[Idiot17]

Do you ever find that music is too difficult to listen to? Even though you generally listen to music to block things out. Sometimes it gets to unbearable to hear?

Yes, absolutely. Sometimes the sound of silence is the most beautiful sound of all!

[Pierro]

Yes I think some of us have to be in the mood. It just feels like loud noise!

[smmath]

To be honest, that rarely happens to me, but I definitely see where you are coming from. I think that as long as I don't listen to songs about "harmful things" then I generally don't get triggered.

[willowbrook]

Music is one of the only things that can keep me from falling into the abyss completely when I'm going through a bad depressive phase, but it has to be a very specific type of music which I don't know until I hear it. So I spend ages listening to snippets of songs, which I must admit gets frustrating because I'm hearing 10-30 seconds of music that I decide I don't like over and over until something finally clicks. And I'm kind of rambling right now, but yes I get where your coming from.

[happytulips]

Originally Posted by Idiot17

Do you ever find that music is too difficult to listen to? Even though you generally listen to music to block things out. Sometimes it gets to unbearable to hear?

Yes! When I don't even enjoy the music that I normally listen to, I know I'm in a state of depression.

When I go into a more moderate depression, then music sounds like noise to me. I'm talking about the kind of music that I would like. Because when I listen to music, it's music that I picked out for myself. I know that I have to be very depressed if the music that I like does not sound good to me. Also when I feel very depressed, I notice more of the lyrics; and I would be very critical about it.

What I really hate about listening to music the most is when I go shopping and the music is piped in. There's one grocery store that I go that plays music pretty loud. It's really bad when I hear a song that I really hate. It makes me feel entrapped or being tortured. One time when I went out to eat with a friend, the place had played 1950's Doo Wop music. It made me feel old.

[IchbinkeinTeufel]

Originally Posted by Idiot17

Do you ever find that music is too difficult to listen to? Even though you generally listen to music to block things out. Sometimes it gets to unbearable to hear?

Yes! ...and I have no ****ing clue why, but it's the most uncanny thing. It's like music makes me depressed, at times, or just feel crappy (I can't think of a proper word to describe it) regardless of the genre or mood of the music. Weird thing, though, is that I'm a guitarist, and it seems playing the guitar is unaffected by this anomaly. I don't tend to listen to music, anymore, but I used to listen to it a lot. Maybe it has something to do with association, because I've gone through so many years associating certain music with pain, sadness, anger, etc, that perhaps it just all feels negative, now - thoughts?

I had to stop listening to one of my favorite artists because her songs would just drown me in melancholy until I couldn't bear to stand anymore. (god I miss her music so much) but I know I can't listen to it and improve. When I'm really down though I find that I can't listen to anything I usually listen to either--nothing uppity or remotely energetic. I would much rather listen to silence I guess partially because it echos what I feel on the inside. Emptiness.

The title of this post got me interested but I apparently misinterpreted.

Music does affect me when I'm depressed.....Sometimes I will deliberately listen to a piece that's so beautiful that it makes me cry. Tears fall and it's a relief to feel something. And crying is always cathartic for me.

[depressedalaskan]

Most music takes me down. I only hear the negative. I used to love to listen to the radio but I can't anymore.

[SparkyCat]

I find that not wanting to listen to music - even music which has many happy memories for me (perhaps especially so? Dunno.) - is kinda one of my first indications that I'm about to spiral down into a more rough period. I just can't stand to hear it, for some unquantifiable reason. Just all of a sudden it'll start annoying the hell out of me and I'll rapidly go and turn it off.

There are also some artists/songs which will just make me feel like crud, and I may or may not improve after I stop listening to them. Some songs I can understand why - either the song itself or previous memories associated with it, but others I just don't know why it is they seem to make me feel awful.