Effects of Music Therapy in Overcoming Stress

– Dr. T. MYTHILY Ph. D

Introduction

Stress has become a major buzzword and legitimate concern of the times.
Stress is an inevitable part of everyday life for all of us. At times it is mild, as when we must go without food or sleep for longer periods than usual, or when we fail to achieve a minor goal. When one’s  life is in danger or  when financial resources are completely unavailable, stress can become intense. We react to these situations in various ways, sometimes successfully, sometimes by becoming dependent or irritated and sometimes  by more deviant reactions. The varied responses to stress are of considerable interest in psychology as well as in every day life. No one achieves a complete adjustment, at least  not for longer period, shortly one need or  another, physiological or psychological arises and then the organism must find out ways of satisfying it. If the organism is able to  do so readily it is temporarily adjusted again. Providing, other needs have not arisen. Adjustment is a continuous process of satisfying one’s needs, rather than something fixed and static and it involves virtually all aspects of human behavior. A leading expert on stress, cardiologist Robert Eliot, gives the following prescription for dealing with stress :
“Rule  1 is don’t sweat the small stuff. Rule 2 is, it’s all small stuff. And if you can’t flee, flow”. What is happening in today’s organizations, however, is that the “small stuff” is getting to employees, and  they are not  going with the “flow”.

The Meaning of Stress
Stress is usually thought of in negative  terms. Two types of stress, one is negative stress and the other is positive stress. First we look into negative stress.
What is frustration?
When the satisfaction of a need  is thwarted by a barrier, either external or internal the condition is described as frustration.
Many factors leads to frustration.
External barriers and internal barriers.- External barriers is of two types. One is  non-social the other is social. - floods, rains, power failures, transportations , breakdowns, traffic jams these are  non social, and social barriers is,  placed by other people in our way.  With regard to child behavior modification- toilet training, preventing cartoon shows, stay alone in a room, refrain from playing, refrain from meeting friends, and like many other factors will act as a frustrating experience in a child’s day.
The internal barriers are the personal limitations of the  individual. The physical  disabilities of the individual leads to thwart one’s aspirations, weaknesses, unattractiveness, lack of skill, low intelligence, physical ailments and physical handicaps. Internal barriers are often more lasting than the external ones.
Almost everyday we experience some kind of conflict or frustration. The behavioral consequences of unresolved frustrations related to how we  focus our attention on these situations. What is the outcome of the situation? Are some problems resolved more readily than others? If so what is the reason ? Physiological reaction leads to psychosomatic symptoms. The possible outcome of the prolonged stress tend to produce- emotional pressure, fatigue and other extreme condition - general physiological reaction  in the body described as the General Adaptation Syndrome GAS.
General adaptation syndrome involves three stages: 1. the alarm reaction- defensive forces of the body are mobilized. Particularly important are the increased secretions of the pituitary and adrenal glands. Under steady exposure the organism enters the second stage- resistance, but it continues to adapt in an emergency fashion. With further stress the individual’s psychological and physiological resources become depleted; then exhaustion, the third and final stage of the general adaptation syndrome is reached. Outcome is the occurrence of disorders of the body- Psychosomatic disorders.
 
Decreased responsiveness: When we are in a  stress situation where we do not  know how to  respond to it or cannot respond successfully, we may become passive or lethargic. It leads to, say in a student unable to perform, even the simplest tasks to quality wise lesser or lower  performance, small arithmetic mental calculation. They know very well how to do  them. This has taken place  because of inner conflicts which render them unable to take a decision. Continued stress in individuals leads to gastro intestinal problems. Physiological symptoms , but they  arise through psychological causes.
In  a situation any human being unable to take any  decision or deliberate action the frequent human reaction  is lethargy. At times listless and unresponsiveness because nothing we do make any difference. Here it shows the helplessness of the individual.

When we are under stress, problems in the outer world can be resolved inwardly, in wishful thinking and in dreams which is called fantasy. In this actions are observable, but our thoughts cannot be seen. Heroic deeds, unfulfilled goals, extreme  brutality and unusual love affairs can be accomplished without fear. For example a hen pecked husband in his private world of fantasy , can  become an outstanding surgeon, a skillful pilot,  can become a great lover and so on .Every individual,  at one time or another engages  in some form of fantasy. Such activities are not necessarily deviant. If it is become persistent it may be a maladjustment, rather we should develop the habit, to face the situation boldly and directly and try  to acknowledge problems.

