Posted on Monday, 24th August 2009 by Catherine

MUSIC makes it all better~

So much about handling what life throws your way is mental.  Did you know that it is almost impossible to be in a bad mood if your attitude is positive?  Think about it – when you mind goes to a negative place all aspects of your life will follow. People around you feel your negative attitude; your family can sense it and it rubs off on others.  Next thing you know everyone is in a bad place with negative thoughts and actions.

Believe me, in the past 5 years since my mom and son were diagnosed with cancer I have had my fair share of “negative attitude days” – now notice I say “days” not months, or years. The occasional bad day is expected especially if you are going though stressful times (divorce, illness, financial struggles etc.).  In that case you know the “source” of the stress and you have to find ways to manage that stress.  I have lots of ideas about this topic (hence the site name Coping 101) and several of the key ideas can be found in my book, So Now What.   The other ideas will be scattered about the site in various ways.

One of these ideas is Mental Music Monday.

Have you ever tried to listen to a song you love without smiling, singing along or turning it up louder?  It is REALLY hard to do – the music makes your brain go to a happier place.  I think music is a huge source of stress relief.  Think about when you hear a song you love, it makes you think about memories that you have created around the song – probably a happy time or a vacation or a party.  When my son Mason was in and out of the hospital last year (we had 24 stays in 11 months) we would bring his “boom box” and his i-pod.  He would have dance parties in his room and at the nurses’ station.  Those were some of the best memories we have from our time at Children’s.  Check out this photo – Mason getting chemo attached to his IV pole dancing away to his favorite songs.

Just watching him put me in a better place even though we were stuck in the hospital getting chemotherapy.   So my thought is to put a song on the site each Monday to help put you in a better place to start your week (Mental Music Monday). I will start with songs I like, songs that motivate me and put a smile on my face.  I would love suggestions from you about songs that do the same for you.  Finding something to smile about will help you face adversity in life why not do it one happy song at a time!

HAPPY MENTAL MUSICAL MONDAY!!!!

Here is my first pick – who doesn’t love this song, it is an oldie but goodie!!

Ain’t No Mountain High Enough

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