How Drum Circles Can Improve, if not Cure, Your Depression

How Drum Circles Can Improve, if not Cure, Your Depression Have you ever wondered how people used to treat depression before prescription medications were invented? Even today many developing countries do not have the medical infrastructure or cultural norms in place to connect depressed individuals with medically indicated anti-depressant medications. Although historical interpretations of and treatments for depression vary widely from culture to culture, one common antidote may surprise you: communal drumming. Some benefits to making and dancing to music in a circle with your friends, family and other community members are intuitive. Dancing is a physical activity that can create positive effects similar to other forms of aerobic exercise, like releasing endorphins that elevate mood and act as natural analgesics. A communal drum circle also describes a kind of low-risk social event, like attending a party of people known to you or joining a non-competitive sporting event, that people generally enjoy as rewarding and personally affirmative, without being too emotionally demanding. The effects of communal drumming can extend even further than we realize. A recent study conducted by researchers in the United Kingdom sought to put to rest what, if any, objective benefits communal drumming specifically could offer people struggling with depression. Somewhat surprisingly, the researchers found that those who engaged in drumming fared better than the control group that attended so...
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