30. The Beat of Resilience: How Music Therapy Unlocks New Possibilities in Stroke Recovery

What's up, everybody this week is episode 30 of the lovable survivor podcast. I am fired up because I just recorded an episode of the lovable idiot podcast where I talked about a lot of ridiculous things happening in the world and fun things happening in my life this week. But this episode I recorded a few days ago, and it is a topic that I think is really important. It is a good example of yet again, something I brushed off. Probably sooner than I should have. I believe music therapy actually has a ton of benefits. I think I definitely brush it off, because it sounds like one of those woowoo BS, nonsense things. I mean, I gotta be honest, I promise you, you might be sitting there thinking the same thing. If you are in a rehab facility and listening to this, if you are still in a place where you might be able to benefit from music theory, therapy. Just consider it, I think I definitely brush it off. I know for a fact, I just saw some somebody at some point looking kooky, wacky weird. But the reality is, I think if somebody just asked me about my level of interest in music, what benefits I might have from listening to music, I just think there's a lot of benefits. And I think a lot of times, for those of us who may not have may not be lacking in the ability to communicate as much as others, I think sometimes, you know, obviously a therapy. anytime during recovery, you have to pick and choose what's the most important. So it may just not be something brought to the table. Somebody who might be knowledgeable, just think you're in need of it. But I think there's a lot of benefits. And I think there's a lot of hidden benefits. It's kind of like breathing, we all take it for granted. It's part of our lives, probably, to some degree. I love music. But I really brushed it off. And I gotta be honest, I think in this episode, what I tried to really do, and hope you take away from today's episode, which we'll have to do in a minute. I just say open to things. I think that's a good tip in general when it comes to stroke recovery, saying opens new opportunities, learn from others. Listen to what's working for others. Just because something seems kooky. Don't think it can't have some benefits. May not have all the benefits you want may not change your life entirely, but I think it's something worth considering. Anyways, I'm really excited about this. I hope you liked this week's episode. Definitely, as always, hit me up a podcast Lobos ferrara.com If you have any thoughts, suggestions, tips, etc. Let me know. Otherwise enjoy episode 30 This week of the global survivor podcast. My name was rear welcome back to another episode level three broadcast. Today is episode 30. And I am back with a new topic. Sweaty as ever fresh off a run. It is a topic that I know literally nothing about really. It's a new topic. It's exciting. I discussed it briefly last week. But I'm really interested in the topic. It's it's something I definitely brushed off. I will go into the reasons why. I'm really excited to talk about a dig into it do a little research kind of live on the podcast today. It really, you know, share what I learned, have a discussion and see if others feel this way. I think I'm not alone. I could be wrong. I probably am wrong. But you know, I feel like if I brushed it off, certainly other people might have brushed it off too. And I think that is common, but probably not for the best. And I think we all probably do it. We have to make choices as survivors. You know about our needs and our wants and our desires. And sometimes things just come to us later. I think that is a natural part of life. I think everybody does it in every aspect of their life. I know it's not the first time I brush something off and come back to it. But I think there are reasons and I think we'll get into that. But yeah, just kind of a quick overview about music therapy. Again, I don't know a ton about it. I'm not a professional music therapist. I don't really know many I know there was one or two at the facilities that I have done rehab, outpatient and inpatient at. And yeah, I mean, to each their own. I think, for me I just like it was it just is a common, per se. There's some science behind it, the research tends to be lagging, I can tell you from the brief research I've done in the last week, there are mixed feelings on this. You know, I think you have to do your research. As always, I am not a doctor, I am not a physical therapist, I am not a musical therapist. I'm just somebody who like, kind of the light bulb went off in year three, slash four. And looking back like, oh, right, that kind of does make sense now. So that's what I'm talking about today. That's what we're going to talk about in this episode, because maybe you're maybe you didn't did what I did. Maybe you brush it off, you thought, oh, this woowoo stuff. This is nonsense. This is not for me. And then what do you know, you give it a second thought you give it a second look? And maybe, maybe it's still not for you. That's that's certainly fair. And again, everybody's gonna have a different path, a different journey, a different different feelings, and different things at different times are different needs for people. So yeah, music therapy, according to a little bit of research is an evidence based practice that uses music, which don't make sense music theory, or music therapy. And it helps address physical, emotional, mental and social needs. And again, this all makes sense when you hear it this way. In the context of stroke, recovery, music therapy was shown to help patients improve motor skills, speech abilities, and emotional well being. Also good