Music & Meaning

Music carries emotion. Emotion carries truth.
This space helps you use the songs you already love to stay in gentle, honest contact with yourself — at a pace your body can hold.

A Simple Way to Use This Page

You don’t need to analyse lyrics or “do it right”. Think of it as a gentle arc:

1. Ground — arrive in your body
2. Choose a theme — pick the emotion that’s closest
3. Pick a song that fits (any genre, any decade)
4. Listen — notice what happens inside
5. Reflect & close — one or two questions, then come back to the room

Use as much or as little of this as you like.

Step 1 — Ground (Before You Press Play)

Choose one small grounding move:

• Hand on chest + belly — exhale longer than you inhale
• Feel your feet against the floor
• Notice three sounds around you
• Slowly roll your shoulders down and back

You don’t have to calm everything — just enough to stay here with yourself.

Step 2 — Choose a Theme

Which emotion feels closest right now? A whisper counts.

• Shame
  When you want to disappear or hide who you are.
  Explore →
• Fear
  When not knowing feels like danger.
  Explore →
• Anger
  When something in you wants protection or change.
  Explore →
• Grief
  When you’re carrying absence, endings, or what can’t be fixed.
  Explore →
• Longing
  When you ache for connection, belonging, or being met.
  Explore →
• Love & Safety
  When something inside settles and softens.
  Explore →
• Joy
  When life expands, even a little.
  Explore →
• Boundaries / Self-Protection
  When “no” feels important but difficult.
  Explore →

Pick any song that fits your theme — even if you’re not sure why. Then move on.

Step 3 — Listen

While the song plays, gently notice:

• where your body tightens or softens
• what memories appear
• what you want to do (lean in, turn away, move, cry, go quiet)

You’re not fixing anything. You’re just observing.

Step 4 — Reflect (1–2 Questions Only)

From the theme you chose, pick one reflection question (two at most). Let it land. See what appears — on the page, in your body, or just in your awareness.

Step 5 — Close Gently

When the song ends:

• Name one thing you noticed.
• Put a hand on your heart or over your ribs.
• Take one slow, grounding exhale.
• Look around and find three steadying things in the room.

Enoughness is a pace.
You’re already meeting yourself.

🎧 Emotional Guides

Example songs are just suggestions — check the lyrics and swap in anything that fits you better.

Shame — The Urge to Hide

Where do you shrink? What part of you is asking to be seen?

Reflection prompts:

• What part of me felt “wrong” just now?
• What was I protecting by going quiet?
• If this feeling could speak, what would it ask for?

Example songs (optional):

• “Creep” – Radiohead
• “Breathe Me” – Sia

Fear — When Not Knowing Feels Dangerous

What are you trying so hard to predict or control?

Reflection prompts:

• Where did my body brace during the song?
• What outcome am I afraid of?
• What helps me feel 2% more supported right now?

Example songs (optional):

• “The Fear” – Ben Howard
• “Shake It Out” – Florence + The Machine

Anger — The Energy of Protection

What matters here that wasn’t respected?

Reflection prompts:

• What boundary wants to exist?
• Where does my body want space?
• What would “clean strength” look like here?

Example songs (optional):

• “Rolling in the Deep” – Adele
• “Numb” – Linkin Park

Grief — Loving What You Cannot Keep

What pain am I holding because it was once love?

Reflection prompts:

• What loss is ready to be acknowledged?
• What stays tender when I try to move on?
• How can I respect what this once meant?

Example songs (optional):

• “Supermarket Flowers” – Ed Sheeran
• “See You Again” – Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth

Longing — The Ache for Connection

What does the heart reach for?

Reflection prompts:

• What need is still alive in me?
• Where do I soften when I imagine being met?
• What would closeness look like if it felt safe?

Example songs (optional):

• “Fix You” – Coldplay
• “The Night We Met” – Lord Huron

Love & Safety — The Nervous System’s Exhale

What helps you feel held rather than judged?

Reflection prompts:

• What made me breathe easier?
• Who am I when I’m not bracing?
• What wants to grow here, slowly?

Example songs (optional):

• “Better Together” – Jack Johnson
• “Holocene” – Bon Iver

Joy — The Permission to Delight

How does expansion feel in my body?

Reflection prompts:

• What surprised me?
• What small thing feels alive today?
• Where can joy be simple rather than big?

Example songs (optional):

• “Walking on Sunshine” – Katrina & The Waves
• “Good as Hell” – Lizzo

Boundaries / Self-Protection — The Right to Stay Intact

How do you protect who you are without hardening?

Reflection prompts:

• Where do I override myself?
• What would clean distance look like?
• What would respect feel like in my body?

Example songs (optional):

• “Shake It Off” – Taylor Swift
• “Praying” – Kesha

Using This With Kids & Teens

You can adapt this page for children or teens you care about. A few simple guidelines:

• Keep it short. One song, one feeling, one gentle question is plenty.
• Co-regulate first. Sit together, breathe once or twice, and let them see you’re calm enough to hold whatever comes up.
• Use simple language.
  “Did this song make you feel more sad, mad, scared, happy, or something else?”
  “Where do you feel that in your body?” (tummy, chest, throat, face, etc.)
• Normalise all feelings.
  “It makes sense you feel that.”
  “Lots of people feel like that sometimes.”
• Offer choice.
  “Do you want to talk more about it, draw it, or do something else now?”

If things feel too big, gently pause:

“Let’s stop here for today. We can always come back to this song another time.”

If anything here brings up big feelings, please bring it into therapy or a supportive relationship.
You don’t have to make sense of everything alone.