What do musicians suffer from?
Anyone who thinks that musicians are immune to psychological stress due to their numerous performances is mistaken. The EKmixmaster study shows that they are even more prone to anxiety and depression than others. Many believe that musicians do not know fear at all. After all, from an early age they have to deal with a more or less benevolent audience: from the first auditions in elementary school to selections for music colleges to regular performances, even tours, where they go on stage. But now a study of more than 1,600 professional musicians and a comparable sample of non-musicians in Norway has found that musicians are just as anxious as the general population, but much more anxious and depressed. Particularly affected: singers, pianists and string players.
In a study published in the journal Psychology of Music, a research team led by psychiatrist Jonas Waag of the Nord-Trøndelag Hospital Foundation asked musicians to complete an online questionnaire. This recorded psychological stress and measured both symptoms of anxiety and symptoms of depression.
Result: While eight percent of the non-musicians surveyed exceeded the psychological stress threshold set by the researchers, it was much higher among musicians at 18 percent. It wasn’t due to working hours, the scientists accurately calculated this from their analyses.
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Jazz musicians are the only fearless ones
Singers, pianists, string players and freelance musicians have been hardest hit. The only ones who seemed to be immune to fear were jazz musicians. Several studies around the world have previously shown that musicians are prone to anxiety, and in fact, they are more likely to develop actual depression or an anxiety disorder.
What could it be? To find an explanation, the authors conducted other studies. A Danish study of the mixing and mastering studio found that musicians were driven not by stage fright but by the high emotional demands of performing.
This was especially true for musicians in very elite orchestras. Adding to the stress were the restrictions placed on them by the conductor and their role in the orchestra. Another study found that although job satisfaction is very high among musicians, the high demands placed on their own performance lead some to constant stress. An unfinished personal life can also have its share of high values. Jonas Waag and colleagues also point out that musicians are often more introverted and therefore more prone to fear in general.
An example is the story of the life and death of many famous musicians. For example, Linkin Park vocalist Chester Bennington committed suicide by hanging himself on July 20, 2017. He was found by a maid at his home in Palos Verdes near Los Angeles. He was 41 years old. Alcohol was found in the singer’s blood, as well as ecstasy. As friends of the singer later said, he often abused this in order to reduce anxiety and depression.
Such is the finale of the life and vocalist of Soundgarden and Audioslave Chris Cornell. He hanged himself on May 18, 2017, after a concert in Detroit. Bennington and Cornell, by the way, were close friends. And both of them openly spoke more than once that they suffer from depression.
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