Instrumental has been so revered that it can take a listener through a series of peace to transculture and language lines. Music with lyrics differs from instrumental compositions; the mind flows well without forceful imposition by some exterior narratives. This freedom makes it an excellent tool for mental wellness and emotional balance and helps reduce stress.

The Science Behind the Sound

General music was observed to arouse many parts of the brain, and that caused dopamine, or the “feeling good” neurotransmitter, to release. However, the same cannot be said of instrumental music because the mind is focused, and the nervous system is calmed. It has been discovered that if one listens to gentle instrumental music, their cortisol level decreases, which would drastically reduce stress and anxiety. This physiological response can be instrumental in managing mental disorders such as depression, PTSD, and generalised anxiety disorder.

Mindfulness and Instrumental Music

One of the main psychological effects of instrumental music is to trigger mindfulness, a mental state that is attained by focusing one’s attention on the present moment. Owing to a lack of words, the listener can immerse themselves in the sounds at any level and create a meditative experience that enhances relaxation and clarity of the mind. Mindfulness through music triggers deep breathing, lowers heart rates and stress and provides a sense of grounding, enabling people to better cope with overwhelming emotions.

It has become a safe and non-intrusive form for people who are experiencing mental health problems to exercise their mindfulness. Whether ethereal piano or rhythmic guitar strumming, each instrument creates a sonic view that gives the listener a sense of tranquillity.

Emotional Control and Expression

Instrumental music has also served as an emotional expression that helps channel and regulate emotions without interference through verbal communication. It would elicit different feelings; sometimes it would be sad, while other times it would make one feel exuberant; hence, listeners can process their feelings very safely. Therefore, instrumental music is often applied in therapeutic settings to create a relaxing environment; in this regard, it becomes part of music therapy.

Music therapists have realised that sometimes it is easier for people to show emotions through instrumental music when they do not have words about them. It is one of the methods for traumatised, grief-stricken, and depressed people to show their feelings outside of words.

Cognitive benefits

Instrumental music also provides cognitive benefits apart from emotional well-being. Research indicates it can help improve concentration, remember things more effectively, and be creative. Of course, after that, there is the “Mozart effect,” a term coined to describe the temporary improvement of cognitive abilities following listening to classical compositions.

This will make it a great facilitator upon which one will remain focused as it provokes novel ideas. It is the least distracting kind of music one would listen to because it can be played as background music, for which the mind will strain to focus while attending to the task.

 Cultural Universality

The beauty of instrumental music finds universal application in the cultural sphere. Since lyrics depend on specific languages, instrumental music will transcend such linguistic boundaries and appeal to people from various cultures across the globe. Whether it is the soothing raga renditions of Indian classical, the jungle beats through African drums or the intricate harmony characteristic of Western classical compositions; instrumental music speaks to the human spirit irrespective of geographical and linguistic boundaries.

This universality makes instrumental music a worthwhile instrument during multicultural therapy sessions since clients of different backgrounds can find solace in the nondenominational experience of the shared sound source.

Instrumental Music as Healing Praxis

Instrumental music is a straightforward yet significant practice for mental health. One of the self-care practices is to create playlists that align with one’s mood or emotions. Instrumental compositions’ healing aspects significantly boost mental well-being if used as background music while working or relaxing.

The high demand for instrumental music in holistic wellness practices such as yoga, mindfulness meditation, and sound healing reveals its healing application. Instruments like Tibetan singing bowls, flutes, and harps create these ‘spaces’ for ultimate relaxation and mental rejuvenation.

Conclusion

Instrumental music contains inherent power to care for the mind, subdue emotional turbulence, and enhance cognitive powers. There is an assortment of qualities within it, from calming nerves and stimulating the expression of emotions to sharpening focus and stress reduction, which is one of the primary means of taking care of the mind. With the calm sounds of instrumental music, people can see themselves better and find moments of peace in otherwise demanding lives.