points, right? Like, generally, everybody typically, like some kind of music. Now, there are different levels of how into music people are. Some people go through phases where their way into music, maybe next month, their way into podcasts, and maybe they mix it up, and they like all kinds of genres. Some people like countries, some people like rocks, you know, it depends on when you're born. Typically the area you're born in the music you grew up around you the music your friends and family listen to. Now, I think, again, spans so many shapes, sizes, varieties, it everybody has their own unique take. Some people are eclectic, when it comes to music collections. Some people are very one type only some people prefer new music when they run. Some people prefer music when they run and work out. And again, everybody has a different taste in it it all individual. But yeah, I mean, I guess we can get into. Yeah, let's start at the beginning. Why did I brush it off? Well, for me, I just didn't really think about it. Initially, there were so many things. And I think that I'm not alone. Walking, getting back to walking was a big thing, things, you know, dark, there's just sort of a plethora of things to depending on your stroke, and depending on your recovery journey, depending on how many deficits depending on all sorts of factors. You know, your starting place may be different for me, music just just it's always been a part of my life. But not in a way that it is for some people like music is always something I listen to when I'm working when I'm drawing or when I was drawing. You know, I worked as a developer, I you know, I'm very often in the developer role. I was working by myself coding by myself a large portion of the day. I also used to do a lot of design. I also have three kids who are loud, like music is just something I always kind of gravitated towards. But I'm not one of those people that is overly musical. I don't play guitar. I never played drums, like all things I wanted to be good at. But I just couldn't get into guitar. I don't know something about it for me. I just couldn't play it. Maybe not enough practice. But yeah, so I think in the 90s For me, I was kind of raised on hip hop and the New York New Jersey area. It was a big part of my life. I was very into basketball and sports and I think that was pretty typical, especially in that New York New Jersey area in the 90s. Then I went to college and I shifted towards the Miami you know beginnings of dance music and EDM, electronic house progressive house You name it, you know, anything with a beat over 110 is definitely my vibes. You know, I associate it with a lot of things. And also, it's the type of music that elevated my mood, which, you know, I think is another thing when you think about music therapy and the role it can play. And you kind of maybe you're like me, you kind of brush it off, because I'll tell you why. When I was at inpatient rehab, and they were talking about music therapy, nobody really asked me like, hey, well, what kind of music do you listen to? Have you considered listening to music or instead of watching TV, and it's like, all these things like, now I look back, I'm like, oh, yeah, if somebody just asked me what kind of music I'm into, maybe that would have gotten me thinking like, yeah, like, and again, I'll go into these things today. But yeah, I'm. So envision therapy, I brushed off music therapy, totally because I saw some kooky musical therapists who I associate at, honestly, I didn't know the person I they just looked like they were not for me. It looked a little kooky. Oh, they're walking around with like, a xylophone and an accordion. And they're playing music that I don't like at all. You know, the plan 50s 60s 70s Polka music like just just bizarre stuff that just immediately, immediately. No, no, no, no, I want no part of it. And I immediately brush it off. And I never gave it a second thought. I never gave it the time of day, to be honest. But now I realize it makes a lot of sense. At least for me, I know music. Not all runners are many different camps. Some people like my wife who are deaf, she doesn't listen to music, for obvious reasons. She likes to be with her thoughts when she runs. And that's that's the thing, people like that. Some people can listen to a podcast, and they really get jazzed about the podcast or they get pumped up by it. Again, not. Not that I don't like it. But I'm not a podcast and run kind of guy. I could do a walk and podcasts I can do lifting in a podcast, but I cannot run and do a podcast. Although I will say I have done it before. It's not impossible, but it's very rare. And I really had to be in the podcasts that are really want to listen to the rest of it before I switch over music. So again, I think I brushed it off. I know I brushed it off. I know a lot of us brush it off. It seems like one of those woowoo things the same thing with breathing for me. I've talked about it a number of episodes. You know, for me, it was like, Oh, I'm breathing. I'm living like simple, but like when I really found nasal breathing, and I really understood that I could breathe. Obviously we all need to breathe, but you can breathe better if you're a mouth breather switching to nasal breathing. Learning to unblock your nasal passageways so that you can properly breathe through your nose was a big eye opener for me. You know, and I think I was thinking about it on my run just now. There were there's other things and now I'm totally blanking. But there's been a few things with my stroke recovery. I don't think they've been huge things but they nasal breathing was a game changer. For me. You know, I think music plays certainly a part in my recovery. I think it helps keep me don't you know, I