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Crossing the Genre Lines of Mental Health — A Metaphorical Playlist
Let it begin with me
Do you believe music is the universal language? A language believed to connect people from all walks of life, across the lines of cultures and beliefs, and can heal all wounds.
The phrase, “Music is a universal language of mankind”, originally was written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in his first major prose work, Outre-Mer: A Pilgrimage Beyond the Sea.
It is a nice poetic gesture about mankind, but I believe that music is a universal language because it gives a voice to those silenced by society while at the same time showing societal judgments and prejudices.
Our lives are all about the relationships we have. As we get older, we realize the most often forgotten, ignored, or neglected relationship is the one with have with ourselves.
Life is built on a long playlist of thoughts, emotions, experiences, and reactions that accompany those relationships. Mental health issues can arise and add additional stress, anxiety, depression, or substance abuse issues to the mix. Often this only fuels a fire of toxicity and we lose even more of who we were in the process.
In my playlist, I can see the blend of my feelings and where my mental health played together to share the lyrics…