Has it ever happened that you did your best but still couldn’t get the highest score in an essay competition? But at the same time, you just thought for two minutes and ended up creating an art piece or caught a note of the tune that just made everyone stop and stare with awe. Has it ever happened to you that numbers seemed so simple but words were just too confusing? Or was it the other way around for you? Has it ever happened that dancing and running around seemed easier than staying still and listening to a story or drawing a portrait? Then you are not wrong, you are just different.

What does it mean to be different?

If you ever felt like Nobita or Kiteretsu or basically a duck in a pond filled with swans then you know exactly what it feels like to be different. The feeling of always wearing a big red dress or hat in a crowd of black and white, that’s the feeling of being different. “The elephant in the room” is the idiom that refers to a significant issue that is obvious but everyone avoids acknowledging or discussing it. You know you are feeling different when you feel like the elephant in the room. You feel you are either Gulliver in a land of lilliputs or a lilliput in Gulliver’s world. Whatever it may be, one thing is sure for almost everyone who feels different, it doesn’t feel good.

What can you do about being different?

The simple answer to that question is nothing. You heard it right, there’s really nothing you can do about it. In fact, the real question is why should you do anything about it? Sure, you can try changing a bit of this and that and jazz a bit while toning down a bit of that and, voila! You turned a unicorn into a horse or a Rhinoceros into a Hippopotamus, but the question is for how long? A Rhino is bound to miss taking mud baths and a unicorn is bound to miss breathing in the fresh air from the sky while flying. You can change yourself a bit or even more than that but then the question is for how long? There will come a time when you will hate yourself even more as you won’t be able to recognise what you have become any more. You may put down your paintbrush, or your abacus set, or your dancing shoes, or your writing pen, but will you be happy doing that? Rather the better question is to ask yourself who you are doing this for. For people around who you need to be a certain way to feel accepted? Sure you can jump around the lava and walk on the rock just to be closer to people you like, but for how long will you be jumping? What if you are meant to walk on the flames and shine like the Human Torch of Marvel?

That’s why it’s time to rethink and look at the following tips to help you get started and appreciate all the things that make you different.

• Take a long deep gaze at yourself in the mirror:

Stare at yourself for 5-10 minutes in the mirror. Identify the things you hate about your face or body such as you have dark circles, or tiny lips, etc and take a picture. Now take sketch pens or makeup products and try to outline and draw on your face all the insecurities you think you have. Do you think you have dark circles? Draw them as dark as panda eyes! Do you think you have acne? Draw as many as you think you’ve got. And once you’re done take a look at yourself in the mirror and compare what you’re seeing in the mirror to the picture that you have previously taken. See any difference? If you did now you know how distorted your thinking truly was.

• Not everything different is bad:

Ever heard of the saying, not everything that glitters is gold? Exactly! Just like that, not everything that looks different is wrong or bad. Do you know who else was different from the crowd just like you? Ironman. But is he bad or wrong? And what about Einstein? Is he bad or wrong? Or how about Marie Curie? Or Charlotte Brontë? Or Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain? Were they wrong or bad too? The reason people are not ready to accept or are comfortable around something different is that they are not used to it. That doesn’t make you bad or wrong. It just means people need a little more time to understand you. So, give them that. After all: 

• Let them into your world:

How do you expect people to understand or know you, if you don’t let them in like Elsa? We all remember how it turned out for Elsa when she decided to hide away in the castle. And didn’t tell anyone about what happened to her. It was only when she finally let others see her for who she truly was, that was she able to understand and accept herself better. Start small by maybe showing them how to do a dance step or two or how to draw an animal or anything that you think makes you different or weird, share it with them. And who knows, maybe you’ll be the coolest one in the school. It’s scary but you won’t find out until you give it a try.

• Let it out:

No matter how much I tell you or somebody else tells you or you yourself remind yourself how much you matter or are amazing, there will be days when you just can’t get up. And it’s okay, sometimes the ground is our friend and tears our lemonade with a salty punch. So, let it out and cry your heart out. Scream, shout but just let it out. Don’t hold it in just because you are different and are not supposed to make ripples. Create a storm if you want but then remember every storm must come to an end and so does your sorrow. 