no longer drink and no longer do anything. But music really is a way. I love music when I'm lifting when I'm working out when I'm doing anything athletic event. I'm not doing anything athletic. It just kind of pumps me up. I love a good beat. I love EDM, I love electronic music. I love house music. You know, I got into DJing I've been talking a lot about that lately. As you can see over there. You know, it's I think I underestimated how much EDM and music in general has played a pretty significant role in my life. I mean, it bonded. I remember bonding over music with my dad as a kid and my sisters and like, again, we're not a huge musical family. But we all played a little something not very well. But like I was into piano I played trombone. I never really took it further than that. Until I got into DJing 20 years ago. And then I got out of it for 20 years but I've always been listening to music all along. And yeah, it's a really, I again, I just I didn't think about it. But I realized now like yeah, music is helpful. It helps me You know, I wouldn't say it improves by time significantly when I'm running but it definitely At least initially, you know, I didn't love running. And I had to really kind of fall in love with running in the last year or so. But like, for me, it drowns out the voice in my head of like, I hate running, I hate running, I hate running. And I'm just thinking about the music, and I'm listening to the music and the beats and like, it makes me forget about all the things I don't necessarily love about running. And it allows me to kind of step away from the thoughts in my head. And sometimes running and thinking is good, but sometimes also, you just want to like, escape your thoughts briefly. And music is a great way to escape the thoughts in your head. And it's also a great way to help motivate you. Whether that's running or walking, or just exercising whatever that is, I think it's a great tool to help motivate. It's, it's not, you know, music is not an accountability, buddy. And it's not gonna make you an amazing athlete by any stretch, but I think it really is helpful. And I think, again, I didn't think about the, the sort of stimulation music plays in the mental and physical and emotional and cognitive roles. And like, you know, you can even break it down further, like kind of getting that rhythm with running, or walk, even walking, like just to kind of find your step and your stride. You know, it may seem Elementary, and it may seem obvious. But there's so I think other survivors who have had significant deficits will understand this, like there's, you don't realize how much is involved with the body and the brain connection. When it comes to motor skills and walking, until you have to literally relearn how to walk and move your hand and move your body. It's not as easy as you would think. And I think we all take it for granted prior to having a major medical life event or brain injury. You know, any, any injury where the brain body connection is altered? Yeah, I mean, it's just walking and running what you seemingly used to be effortless, but now it really has effort, it is effortful, for me, it is getting a lot better. And I think music kind of just keepin it music plays like a small role where you're just able to like, listen to the music and not think about things so much and just get kind of in that flow of doing when it comes to running and walking. Because I know, for me, running, walking has been I tend to overthink it now because I never had to think about it. And now I think about it so much. That the music helps me step away from my own inner voice sometimes. Now I know that's extreme, but it's true. And I think, again, music will play a different role in everybody's recovery. And I think, you know, maybe it's not for you, maybe you don't really need to incorporate music, but maybe you might find it helpful. I think that's really that's what a lot of these episodes are. It's it is me talking to you one on one. But again, it's sharing my journey and things like I didn't think of earlier things I wish I knew sooner. Music, music therapy falls right into that category of stuff that I brushed off, because I thought This is dumb, who needs it? Et cetera, et cetera, you know, I won't drag it out. But like, you know, I think we all do that with certain things. And so maybe music therapy. I think if I can go back, I would really try to understand it more, and maybe even talk to the musical therapist at my rehab facility because it's like, Sure, they're walking around with a guitar or they're probably be playing some classic music that I don't, I don't necessarily love. But even having a conversation with them and learning more and understanding how it might be able to help having this conversation four years ago, I don't know if anything would change. But it's interesting to me now looking back. And again, I can't say for sure. But I know. For me music is really helpful at the gym and running. And if that's all it ever is and all it ever is for you. Great. You know, that's fine. But I just I guess I want to talk about a lot this episode because I think again, it's misunderstood. It's probably I'm not saying if I overlooking everybody's overlooking it, but I think I'm not alone. And thinking it's a little silly, right. And I think what the big takeaway here is that there are lots of things that work for different people. They may not work for you. But I think when you have a stroke or major life event like that, you think only certain things are going to work and then later you realize like, oh, oh, I really wish I didn't brush that off as quickly. As I did, or I wish I looked into this sooner, and that's really the big takeaway here, you know, this whole