Now, we can see the positive form of stress. The positive pleasant form of stress caused by good things. For example , a college student makes the Dean’s list ; an attractive, respected acquaintance asks for a date; an employee is offered a job promotion at another location. This is a form of   eustress. This latter term is coined by the pioneers of stress research from the Greek word eu, which means “good.” In other words, stress can be viewed in a number of ways and has been described  as the most imprecise word in the scientific dictionary.

AIM:-

To  find out the effect of Music Therapy in overcoming the both form of  stress in adults.

METHODOLOGY:-

28 Twenty eight college students in the under graduate level- 13 male and 15 female  were selected for the study. Their stress toward the examination and the anxiety hierarchies related to examination were rated. Questionnaire  with 14 items in the hierarchical order has been presented to students. On the basis of the answers provided by the students, they were rated and grouped accordingly. S I inventory was also administered  and rated to find out, either the stress was due to approach avoidance conflict or  due to helpless situations. Depends upon the level of the stress, the classical music(essays of the ragas)was presented to the participants. Each session comprised of twenty minutes and the students were advised to listen the music before their starting of the studies. Then instructed to go for concentrated studying. Over the weeks the  level and the intensity of the stress has been gradually reduced to a lower level and the students were able to face  their  supplemental examinations more easefully than the  previous one.

Twelve  12 professionals who are experiencing stress bouts regularly were selected for the study. All of them are males and were  in the age group of 40+ years. Three participants  were doing self business, others were professionals in their area of specialization. They were presented emotional maturity scale and  SI inventory to assess the level of their stable mind. For the participants in a group as such, some selected ragas of classical music , played by an instrument, was presented for twenty minutes. Each session of music,  was given before attending a business session or an important meeting

FREQUENCY TABLE:-

Natural Sceneries     : = 9
River & water           : = 6
Forests jungle          : = 4
Fresh & active          : = 5
Routine                   : = 2
Fast movement        : = 6
Lonely/Sobering       : = 1
Happy and gaiety     : = 2
Playful                    : = 3

Calm & quietness     : = 4          

DISCUSSIONS:-

The fear  expressed by students toward examination were due to the  period in their life. For many students in this stage, they feel it is highly storm and stress because of the physical developments, and mentally unable to  cope up with the immediate requirements. Along with that, the  burden of studies  too  joins and doing the havoc. The present day competitive educational atmosphere mentally taxes the students to  hazardous tasks and many students finds it very difficult to manage the same and finally lands in stress. In this angle students may try to  learn anti stress techniques in relation to study methods and while taking the examinations. Stress is not  simply anxiety. Stress is not nervous tension.  Stress is not necessarily something  damaging bad , or to be avoided.
Eu stress is   something people should seek out rather than avoid. The key, of course, is how the person handles the stress. Stress is inevitable; distress may be prevented or can be  effectively controlled. 
Anxiety hierarchies in relation to examination.
A 14 item scale was administered to the students to know their level of anxiety toward their examinations. From the results of it students were given classical music to listen and relax themselves accordingly and attend the examination. The pre- post assessments  of the participants revealed that there was a positive improvement and the level of stress and anxiety were reduced to a lesser level. Both  boys and girls were able to shed out their anxiety toward their examinations.  The next semester examinations were taken differently, and the approach in writing itself changed to the astonishment of the participants.

CONCLUSIONS:-

1. In this study, Classical music proved  as a stress reliever for the participants.
2.Students were able to perform well in their examination after the therapeutic sessions.
3.Music Therapy  enhanced their approach toward studies. Mental frame and set also changed considerably in the positive direction.
4.With regard to professionals, were able to overcome their stress easily. Lethargy and fantasy are sidelined more than the expected level.
5. There are individual differences with regard to music therapy an its effects.
6. Music Therapy mental freshness on all participants.
7. There is no sex difference with regard to relieving from stress in this study.  

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