Afterword

We know the struggle to be an alpaca in a world adored by Llamas is hard but just like we are hanging on, we know you can too. Be a paca, read Knowpaca and be proud of your difference rather than hiding it. 

Gurcharan Das was born on 3rd October 1943 in Lyallpur, which currently goes by the name of Faisalabad in Pakistan; he is an individual whose impact is still both extant and manifest both in the corporate and the literary world. Once a full-time Procter & Gamble India chief executive, Das is now a full-time writer. Through his trilogy of non-fiction books, essays, and plays, Das adeptly moved in and out of the nuances of India’s history, economy, and culture. His works profusely probe into human conditions and the changing face of modern India, providing insights that are as relevant today as they were then.

Childhood and Career Change

Das was born during the turmoil of Partition, an apocalyptic event that threw millions out of their homes, his family among them. Das’ family fled from Lahore to Shimla, where Das grew up steeped in Bhakti mysticism because of his father’s influence. The spiritual hunger surrounding him would later punctuate his writing, especially in the mediations on dharma and desire.

Das was educated at Modern School in Delhi, where he went on to win a scholarship to Harvard University. Das completed honours in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Harvard University. Though deeply influenced by the thought of political philosopher John Rawls, a lot of whose work he had learned during his time at Harvard, Das opted not to pursue an academic career. Forging into the corporate world, Das started as a trainee with a firm that manufactured Vicks Vaporub. His ascendancy has been meteoric- eventually to the posts of CEO of Procter & Gamble India and, subsequently, to Managing Director of Strategic Planning for Procter & Gamble Worldwide.

However, at 50 years of age, following a very successful career of 30 years, Das went on to take a very bold step to retire early and dedicate himself full-time to writing, an act that turned out to change his life completely.

A Trilogy of India’s Soul

Gurcharan Das’ writing career can perhaps be epitomised by the famous trilogy he has authored that captures the three important classical Indian goals of life: artha (material well-being), dharma (moral well-being), and kama (desire). His first book in the series is a narrative of India’s economic transformation from Independence to the global information age, India Unbound, published in 2002. The book, called “A Quiet Earthquake” by The Guardian, was in its own right a bestseller, and later it was transformed into a very informative BBC documentary. It’s both a personal memoir and a socio-economic analysis of the country’s ascendance from poverty to what’s, at the moment, superpower in the global economy.

The second book, The Difficulty of Being Good (2009), is a journey of philosophy through the Mahabharata by using the epic to explore ethical dilemmas in contemporary life. This is one of his most profound contributions to literature and philosophy, as he confronts the moral challenges that individuals and society face daily.

Concluding the trilogy, Kama: The Riddle of Desire (2018) is an exploration of the depths of emotions and relating while evolving this cycle of desire and satisfaction. This novel, as a work of fiction, steps the reader into a fragile confrontation of duty owed to others and to oneself, creating a lot of self-reflection that would resonate well with readers from all walks of life.

Literary Contributions Beyond Non-Fiction

Besides his trilogy, Das has worked very importantly in Indian theatre and fiction. His plays- Larins Sahib, Mira, and 9 Jakhoo Hill- reverberate so profoundly about India’s historical and spiritual past. The novel A Fine Family speaks of the trauma and resilience of a family from Punjab during and after Partition. It is a genuinely personal account of one of India’s darkest hours.

In bringing economics, history, philosophy, and personal narrative together, Das also stands out as a distinct voice in Indian literature and the world at large. His work casts insightful commentary about India’s development and, more seriously, forms a universal exploration of the human condition.

A Legacy of Thought and Reflection

Gurcharan Das has been a regular columnist for The Times of India and other big dailies, including Financial Times and The Wall Street Journal. His writings covered an extensive spectrum-from governance to the ethics of modern life, drawing from his deep experience with both India and the world.

Gurcharan Das turns 80 this year, but his books have inspired these readers. He can bring personal experiences into broader social and ethical concerns. His ability to transform complex ideas into simple prose has earned him a place among India’s most respected intellectuals. His writing invites readers not only to reflect on the complications of being Indian but also about the universal dilemmas of being human.

