales]

Music tends make my moods more extreme. When I am up, in a good sort of way, I listen to a lot of 3rd wave ska, 1990s era country and power metal to ride out that energy. But on the flip flop flippitty doo, when I am down, or when I am mixed or any sort of dysphoric mania, certain music can simply worsen it. For example, if I hear Metallica's "Fade to Black" when depressed, it will simply suck me down to the deepest depths of depression. It doesn't do that when I am stable.

[HALLIEBETH87]

Oh it absolutely does! Upbeat rock music pumps me up! Soft, instrumental music chills me the hell out! lol But...bluegrass music warms my heart all the way around. Christian music soothes and uplifts my soul (the metal kind kicks me into gear!) So yeah....music can directly affect my moods.

[BipolaRNurse]

Music most definitely has an effect on my moods, and my moods have an effect on the music I choose. I have playlists for hypo/mania and for depression. When I'm in remission, like now, I listen to anything and everything. My favorite is classic rock but I'll listen to almost anything but death metal.

[cashart10]

Originally Posted by ValentinaVVV

I only listen to music when I am hypomanic or manic. And then I play the same bands over and over again.

I can relate to the second sentence of your post. I will even listen to the same song on repeat for countless hours or even days or weeks if it is in my car (but I sometimes do this even if I'm not manic). My husband finds it bizarre.

[cashart10]

There is a direct correlation for me as well. If I am manic I will blare upbeat artists or songs, like Blister in the Sun by the Violent Femmes or even Sugar Sugar by the Archies. If I am depressed I will listen to songs like Independence Day by Ani Difranco or Paint it Black by the Stones (although sometimes, for some reason, that one will have the opposite effect). On the rare occasions I am baseline, I am drawn to whatever suits me at the moment. My music taste is extremely eclectic and varying but it brings me GREAT solace and elation.

[BipolaRNurse]

You do that too? Thought I was the only one.....my current obsessive song is David Bowie's "Rebel Rebel". I've played that song at least 100 times in the past three days. What is that, anyway??

[cashart10]

Originally Posted by BipolaRNurse

You do that too? Thought I was the only one.....my current obsessive song is David Bowie's "Rebel Rebel". I've played that song at least 100 times in the past three days. What is that, anyway??

Ha! I don't know what it is, it's rather odd though. How do we not get sick of the same song. Mine is Time Will Do The Talking by Patty Griffin. I can't get enough.

[jacky8807]

so its more like my mood effects my music more than music effects my mood
like others have said while up I will listen to songs over and over again and I like it fast loud exciting...when im down...im not into music at all. Everything depresses me more...in any lyric of any song I can find a sad meaning in my life that drags me down further

[Iamalioness]

I find I can barely listen to music anymore, it affects my mood so much. Which is sad because music has been such a huge part of my life! When i'm up, most music seems to be okay, although music from the past (when things were NOT good) seems to bring me down fast. And I find i can't predict how the music is going to affect me, so i've kind of stopped listening altogether which makes me sad.

I'm not too sure, but I know music reflects the mood I'm in. I only like certain kinds of music with different moods. Heavy metal rock when I'm hypo, classic rock when chilled, and no music when depressed.

[HALLIEBETH87]

Originally Posted by cashart10

There is a direct correlation for me as well. If I am manic I will blare upbeat artists or songs, like Blister in the Sun by the Violent Femmes or even Sugar Sugar by the Archies. If I am depressed I will listen to songs like Independence Day by Ani Difranco or Paint it Black by the Stones (although sometimes, for some reason, that one will have the opposite effect). On the rare occasions I am baseline, I am drawn to whatever suits me at the moment. My music taste is extremely eclectic and varying but it brings me GREAT solace and elation.

When Im depressed I often listen to songs like "Alone Again, Naturally" by Gilbert O'Sullivan and when Im really up I listen to the same songs over and over like "Geronimo!" And when Im manic I have a radio playing in my head of the same songs over and over again!

[cashart10]

Originally Posted by HALLIEBETH87

When Im depressed I often listen to songs like "Alone Again, Naturally" by Gilbert O'Sullivan and when Im really up I listen to the same songs over and over like "Geronimo!" And when Im manic I have a radio playing in my head of the same songs over and over again!

I haven't heard either of those songs and I love new music. I will look them up.

[Turtlesoup]

I love movie soundtracks & am currently listening to The Life Aquatic by Seu Jorge-it's David Bowie songs in Portugese-amazing & one of my favorites, never fails to make me feel better

No music does not affect my mood. My mood affects my choice in music.

[AnyoneHere2Hear]

Music makes me feel better most of the times. Sometimes I even feel like I couldn't live without a headphone. :/

not only does music affect my mood and vice versa, but, like others have related, I tend to get obsessive with songs/bands while hypomanic. This often involves listening to a single song or album over and over and over while doing extensive research on the group/genre etc. Or I will start making playlists for people / planning my future career as a musician / buy/learn a new instrument or software program to make electronic music with...(I never spend long enough to get any good though...except piano which I've played since I was 7).

When depressed, sad music is the only good thing in life to me.

My husband is also in a punk/grunge band, so I'm pretty much surrounded by music in some way on a daily basis. I love it.