episode. I mean, it's, it's the things that we often overlook, one to play a more significant role than we think. Or like, in my case, like, you know, music therapy sounds silly to me, right. But in hindsight, when I think about it, music has played a pretty significant role in my life. And it's kind of been in the background, I was not like, you know, a super big Muslim musician. I've never played in a band. I had lots of friends who played in bands. But it just never was where I fell on on in life by never, never gravitated towards actually like joining a band or playing a ton of music. I mean, I guess, you know, when I think back to DJing college, I started to get into it, but then I quickly faded out of it. And then I've only gotten back into it in the last like, three months. And so yeah, I think I think it does help. I think, like I said, I think, you know, if you're like me, you might brush it off. If you're a younger stroke survivor, you may see somebody, again, like me, and think, Oh, who's this kooky wacky person that rehab? You know, what role does music like music therapy that sounds like such, you know, not for me, but I think, again, don't underestimate the role. It can help. It can improve language, I think of people especially with like language difficulties and aphasia. And cognitive issues, like, you know, you might be able to remember words of lyrics and like singing might lead to speaking, it's not going to be beautiful singing probably. But you know, I think, again, it's just like, it's really about considering things and seeing if they have an impact, and there's really no harm, right? Music has a lot of benefits, just from an emotional standpoint, listening to music might elevate your mood, depending on the music. But if that's even if that's all it does, it helps to put you in a better mood. That's a great thing. And it's underestimated, I think, at least, I mean, I underestimated it. And I think a lot of times I listen to music, because I am wanting to elevate my mood, or get pumped up at the gym or running. You know, and I know that not listening to music. In my case, it just I don't know, I mean, that can still run without listening to music, but it's just more enjoyable listening to music with beats that like you just make be excited, maybe want to go run. And again, that's different for everybody. But yeah, I think, just brush it off. Because it is again, it can be really helpful, I think, especially with when you think about gait training, and stepping and walking all those fundamentals that you really go through when you're relearning to walk, and really advancing, you're walking in and techniques, there's a lot of mechanics, but also, you know, I read a thing I mean, I'm looking at right here, it's like, if you have an uneven gait, sometimes they say patients can correct that an uneven gait, and walk, you know, you kind of figure out your rhythm and your pattern. Walking in time with the music. And that, that makes sense to me too. Because I noticed with running like that I get you know, you try to like, again, this takes effort, and time and practice. But you can kind of I see myself slowly improving the mechanics of my running by simply a lot of music has, you know, there's a certain pattern, a certain rhythm and a certain beat. And you know, there's beats bars and phrases and like, you can kind of time it out most of the time. I mean, sometimes there's a typical patterns, but generally speaking, the majority, I would say if songs have a certain cadence, a certain rhythm. And again, it depends on your genre, and in so many things, but it just Yeah, I mean, I know I'm beating a dead horse here. But I'm saying not to underestimate it. Because I think it's one of those things in stroke recovery that definitely does not get talked about a ton. There's not a ton of research. And I get it right. And I think you get it too. There's so many factors. There's so many things and there's only so much time in the day to research and put into practice. And it it probably falls to the bottom of the list. And that's probably why it felt on the bottom my list. I brush it off. I've said that a number of times already this episode. You have to make choices. And for me, this is a choice that I'm learning about this later. And I think you know for me, it's the right time. And it just lines up with the other things going on in my life right now. Like again, I brushed it off, but I just think there's so so many benefits I mean even just simple things like stimulating your mind stimulating your brain He thinks that we don't necessarily. There's not like a ton of research on this and one to one, but like, the brain is healing. You know, same thing with sleep. Sleep is really important to brain recovery and brain injury and brain recovery. And like, there's so many things that we don't know. And, you know, there's again, there's like, like breathing, right? There's it's not that it's not that mouth breathing is a wrong way to breathe. It's not the ideal way to breathe, right. And once you learn nasal breathing techniques, you're like, Oh, this is super helpful, especially for somebody like me, who has a mouth breather for many years. It's like, oh, wow, it's so different. And so I think, I think the same thing is true here with music, it's like, you got to realize like, oh, yeah, right. You know, and I'm not saying that music is a replacement, for medication, or for you know, cognitive, behavioral, behavioral therapies, or, or, or, you know, therapy, you know, something like BetterHelp, or anything like that. But I mean, music generally elevates moods. And, you know, if you are somebody who struggles with certain mood disorders, or things like that, you know, music may