Music Therapy

I found a website on an example of therapy that is used to help many different issues that may be going on with the body called Music Therapy. Elizabeth Scott informs us that "hospitals are beginning to use music and music therapy to help with pain management, to help ward of depression, to promote movement, to calm patients, to ease muscle tension, and for many other benefits that music or music therapy can bring". The music that musical therapists use are developed in a range; from nature sounds, to classical music sounds, to the daily life. It is said to be used if you are getting "into the zone" and is used during an activity that will be healthy for your body and get your mind off of whatever is causing the stress.

I did a little test with this music therapy to see if it really works and it did for me. I have had a lot going on in my life lately to where I have been hardly been able to sleep and last night I found a website with sample music that could be used in music therapy and slept all the way through the night until my alarm went off. It was nice! I definitely plan on using this method more often. I recommend anyone who is suffering from sleep deprivation caused by stress to use this method. Music can get your mind off of whatever is going on and promises a good nights sleep.

Scott, E. (2009, November 22). Music and your body: how music affects us and why music therapy promotes health. Retrieved from http://stress.about.com/od/tensiontamers/a/music_therapy.htm.

Stress Management

I was searching for any stress therapedic related websites when I came across a website called Stress Management From Mind Tools. This is a website that has anything you could think of to help with stress, from a variety of situations! It has sections such as Stress At Work, Overload, Problem Jobs, Problem People, etc. It gives you little "excerscises" that you can do at home to relieve the stress and just relax or helps you get in touch with any professional for more serious help. It is supposed to be a site to help people to "Calm, clear thoughts and quiet confidence"(Stress Management).

This source, I believe, can do anyone suffering from stress a whole lot of good. Not only does it give you the little things to do to help relieve the stress, but it helps you understand what stress is and what could be the cause of it. It gives categories of defenses down the left side of the page telling how to deal or get rid of the stress. It has every bit of information that you need for these certain stressful situations. I'm not really sure if it could be better or what I would change if I had the opportunity. It seems to have everything needed for anyone who needs help getting out of a stressful situation.

"Coping With Work Overload." Stress Management From Mind Tools. Mind Tools Ltd, n.d.Web.31 Mar 2010. .

Critical Review 1

I read a chapter in the book Don’t Be S.A.D by Susan Newman as my dive into the information of first understanding stress. This book not only talks about stress, but also anxiety and depression as well. I chose to use this book because I believed it would help prove which methods were best to help with stress and in proving how therapy would work in the case of a stressed patient. It starts off with a list of questions that are sometimes asked to see where the stress is coming from. From there, depending on which questions you answered yes to, it will help you to determine whether your stress is a pro or con. “how you view a situation determines the amount of stress you feel in it and whether or not it is good for you”(Newman9). It finishes up the chapter giving the advice of change or adopting a new attitude.
I thought that this book and what Newman had to say was very interesting. She had example three example stories at the end of the chapter and at the end of each story, gave little advice statements in what could be done in that situation. The questions she started the chapter off with that usually determine stress was pretty cool as well. I realized how much stress I have myself! I intend on keeping in mind the advice she gave at the end about adopting a new attitude. You can change any situation to what you want it to be. If you can’t change it, then deal with it. But don’t let it stress you out. Some things you just can’t help.

Newman, Susan. Don't Be S.A.D A Teenage Guide to Handling Stress, Anxiety, & Depression. Englewood Ciffs, NJ: Silver Burdettn Press, Inc., 1991. 7-14. Print.