Many people have the impulse to avoid music that brings them trauma to the past, but specialists believe that there is an even better solution.
Music can induce states of sadness and melancholy or unpleasant memories. Photo: Pexels
The great hits often arouse memories and sensations of the most diverse, some pleasant, but others at all. The problem is when some pieces only evoke unpleasant memories, as is the case with Bonnie, about which The Guardian writes.
When Bonnie hears the first chords in Bitter Sweet Symphony from The Verve, it is transported back in 1997. But this is not a happy memory; But about the pain felt when, on the way home from school, he saw the sheriff changing the lock at the door of the house.
Adolescent at that time, Bonnie and her family were to be evacuated. And the song of The Verve was heard everywhere.
“E.A big hit at the time and seemed to be broadcast constantly-in fast food, in shopping centers, on the radio, in the car. I couldn’t get rid of this song, ”” she says.
To this day, Bonnie, 46, who lives in Canberra, Australia, says he changes radio or leaves the place where the song is heard, to avoid it. “The lyrics of the song described our situation too well“She explains.
Why do we avoid listening to certain pieces
Indeed, many people avoid certain songs because they are related to memories of annoying or, on the contrary, once pleasant, but now painful reminiscent events.
For Matt, 52 years old, engineer in northern England, Neil Diamond’s entire discography became avoiding, after a former partner – a great admirer of the artist – confessed that he had lied to the nature of the relationship with a co -worker.
“We liked the parties in the kitchen, Friday in the evening. We were listening to everything, but usually Neil Diamond was endless“Says Matt, adding that his former partner had been to several concerts of the singer, including one with her boss, before meeting Matt.
The woman had insisted that that colleague had been just a friend. But, after three years of relationship with Matt, he confessed that he had an adventure with his boss while she was married to her ex -husband – and that he still had feelings for that colleague.
Now, says Matt, when a song of Neil Diamond is heard on the radio, he has to change the song. “If I go into my ordinary pub and it’s tonomat, I go to the other room or go out, ” he says.
The relationship between music and memories is closely linked to emotions
According to Ilja Salakka, a PhD student at the University of Helsinki, the relationship between music and memories is closely related to emotions.
“Emotions play a key role in the formation of long-term memories, and as music can evoke strong emotions, it is likely to intensify the memory associated with an event. Of course, it works and vice versa: an emotional event can strengthen the memory of a situation in which the music was present“He says.
Dr. Stephanie Leal, postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, says that when music evokes intense emotions or is associated with an emotional experience, it can be difficult to say what triggers the emotions that fix the memory. “The type of emotional reaction can greatly influence what we keep in memory,She explains.
In a study, Leal and her colleagues discovered that when people listened to music that caused either very intense or very weak emotions, they remembered the essence of an event, while the details were better retained when the emotional reaction was moderate.
What the experts say
Salakka adds that usually the music that evokes most memories comes from adolescence or the first youth of the listener.
“Most memories of music tend to be positive,“He says. But it’s not always. “The positive memories associated with music are often general, while the negative ones tend to be related to very specific events.”
However, as Matt’s experience shows, the emotions attached to a song – and the associated memory – can change. “Now, she triggers negative memories, because she arouses new emotions that did not exist at the beginning,” says Leal.
Although this seems like a good reason to avoid a song, it could be a reason for hope. Although research in the field is still limited, experts say that re -listening to a painful piece in new, happy contexts could lead to its rehabilitation.
“If the association is extremely negative, you may never be able to get over. But a method to try is to associate it with new events, which bring you joy – and hope that this will overcome and reconnect the brain to a different association. “says Leal.
Professor Renee Timmers, from the University of Sheffield, adds that these new associations must involve strong emotions, take place ideally in a social context and be truly significant.
However, Timmers proposes another possible approach. “Instead of seeing music as something you can’t escape and feel her victim, you can actively get involved,” she says, adding that that could mean to hum or even improvise based on the song.
“Thus, music becomes an active element with which you interact – instead of being just a memory,” Points Professor Renee Timmers.