be a beneficial tool where you gain a lot of benefits. So, again, I think the big thing about music therapy is like not brushing it off, considering it, thinking about it, seeing how you can benefit from it. Maybe you're like me, you know, you just kind of you liked music, but you never really thought how much it could play a role in your recovery. And again, music stimulates the brain, and there are rewards in that capacity that we may not even realize. They may not even I've realized and research trials and clinical conditions, and I think it can play a big role in physical and occupational therapy. And again, talking about language recovery, and motor skills, you know, you kind of tapping in, you know, even something like this tapping on the desk, while you're listening to music, like kinda, you don't think about it. But like, there's a little coordination there. And like, you're kind of tapping and like, maybe you're playing air drums, like, you know, it sounds silly, but I don't know, I think one of the biggest things that I've learned throughout the last four years of my recovery journey, is that never underestimate the things you hear, and yes, you have to make decisions. Yes, you may brush it off, and it's okay. You can brush it off, come back to it, but write it down and consider it like, one of the things about music therapy that I thought about today was like, right, I brushed this off, I heard about it in the beginning, but I really brushed it off. And I never circled back until now. And again, I'm okay with that. It's I think it kind of came to me in a way that makes sense. You know, but also I was looking for answers. After year one into year two, and three, and maybe, you know, maybe knowing about this a little sooner would have just got me on a different path. And it made me not, again, music, I think there are certain things when it comes to recovery that like they just come when they come. And there is I do sort of believe that when the body and brain are ready for a certain thing or wanting something to come back into your life and in your routine. It kind of we'll find a way. I know that sounds really crazy. It's. But again, I think when it comes to stroke recovery, there are lots of things that we can consider kind of crazy, or you wouldn't think about at a certain time you wouldn't think of prior to your stroke, you would have brushed it off the same way I did. For years and years and years and said, This is dumb, this is me. And then all of a sudden, you realize after a stroke, you're like, Nah, I'm willing to try like a lot of things. And like I think part of me is like sort of finding that balance between things I would never do and like things that I'm now like, well, maybe that's worth a shot. And you know, I think again, that's that's a learned thing over time you learn. Part of it is stroke recovery. Part of it is I am 48 Now getting older and I see the world very differently than I did even five years ago prior to my stroke. I'm much more open to learning. I've always been open to learning but I'm open to hearing ideas that I think my stroke has taught me that I don't Oh, a lot of things and I need to be more open because things that I would have brushed off or never considered. Now I'm willing to at least hear that out a little bit longer. I'm not immediately brushing things off in a lot of cases. But that's also because I probably have put in work and I like, Okay, I found out now a couple of times, things that I was brushing off have really come back to kind of wounds they bite me in the ass. But like, yeah, like, I've realized, like, Oh, I was totally wrong about that. And that's okay. I think that's part of the journey, I think we can all be wrong about things, I think we can have opinions. When we're 30. By the time we're 40, we're laughing at our 30 year old self being like, what did he do? You know, and I still do it, I do it, my kids do it my life, I do the choices that I've made. I thought I'd never be the guy to quit drinking and smoking. There you go. I haven't drank or smoked for four years since the day of my stroke, gone. You know, what I was very adamant that I would never change. And there you go, it did. So again, music therapy. Sorry, my throat is really dry. Again, people don't fully understand it, I don't know that we all will ever fully understand it. Because there are benefits beyond what you can quantify and measure. Sometimes I think, especially with the role music plays, it is so individualized to, to taste to to the type of music you like to the way music affects you. Again, I said, like I said earlier, like I really is a really kind of dumb example. But I think about sports and how you get energized in the stadium, whether you're playing or whether you're a fan, the music in the stadium, really can elevate the mood of the crowd of the team of the home team of the away team. Like, you know, it's different with different sports, but I don't think it's any different. It's a much smaller scale and much more individualized when it comes to stroke recovery. But I think the principle is sort of the same. You know, it can really elevate your mood in a positive way. I mean, some people like to, you know, just real quick to go back to like, certain things, there are certain things you could do, whether it's comedy, whether you like going out and having a good time and having a few drinks and dinner with friends. Now, but maybe you don't drink anymore, but the music gives you sort of that same. I don't just dopamine, but maybe Yeah, I mean, maybe you can get that from music, you can get the feeling that you would get from things that aren't good from you, but you can get it from music. Yeah. And like maybe the worst part about the