Music as Therapy

WIKIPEDIA, the online encylopedia, informs us that the history of music predates the written word. The development of music among humans occurred against the backdrop of natural sounds such as birdsong and the sounds other animals use to communicate.

Music has a profound effect on the listener in a variety of ways. It is a vehicle by which we can express many emotions ranging from sorrow to joy and happiness. It can be used as entertainment or for Spiritual worship and meditation.
Imagine standing in a huge Cathedral and being enthralled by the sound of a Symphony Orchestra. One cannot help but be moved by the experience.

Music Therapy is a growing health care profession, based on the belief that all people have the potential to respond to music and that music promotes emotional and mental health and well being. Music therapists use music creatively to bring about change and growth in people with the aim of empowering them to achieve their full potential.
The use of music in therapy has been found to benefit cancer patients, people with depression and children with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD).
Music is also a great stress management tool and can be used to help us become more calm and relaxed.

Perhaps the fact that music predates language is the reason that people like those with Alzheimer’s can relate to it. People with Alzheimer’s may regress in their cognitive processes, however, even when they are cut off and isolated mentally and emotionally from their families and loved ones and the world they once knew, music can be a vehicle to reduce their isolation by stimulating them through their senses.

People who are profoundly deaf can experience music by feeling the vibrations in their body. They may have never heard the spoken word, yet can appreciate music.

A BBC Report states, Researchers from Hong Kong found that children who were given musical training had better verbal memories than those who had not had music lessons. The researchers believe their findings could also help people recovering from a brain injury as well as benefiting healthy children.

Children relate well to music and movement. Babies become settled when they hear the sounds of their mothers’ voice singing lullabies. As they grow older music can help them connect and recognize the types of feelings they are experiencing.

Music is God’s gift to us, some people are blessed with musical talents, and others are blessed by listening and appreciating the sound of music.


Glenniah

6th Sense or if you dont wanna know when you are going to die, dont invite Oscar

The New England Journal of Medicine has documented the habits of an extraordinary cat named Oscar. Oscar was adopted as a kitten and grew up on the third-floor dementia unit, of the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence which treats patients with Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease and other illnesses. Dr. David Dosa, has detailed the story of Oscar a two-year-old cat who has become a telltale sign of death at the nursing home. So far Oscar has been correct in 25 cases.
As nursing home residents face their final hours, Oscar seems to sense they are dying and curls up beside them. Now whenever Oscar is seen to be lying purring beside a patient the nursing staff phone the next of kin so they can arrive in time to say their goodbyes. Some family members take comfort from the fact that Oscar provides a solace and comfort for their dying loved ones.
Other families ask that Oscar be taken outside while they say goodbye to a loved one, when this occurs Oscar is said to pace up and down outside meowing in protest. Although not generally known as a friendly cat, Oscar appears to understand the events that are occurring and wants to be involved at the patient's hour of death.
Is this cat psychic or is there a biochemical explanation as a doctor who treats patients at the home believes?
Glenni