A Solace in Difficult Times: Engagement with Music and Its Impact on Experienced Distress, Flow States, And Life Satisfaction among Musicians & Non-Musicians

A purely abstract form of art, Music is devoid of any language or explicit ideas. When listening to our favorite songs, we often experience chills down our spine, and our body betrays all symptoms of emotional arousal. Even though it says little, music still manages to touch us deeply, stirs us at our very roots. How instantaneous the impact of music is not a fact unbeknownst to us, but the research on such impacts has been heavily focused on contrasting the skills of musicians and non-musicians. The current research attempts to refurbish the impact music has on the experience of psychological distress, flow state, and life satisfaction by decoding the influence of various styles of Engagement with Music. For this purpose, a research sample of 35 Musicians and 35 non-musicians was taken, aged 25-40 (N=70). Standardized scales were used to assess engagement with music, psychological distress, experienced flow states, and life satisfaction. The results from the data indicated that musicians experienced less psychological distress as compared to non-musicians. Key facets of Engagement with Music, i.e., cognitive and emotional regulation, engaged production, physical exercise, and social connection, were also found to be higher in Musicians. A negative correlation between Engagement with Music and Psychological distress and a positive correlation between Engagement with Music and experience of flow states and life satisfaction could be noted. These findings, along with the already existing evidence of music as a therapeutic tool, establish grounds for assimilation of music into health interventions and makes it salient that the inherent values of music are not overlooked or underestimated.