With Taylor Swift’s new album out, how listening to sad songs can be good for you

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – From pop and country, to alternative, rock and hip hop, music is something that can boost or uplift our mood, even music about breakups and loss.

Arianna Galligher, who’s the director of the Gabbe Well-Being Office and the Stress, Trauma and Resilience (STAR) Program at Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center, said there’s a lot of excitement around sad music, noting that there’s benefits to listening to tracks that are not uplifting or fun.

“It sort of connects us as human beings in this shared experience,” Galligher said. “Everyone knows what it’s like to feel sad, even if it’s not related to a breakup. That theme of loss is really universal.”

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Taylor Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department” has 16 songs and was rumored to be about a breakup. With its release, many people are excited about the sadness, and there’s a reason why.

Galligher said music can connect listeners through situations they have gone through including a breakup or loss and have made it out. Galligher said these experiences can end up bringing hope and giving access to our own emotions.

“We all have songs that we’ll listen to again and again and again because it really speaks to us,” Galligher said. “I think that’s just a universal connection for humanity and think it makes all the sense in the world to be a little intentional about listening to those songs.”

Though it can bring benefits, Galligher noted that over listening to sad tracks could cause concerns if it starts affecting your mental health.

“If your emotional state is starting to get in the way of your ability to function, then it might be time to employ what we call “opposite emotion action” where we start to create an environment where that emotion is less likely to flourish,” Galligher said. “So it might be worth while to change the track to a more uplifting or a pop song if we start to notice that you are steeping in the sadness for a really long time.”

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