You might often wonder, “Why do I behave this way? Why am I so influenced by my connections with others? Why do I approach relationships the way I do? Why do I act differently with the person closest to me? Why am I so deeply attached to them? Why is conflict with my partner so challenging?” The answers to these questions can be found in your attachment style. Understanding your attachment style is crucial to improving any relationship, as these patterns develop during early childhood and influence how we connect with others throughout life, according to attachment theories by Bowlby and Ainsworth. These attachment styles are rooted in our early interactions with primary caregivers, typically our parents. The way they respond to our needs shapes our attachment style and influences our expectations for future relationships. Identifying your attachment style helps explain your behaviour with others, offers insight into how others view you and promotes better communication with loved ones. In this piece, we explore the avoidant attachment style, its traits, and how to make positive changes accordingly.

What is an Avoidant attachment style?

An avoidant attachment style, also known as dismissive-avoidant, typically develops when a child experiences emotional neglect or insensitivity from the caregivers. Caregivers may have been emotionally unavailable, dismissive or rejecting, leading the child to learn that their emotional needs might not be met. To cope, the child often suppresses their feelings and becomes overly self-reliant, minimising their need to connect with others. 

As these children grow into adults, they may continue to believe that they cannot rely on other people to meet their emotional needs and take the responsibility of being their emotional support system. Consequently, it comes at the cost of not forming intimate relationships or connections with others. While this might seem like a functional defensive mechanism, it often leads to difficulty in forming healthy, secure relationships.

Characteristics of Avoidant Attachment Style

Adults with an avoidant attachment style typically exhibit several distinctive traits. These traits serve as defence mechanisms to protect themselves from vulnerability, but they can also prevent meaningful relationships and emotional connections

Independence over connection

People with an avoidant attachment style prefer independence and self-sufficiency. They often avoid relying on others and may feel uncomfortable when others depend on them emotionally. While being independent is not necessarily negative, this extreme form of self-reliance can cause distance in personal relationships. An example of this would be— Rani loves her job and spends most of the time working. When her friends invite her to social gatherings, she usually declines saying she’s too busy. Even when she’s lonely, she convinces herself that she doesn’t need anyone and can handle everything on her own. The core element of this example is the overwhelming nature of connection to Rani and a need to balance between interdependence and independence.

Difficulty expressing emotions

Those with an avoidant attachment style struggle to express their emotions, especially vulnerability or emotional needs. They may minimise or dismiss their feelings, believing that emotions make them appear weak or dependent. This can lead to misunderstandings in relationships, where partners might feel emotionally shut out.

  Mark had a rough day at work but when his partner asks him about how his day went, he replies with “It was good” rather than expressing how he felt throughout the day. Even though he’s stressed and upset, he doesn’t want to burden his partner or let them think he’s weak, so he keeps his feelings to himself. 

Avoidance of intimacy 

One of the core features of this attachment style is the avoidance of deep emotional or physical intimacy. People with this attachment style may become uncomfortable when relationships become too close, often pulling back when their partner seeks a deeper emotional connection. They may also have difficulty trusting others with their vulnerabilities. 

  Emily has been dating John for six months. As their relationship gets more serious, John starts talking about moving in together. Instead of feeling excited even when she thinks John is a suitable partner for her in the long term, she becomes distant and starts spending less time with him, feeling uncomfortable with the idea of getting too close. 

Low tolerance for emotional sensitivity

People with avoidant attachment styles are often uncomfortable with intense emotions, whether they come from themselves or others. They tend to downplay or dismiss emotional outbursts and may appear emotionally distant or unresponsive during emotional situations. 

