Some mental anguish is really fucking awful, death of a loved one, that kinda stuff. But physical pain is the distraction uber alles. If you feel in pain, your brain has really problems nudging itself away from the center of the ache. Real pain? Nothingness is vastly preferable.
Why do I mention this? Because I take umbrage at people who claim music can help sooth physical pain -mental, maybe, but physical… I don't see it can distract well enough. I don't see how.
Music's power lies in its ability to function in the back and the foreground simultaneously. You can manipulate its presence by the power of your mind: if you've ever been listening to a song and gotten a phone call, you will see what I mean: the song instantly changes position in the levels of your brain.
The reason why it functions so poorly as musical therapy is because, the slot your brain leaves open for music closes up when you are in pain: pain doesn't allow anything to distract from pain. Let's say your son dies. Devastating. Now, just as you are feeling that, have somebody shoot you in the leg. What happens to your grief is that it disappears for awhile because your brain can't deal with anything but the overload of pain.
I speak from experience. This will be posted June 21st and take a look at my other writing for today. It ALL SUCKS because I have a toothache and concentrate on anything but the pain: music and writing (and my real job advertising) are IN THE WAY. I am tired because pain trumps just about everything else on earth and it wears you out.
Musical therapy? Gimme morphine any day because I have no idea how you can appreciate music while you are crying in pain.