I’m reading a very thought-provoking book: Your Brain On Art by Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross (https://a.co/d/44mvNSI). It explains (in very understandable terms!) how the brain reacts to exposure to art. This book presents examples from every artistic discipline, but there are frequent references to singing – because (as we all know) singing makes humans feel good. It affects many regions of the brain, simultaneously. Making music increases oxytocin in our systems, which makes us feel happier and less anxious. The science is clear, and the benefits are quantifiable. Singing may have become our business, but it is also, and perhaps firstly, a method of human self-soothing, and of self-care. It is a drug we can make for ourselves.
When we go through a period when we are performing less, for whatever reason, it can be scary. We feel financially insecure. Our sense of identity is rattled. We might feel a loss of purpose, or a sense that we are unmoored. This book is helping me realize that not having performance opportunities affects us negatively in a much more fundamental way, because singing is inextricably tied to our health. Singing provides a chemical reaction that we have been conditioned to rely on. Therefore, a drastic reduction in singing could also throw us into a sort of withdrawal state – a state of deprivation that only exacerbates all the other stressors in our lives.
Of course, we don’t have to be on a stage to reap the benefits that singing provides…but at least for me, it isn’t always easy to separate singing as an activity that makes me feel good – like physical exercise or getting a massage – from my professional, performer persona. I have been trained to think of singing as a way I make money, and build my career…and all of that is true, but perhaps singing should also be a gift I make time and space to give to myself, no matter what is happening in my life professionally. This book is making me rethink lots of things, and I’d love to chat with you about it.
Let’s talk: for you, is singing well being?
Image by alexmogopro from Pixabay
2 thoughts on “The Drug You Make Yourself”
Thanks for this post. So true, that we tend to focus on the financial implications as they are most quantifiable whereas even more fundamental aspects are left ignored!
Helpful reframing!
Thank you for your comment! Yes, it is so easy to become separated from the innocent fascination we all started this journey with, isn’t it? Now, as masters of our craft, we think about financial implications, brand growth, and artistic consistency — but, at least in my case, when I first discovered my artistic self through singing, I was doing it simply because it felt good.