Posted by Mark H. on March 22, 2000, at 17:27:02
In reply to Anyone else hear music in their head all the time?, posted by Boyd Stone on March 22, 2000, at 12:08:03
Boyd, You're not crackers at all if the condition isn't problematic for you. One of the first signs of my depressive descent is what I call "mental multi-tracking." Instead of one train of thought -- how lucky are those who don't know anything else! -- there are two, three, four or more going all at once and continuously, and one or two of those tracks may be music, popular or classical. It is at those times that I feel I need a "shock" to clear my mind.
As I mentioned in another thread, when I was in my twenties, I could use alcohol occasionally to erase the tapes. I would come home from campus on a hot afternoon and quickly drink two bottles of cheap champagne on an empty stomach and put myself to bed 45 minutes later. In the morning I'd awaken refreshed and renewed, absolutely no hangover, clear as a bell and able to concentrate on one task or subject at a time again, and the effect would last up to several weeks. By my early 30s, however, I no longer tolerated alcohol (I had blackouts instead of "clearing"), so I quit drinking completely more than 18 years ago. I've never found anything else that worked as well. I'm unwilling to resort to ECT, but I do think that someday there will be a safe, easy to administer alternative that will do the same thing without the dangers involved in triggering a full seizure (as with ECT or insulin shock). So far, the results of magnetic interference are disappointingly short lived. I suspect the alternative will be pharmaceutical rather than biomechanical.
In the meantime, enjoy the music! The great Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich had shrapnel lodged in his brain near the area associated with musical perception. He was able to turn his head a certain way and "automatically" generate a series of notes and chords. When medicine advanced to the point that the doctors could have safely removed the shrapnel, he politely turned them down.
If you don't like the tunes, try classical music instead. A good Schubert Quintet (the Alban Berg Quartet produced a stunning recording with Andreas Schiff on CD) should displace the elevator music. No use putting up with music you don't like!
Best wishes.
poster:Mark H.
thread:27851
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000321/msgs/27864.html