Music Therapy: What's Your Soundtrack?

Have you ever been driving in your car and heard a song come on the radio that made you think of that special someone? A song like, "The Truth" by India Arie. Come on... you know you have. You started smiling, singing along and having flash backs of him/her. Or maybe the song brought up a bad memory and you felt yourself getting agitated. So you quickly changed the station. Better yet, maybe it was a song you wished someone else could hear because it said everything you wanted to say but couldn’t (good or bad).
Music’s funny that way isn’t it? It has a powerful way of impacting and influencing emotions. In fact, music therapy is an actual health care discipline. For decades, music has been a well researched and empirically supported means of achieving therapeutic progress in individuals having trouble expressing emotions. So if you’re feeling like you could use an emotional tune-up, make your own soundtrack! Compile a list of songs to go with the different situations in your life, download to an ipod and strut your stuff! Here’s a sample list: (special thanks to my girl friends for the suggestions!)

-New Relationship: “Tell Me What We’re Gonna Do Now” – Joss Stone
-I’m Soooo In Love!: “The Truth” – India Arie, “You” – Jesse Powell
-I Messed Up, Take Me Back!: – “Teach Me” – Musiq, “Walked Outta Heaven” – Jagged Edge
-Back and Forth: “X-Factor” – Lauryn Hill
-#@$%!: "Hate on Me" - Jill Scott , “You Oughta Know” – Alanis Morrisette (explicit)
-Getting over him/her: “Shake it off” – Mariah Carey, “Bruised But Not Broken” Joss Stone
-Moving On: “Slowly, Surely” – Jill Scott, “Tears Dry on their Own” – Amy Winehouse