A psychologist explains three ways that sad music might lift a person's spirits.

Imagine Emma, caught up in a vicious cycle of worry and overthinking, returning home from a long and demanding workday that included harsh conversations with her manager and tight deadlines. She listens to her timeless playlist of "sad songs" at the end of the day after taking a warm shower. Emma can't help but feel incredibly understood and connected in the moment as the lyrics of a certain song fill the room. Finally, she finds peace with her circumstances knowing that "Oh, this happens to everyone, thank god I am not the only one having a bad day."

Sad songs have many advantages in daily life in addition to offering comfort during trying occasions like breakups. It's a myth that melancholy music is only for people who are depressed; people who are mentally healthy can benefit most from it. Here are three explanations.

1. We Feel More Connected to Sad Music
According to research, listening to depressing music can help people feel less alone and more empathetic and connected. Sad music can be soothing despite the melancholy it conveys, giving listeners comfort in the knowledge that their emotions are shared by everyone.One study found that listening to depressing music can provide comfort, help with mood control and emotional closure, enable emotional expression, and strengthen bonds with the composer or other listeners. Listeners may feel less alone since they are a part of a greater human experience because to this sense of shared experience. Sad music gives listeners a chance to explore and comprehend the emotions being expressed, which is particularly beneficial for those who have a high level of empathy.

2. Depressing Music Aids in Overcoming Sadness
Contrary to popular belief, listening to depressing music can really help people get over their grief. Most individuals listen to depressing music while they are going through tough circumstances in their lives, including mourning a loss.By offering a cathartic outlet for unpleasant emotions and acting as a constructive coping strategy, depressing music can help regulate mood. Listeners can release pent-up melancholy by listening to sad music, which can give a safe emotional outlet.

Sad music can also improve mood control by assisting listeners in comprehending and expressing their feelings. Listening to depressing music might promote introspection by helping listeners consider and make meaning of their own feelings and experiences.Using it as a coping tool to absorb and deal with melancholy is particularly advantageous for those who are psychologically sound. Sad music can have conflicting affects on people with mental health conditions.

According to the Psychology of Music, listening to depressing music might make symptoms worse for teenagers who are depressed, have low self-esteem, and have a propensity to ruminate—especially if they focus on their bad feelings. About 17% of the nearly 1700 individuals said they felt more depressed than their peers.

3. Sad Songs Provide Visual Pleasure
Sadness can generate a profound, aesthetic pleasure for some people, who may believe it to be unquestionably beautiful. Despite the bittersweet feelings it may arouse, the reflective nature of a melancholy melody or the eerie beauty of a gloomy piano composition can generate a sense of quiet tranquillity.Music-induced sadness can also be enjoyed when it is viewed as non-threatening, beautiful, and providing psychological advantages like mood management and empathy, aesthetically beautiful and providing psychological advantages such as mood management and empathy, frequently through nostalgia and remembrance of former experiences.

One study found that respondents to an online survey said they enjoyed depressing music in four different situations:

When it stimulated their creativity
When it aided in controlling emotions
When empathy was generated
When it offered protection from consequences in real life

Sad music primarily evokes nostalgia rather than sadness. People who are more empathetic and less emotionally stable are more likely to enjoy depressing music.

Sad music can arouse a deep understanding for the breadth of human experience because of its nuanced emotional levels. Sad music frequently encourages listeners to reflect quietly and explore the subtleties of their emotional landscape in a serene and thoughtful way.