USING MUSIC TO IMPROVE MENTAL HEALTH WITH MIND
My Pockets worked with young people who are supported by Hull and East Yorkshire Mind to create a song about their lives and experiences. Here is a description of what we got up to by two members of the group.
‘The councillor I was talking to at Mind said I should join so I could make more friends. I thought it was something different and worth taking a risk on. Music was also something I enjoyed.’
‘My friend urged me on to join the group. She then left but I stuck with it because I’d met new people. So I joined to help someone but in the end it helped me.’
‘At first it was intimidating because it was online during lockdown. It’s completely new, new people, new technology, awkward silences on the zoom call, being on camera, I was out of my comfort zone.’
‘I think my generation feels judged. People don’t accept us. Even normal people are weird for being normal! The older generation can’t handle our perspective on things and think we are wrong. But just because we are different from them doesn’t mean we are wrong.’
‘There is lots of pressure on young people. That you always have to be perfect. But My Pockets weren’t like that.’
‘We made the song out of our feelings and interests. Everything we do on a day to day basis is in the song. Home life is in it, we talked about home life and also banged and made sounds with stuff in our houses. I snapped some pasta, flicked a pen, hit a baking tin. We made a beat from all those sounds.’
‘My Pockets showed me that I could trust them. They didn’t judge me. The tone of their voices was not aggressive, it was calming. It was friendly. We got to know each other, we talked about our interests, our taste in music, our relationships, we listened to them too. It was two way. It kept me engaged. They are understanding. School can be really pressured. Even the teachers feel pressured. They are worried about everyone getting good grades and don’t have time to think about peoples feelings. It’s nothing but pressure.’
‘With creating the song it was relaxed. We worked together, there were no orders, if you don’t like something you say. You can talk about it, you can change it.’
‘Writing the lyrics was difficult at first. But then it was fun because it included the things that we enjoy and our beliefs, like not wearing a dress, playing football, looking after animals. It means that the song is about us. It’s about our feelings, it’s about what matters to us, but also that it’s OK that it doesn’t matter to someone else. That’s why it say’s ‘Or Something’ It’s saying that girls can do anything. You can do this thing or that thing or something. ‘Or Something’ is the choice. You can do what you want to do.’
‘We recorded the vocals on our phones, there were background sounds that we had to get rid of and getting the timing right was hard.’
‘I love the song and the video. I love the way the beat and the video go together, the way the words pop up on the screen, the way the clips repeat and follow the rhythm of the song. It’s quite satisfying. I like everything about it.’
‘Making the song made me realise – why should I change myself for someone else’s opinion? If I like it I should do it. And that is what our song it about.’
‘I would say to anyone taking part, keep at it, keep going, stick with it. You’ll benifit from it in the long run. Stuff has been going on whilst I’ve been doing the music project and it takes me away from that, I can have a laugh, it gives me an hour to have some of my own time and escape my thoughts. It stops me from overthinking things. ‘
‘Since football has been gone during Covid it has given me something productive to do, otherwise I’d be laid in bed, and it’s not healthy. It’s been good to see faces that are not in my house, it’s refreshing, it’s something to look forward to in the week.’
‘I made a friend in the group, we’ve stayed in touch but so far have never actually met. But we both share something. The song.’