Sound, if you want it

What kind of sound, if any

If you want to feel a little less alone, you might choose something that feels familiar, or close to how you are right now. It doesn't have to change the feeling. Sometimes it's enough that it keeps you company for a while.

If everything feels too loud, you might choose less: a piece without words that you already know, a calm voice you don't have to answer, the sound of rain or distant traffic, a few minutes of a podcast, or nothing at all.

If you'd like to borrow a little movement, something with a steady beat can sit in the background while you do one small thing, or nothing. You don't have to feel any different because of it.

When the sound makes things heavier

Music can bring back memories and feelings that are hard to sit with, and the same song can land differently from one day to the next. If a sound starts to make things heavier, you can stop it, turn it down, take your headphones off, or switch to something else.

Stopping isn't a failure, and changing your mind is allowed. Quiet is a choice too. You might move to another room, look out a window, or simply wait a moment.

If you'd rather talk with someone, you don't need to finish this page first.

Talk to someone now

A private sound note

If it suits you, you could think about these questions on paper or in your own notes. There's nothing to fill in here, and this site doesn't keep or see your answers.

1. 1What sound do I want near me, if any?
2. 2What sound would I rather avoid?
3. 3After a few minutes, do I want to continue, pause, or talk with someone?

If you want to talk with someone now

You can stop reading at any point. Below is the emergency contact for your region, and the Help page lists people you can speak with. If the region shown isn't yours, the Help page also lets you change it and offers a worldwide helpline finder.

What this page is, and what it isn't

This page shares ordinary ways people use sound. It doesn't recommend any song, artist or style. It isn't music therapy, which is provided by registered music therapists, and it isn't treatment advice.

In one study, adults without depression preferred happy songs to sad ones, and adults with depression didn't. After a sad song, both groups said they felt more relaxed and less happy.

The Australian Psychological Society notes that, for some people, sad music can make low feelings stronger rather than ease them. So there's no single right choice of sound.

Studies that added music-based interventions to usual treatment have found some improvement in depression symptoms, but much of the research on music and health is still early. Those studies looked at music added to professional treatment, not at listening on your own.