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How is music defined? Like trying to define art, there is no saying what is music or what is noise, so to speak. Anything can be an instrument which produces sound. According to the dictionary definition of music, that is precisely what music is: “vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion.” Beauty may be in the ears of the beholder, however, music can come to heal any listener because music is a basic human necessity.

Sound operates on vibrations. When we hear music, we actually feel music. Activating different systems in our mind and body, music is penetrative to the fiber of who we are as human beings. Discussing the power of music therapy for infants, Pitchfork writes “Hearing your parents’ voices vibrating through the breastbone, lying on their chest and feeling the pulse of their heart- for most humans, this is the first music.” How musical choices change from breath to folk, heavy metal, classical violin, or latino pop fusion is a matter of individuation and development. Still, stored within our memory chambers and the various parts of the brain that regulate emotion, safety, and sensations we receive from music, are the sounds of our lives. Music therapy activates the limbic system, which is where trauma is stored.

“This subliminal link helps explain why music therapy and trauma treatment often go hand in hand,” the article explains. “Trauma survivors often have unbearably vivid fragmented images, sounds, or smells lingering in their psyche.” Trauma leads to a disconnect between the mind, the body, and the spirit. Feeling like a traveling, floating collection of fragmented parts, trauma can create a loss in sense of purpose and place. Without feeling whole, one cannot feel complete. Constant feelings and thoughts of worthlessness, confusion, pain, and struggle make thoroughly connecting to life a challenge. Numerous illnesses both mental and physical can arise from untreated trauma.

Trauma treatment in all of its forms seeks to reconnect the mind, the body, and the spirit, thereby reconnecting people to life. Music therapy can serve as one of those vessels, vibrating through the senses, making sense of the brain, and creating a sensual, spiritual experience. Reprogramming the responsive and reactive programming of trauma, music therapy can permeate what the mind thinks and bring it back to a place of being able to tolerate what it feels.

There is hope for healing from trauma. Help is available. The Guest House in Ocala, Florida, is a safe-haven for residential trauma treatment and associated substance as well as process addictions. Call us today for information on our programs.

We’re ready to welcome you, right where you are. 1-855-483-7800