Introduction
There is no doubt that music can be regarded as one of the greatest inventions of humanity. The phenomenon of music is difficult to be described in words as it touches upon the sphere of human feelings that present quite a poorly studied side of our nature. Because of its unique properties, music can be used in different fields of human activity. With the help of thorough observations, specialists in this field know that particular music can help to make people feel anxious, happy, heavy-hearted, or brave (Bunt and Brynjulf 18). This property has turned music into an effective tool in the spheres that involve helping people who face certain physical or mental health issues. For instance, music helps nurses to provide their patients with care and support and put them in a cheerful frame of mind.
Music and Its Positive Effect on Physical and Mental Condition of a Person
Music therapy is one of the methods used for improving the mental and physical condition of patients suffering from various diseases. Although music does not have a direct influence on physical condition, it is able to make people feel healthier by influencing their mental condition and giving them a feeling of inner harmony. Music therapy does not involve only listening to music; in order to help their clients to feel better, specialists use various techniques such as singing and discussing the music and the mood that it creates. Music therapy is usually believed to be a tool used in psychology and psychotherapy. In fact, the possible spheres of music therapy application are not limited by these two fields. It is notorious that music can produce a positive effect on people’s mental condition, and it can help them to reduce their bad mental condition faster.
What is interesting is that music therapy does not show positive results only for patients facing minor health issues. In fact, it is proved that this method is able to improve the bad mental condition of those people who have recently experienced surgical intervention to prevent the development of a dangerous physical illness such as cancer (Zhou 54). Music therapy is also believed to be effective for patients with psychiatric disorders such as severe depression as it helps such patients to shift the focus of the attention from their abnormal mental condition to the beauty, the complexity, and the harmony of the music that they are supposed to listen. The United States is considered to be the first country where researchers started developing the method of music therapy. Nowadays, there are a few professional organizations that were created to unite specialists in music therapy from many countries.
Music Therapy in Nurse’s Work
If we consider the present state of music therapy, it is obvious that one is supposed to possess a degree to have the right to use music therapy methods in his work. Against this background, it may seem that music therapy and nursing are not likely to have common points. In fact, specialists in the field of nursing quite often implement the elements of music therapy during their work with the patients. It is often used as a part of group work with the patients of the hospitals and nursing homes for elderly people. If we talk about the latter, many of them tend to feel lonely, and the reflections on their age and decreasing physical abilities often lead them to depression. Fortunately, nurses can use music as a tool while taking care of elderly people.
To produce the necessary effect, they can choose music that is luscious enough to distract elderly patients from their downward thoughts and bring them a desire to live and learn something new. What is interesting, patients are often allowed to choose music themselves; in this case, they tend to choose something that evokes memories of their distant past. Such music also has a positive effect on their general state, the patients become more active, and they even feel younger. Besides, music can be successfully used in the treatment of people with physical disabilities and serious psychological traumas. Working with such patients, nurses should take into consideration their prostration of mind, and they are supposed to choose music very carefully. To produce a positive effect on the patient’s general state, music should not remind him of this traumatic experience.
Specialists in the field of nursing can use music not only as a tool for lifting the spirits of their patients. Due to its numerous useful properties, it can influence the patient’s physical condition by touching his feelings. It is known that music therapy can be used to help those patients who suffer from severe pain (Gutgsell 822). It goes without saying that the effect produced by music therapy cannot be compared to one of special medicinal drugs. Nevertheless, it is quite an effective additional measure that works well in combination with painkillers prescribed by attending medical doctor. Thus, music can be numbered among the ways to provide patients with care and support.
Works Cited
Bunt, Leslie, and Brynjulf Stige. Music Therapy: An Art Beyond Words. Routledge, 2014.
Gutgsell, Kathy Jo. “Music Therapy Reduces Pain in Palliative Care Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial.” Journal of Pain and Symptom Management 45.5 (2013): 822-831.
Zhou, Kaina. “A Clinical Randomized Controlled Trial of Music Therapy and Progressive Muscle Relaxation Training in Female Breast Cancer Patients after Radical Mastectomy: Results on Depression, Anxiety and Length of Hospital Stay.” European Journal of Oncology Nursing 19.1 (2015): 54-59.