Free Therapy

I heard a new friend with similar mental health issues that art was like free therapy for her. She's very good at it and does it frequently. Coincidentally, I later found a post I'd written in the past about how music is the best therapy. I think we're both right.

It depends on the person, I suppose, but the arts are essential to being whole. I remember watching a film about music and it's effect on the brain in an AP Music class. It really does stimulate the same areas of the brain that sex does. It makes people really feel better.

For me, it's only temporary. You can't listen to music all day, after all. But, as helpful as therapy has been and as helpful as medication has been, I feel the most relaxed listening to music. I feel the most alive. The most connected. Present.

That's why schools need music and the other arts. We need to utilize books, art, dance, spirituality, music, cinema, whatever it takes to feel better. Because we have the power to make ourselves feel better - even if it's temporary.