(It need to be similar to these 2 answers listed below)
I found the textbook to be very informative on a subject that I knew little about prior to taking this course. It was an easy and enjoyable read. I had heard of musical therapy, but did not understand how it works or the ways it is used to help treat different ailments. I found all of the exercises to be useful. The Music Log forced me to track what I was listening to, and to think about music that I had forgotten that I loved. Listening to music from my past has brought me pleasure while stirring up good memories. The Music Plan Worksheet helped me create different playlists that I am now using on a daily basis. I think I got the most immediate benefit from the Stress Assessment Log. It forced me to think about what causes me stress, where I feel tension in my body, and what thoughts I have when experiencing stress. This has allowed me to be better able to predict when I will experience stress. I know that commuting to work in the morning is a stressful situation, which causes my neck and shoulders to get very tense. To help combat this trigger, I play music that is soothing. I used to listen to rock, rap or talk radio on the commute to work, but I found it was contributing to raising my stress level. If I know what causes me stress, I will be able to avoid it, cope with it, or at least minimize its impact. I found the Pain Assessment Log useful when I was experiencing a bad cold/sinus issue a couple weeks ago. I experimented by listening to small clips of various types of music to see how much it increased or decreased the pain I was feeling. I now know what music I should avoid and what I should listen to when I’m experiencing sinus pain, which is a few times a year due to allergies.
I have really enjoyed the reading in Manage Your Stress and Pain through Music, by Dr. Hanser and Dr. Mandel. I found the Logs to be challenging for me, especially the music plan worksheet, where I had to come up with songs on my own. I am very bad at thinking of music off the top of my head and I found that a little stressful. Yet, I really enjoyed the CD. I feel the CD was very helpful in teaching me how to really use music for specific things. I really enjoyed “Take a Deep Breath” as I did feel this helped gave me energy like the book talked about. I also liked “Bonsai”, which surprised me as I never listened to anything like it before, but it did help me relax. Then like the book talks about I found “Lullaby and Good Night” to really help me relax to fall asleep. I always have a hard time closing down my mind to relax and sleep at night and this seemed to help me. It was fun to read the book and then listen to the CD to see if the tracks actually did as the book talks about, and mostly they all worked exactly as the book stated for me. I also really liked all the reading on depression and stress and how music can help with these issues as these are issues that I deal with. Also I liked to learn how silence is an important thing for us all to make sure to have, especially in our busy stressful lives. I think all of the information I have learned so far will really help me learn how to deal with my emotions better by using music in so many different ways that I have never done before.