  During a heated family discussion, Rita feels overwhelmed when her sibling starts crying. Rather than comforting them, she quickly changes the subject and suggests they “just move on” because she feels uncomfortable with the emotional intensity in the room. Rita prefers to keep conversations light and avoids any deep emotional exchanges

Modifying the avoidant attachment style

Self-aware

The first step to every form of self-reflection is to stay self-aware of your own emotions and feelings. Understanding why you feel the way you do is essential to modify your attachment style. Many people with an avoidant style have learnt to suppress their feelings and tend to not recognise them. So starting with recognising and acknowledging them, eventually it becomes easier to name your emotions and work accordingly. Mindfulness, journaling and many more techniques help you to stay in the moment and remain self-aware. 

Challenge

One of the markers of an avoidant attachment style is to not depend on others for any emotional needs. Challenging this negative belief after the first step of being self-aware leads you towards interdependence which is a healthy and natural part of relationships. It is okay to lean on others for emotional support and to let others lean on you. Secure relationships thrive on a balanced exchange of emotional give and take.

Seek therapy

Therapy can be incredibly beneficial for individuals with an avoidant attachment style, especially if the patterns are deeply ingrained. A therapist can effectively help you to reach the root of your problems and work accordingly to make your needs meet. They can help you develop negative beliefs, and develop healthier relationship behaviours. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) has been particularly useful in addressing problems that arise due to attachment styles. Therapy can provide a safe space to practise vulnerability and emotional expression, leading to healthier relationships over time. 

  Avoidant attachment style can pose challenges in relationships, often creating emotional distance, difficulty with intimacy, and a reluctance to rely on others. However, this attachment style is not set in stone. With self-awareness, challenging negative beliefs and seeking therapy, it is possible to step into a more secure attachment style. Whether through self-exploration or therapy, the journey from avoidant to secure attachment is a worthwhile and achievable goal that leads to stronger connections and emotional well-being. 

World Heart Day is observed on 29th September every year, serving as a potent reminder to prioritise heart health. However, it’s essential to understand that mental health plays a crucial role in maintaining a healthy heart. Stress, Anxiety, Depression and other mental health challenges are closely linked to Cardiovascular Diseases – CVDs, one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Understanding and addressing the connection between mental and heart health can make small but significant steps towards holistic well-being.

The Stress-Heart Connection

Stress is a common experience in daily life, but chronic stress can wreak havoc on the heart. When stressed, your body releases stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, which trigger the fight or flight response. While this response is helpful in short bursts, chronic stress keeps the body alert, causing blood pressure to rise, heart rate to increase and arteries to narrow. Over time, these physiological changes increase the risk of developing heart disease.

Some studies have shown that people who suffer chronic stress or conditions like anxiety and depression are more prone to heart attacks, high blood pressure and other heart-related issues. Moreover, individuals with poor mental health are less likely to engage in heart-healthy behaviours, such as regular exercise, a balanced diet and proper sleep.

Emotional Well-being and Heart Health

Emotional health is equally important in maintaining a healthy heart. Feelings of loneliness, sadness and anger can lead to unhealthy coping mechanisms like smoking, overeating or alcohol abuse, all of which increase the risk of heart disease. Contrastingly, cultivating positive emotions such as joy, gratitude, and love has been linked to better cardiovascular outcomes.

Practicing mindfulness, yoga, meditation and deep breathing exercises can help reduce stress, coupled with healthy eating and healthy living.

The Role of Therapy and Support

Counselling or therapy for those with mental health problems is the first step in healing towards a healthier heart and also mental health. Cognitive-behavioural therapy, for instance, has minimised the symptoms of depression and anxiety, which is known to reduce the risks of heart disease. Therapy thus builds better coping strategies, helps regulate emotions, and puts one in better support systems, resulting in a healthier heart.

For instance, support groups and interpersonal relationships play the most significant roles in heart health. Talking to family members or talking about emotions can alleviate loneliness and stress, paving the way for positive mental and heart health.

A Heart-Mind Balance

It should be World Heart Day, but we talk only about diet and exercise, not mental health. A healthy mind and heart go hand-in-hand, and nursing them together will ensure a promising future of health and happiness, as brought about by reductions in stress, seeking emotional support, and living mindfully to attain a balance between heart and mind.