The impact of music and meditation on anxiety symptoms in students

Abstract

Due to the ubiquitous nature of anxiety conditions and comorbidities and their detrimental damages, there has been increasing interest in anxiety research and treatment development. Here, current literature on anxiety and therapies are combined to form an overview of the available scientific knowledge. There is currently a substantial amount of information on anxiety disorders, such as the general cause, types, and typical therapies. There is also a wealth of knowledge on anxiety comorbidities. However, gaps in the literature exist regarding comorbidity complexities and alternative, nontraditional therapies, namely music- and meditation-based ones. The available research on both meditation and musical interventions is reviewed in this paper, including the background knowledge and current implementations. An original case study by the author involving the investigation of high school students’ anxiety levels during both music-containing and music-free guided meditations is presented as well. The case study’s design, procedure, results, and limitations are also discussed. This research confirms the need for continued research on anxiety complications and supports directing funding to a wider selection of resources.