music is it has some swear words in it, which wouldn't offend me, but sometimes bothers other people. But like, really, that's a lot healthier than other choices that you could make to elevate yourself to the same mood and experience. You know, I was thinking about I've been doing a lot of DJing, like I said, and I got out of DJing in my 20s one because it was super expensive. Everything was on vinyl is different game 20 years ago, but now it has changed. But like I go back and think about like, what did I like about it? Well, I loved creating experiences, I loved pumping up a crowd. I love being part of a club scene. I did like drinking and smoking and being a part of the club scene. But honestly, I was thinking about it the other day, I could probably have the same good time at a club now or even then, and I could have had the same good time not to drinking, not doing the drugs, just probably having some seltzer water and dancing and listening to good music that I you know, elevated my mood and the people around me and whether they were doing the same or doing something different, like it was about the vibe and the fun and the the the experience and the music taking you away. And I know this sounds ridiculous, but like I think about festivals and like Ultra Music Festival in Miami, there's a big music festival for the EDM electronic house music crowd and like, you see that festival and not everybody? Yes, there's always festivals and musical festivals associated with drinking and drugs, but it's not everybody there. Right. And it's bringing people together and it's, it's about the music and it's about the good times and the good songs and the good vibes and the Yeah, just the overall experience and it brings all these people and cultures together. And that sounds like a really far tangent for music into stroke recovery. But like think about stroke recovery, right? There's people all over the world stroke a Z One of the top, you know, top if not the top two, top three causes of disability globally, right? And bringing people together learning from one another is a really underrated thing. In the stroke recovery, journey and community like, there are people that I know who have had strokes that I wish I knew more like it's it's a small world, in the stroke recovery journey in this people that have had strokes, it's kind of small, but like, when you go global, it's really a big thing. And there's so many people trying to figure this out, from doctors, to clinicians to, you know, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, physical therapists, like so many of you working in the field with somebody who will experiencing the reality of stroke. And it's just, again, I know I'm getting on a tangent here, but ultimately, you know, I think there are lots of benefits of music, and music therapy when it comes to recovery. Again, it can help people relearn sort of language skills, I think the cognitive benefits are underappreciated and often overlooked. There is a good amount of research, some of it seems to be from my brief. You know, because I'm actually recording earlier in the week than I typically record. So I've not gotten as prepared as usual. But I also don't know a ton about music, in the therapy aspects. I just, I'm thinking about it out loud as we talk on this podcast episode about all the benefits and how I really overlooked it completely. And you think, you know, some people are like, well, I don't like EDM because it's very repetitive. But I think for me, I love EDM, because it is repetitive. It allows me to escape differently than other people might need to or want to escape. It helps me a lot with running. And I was into it before, before running before stroke before we 20 years before my stroke. I was in the electronic dance music and it's just repetition. You know, what they're talking about a lot of in rehab facilities for stroke is that like, repetition is key, you know, you hear 10,000 hours and whether you believe that or not, the fact of the matter is repetition is key. Again, it's all layered it strokes South Korea is so complex, it has so many layers, it's so individualized. But yeah, I think music and the repetition and whether it's using music to help you physically, in terms of running or walking, all kinds of movement, all kinds, whether it's physical therapy, occupational therapy, even speech therapy words, you know, you say words, that rhythm, you know, singing, not my nobody wants to hear me sing. But I feel like if you were singing a tune and singing a song and you're kind of repeating that you're, it's, it's a good way to incorporate a little fun in a very difficult journey, whether that's speech or speech therapy, or walking like music makes things a little bit more enjoyable when you're doing stuff that isn't particularly fun. I can tell you as somebody who was in a wheelchair and learning to walk is kind of exciting, but also excruciatingly painful. And the whole stroke recovery journey is a long arduous process. So again, even if music only plays a small part, and just helping make the day to day go a little bit better for you. Do not underestimate it. You know, it's as simple as just improving mood. Don't deprive yourself, you know, it's so hard to come back from a stroke that like, it sounds funny, but I think sometimes we don't think about these things are so focused on the particular task that you're working on. Right. I'll give you an example. Something as simple as like, relearning to walk. Well, that's okay. That's great. Right. But like relearning to walk with a little bit of music makes it probably 100 times more enjoyable. I think about all those times, like, I don't really need to hear another, you know, like, you're at therapy, right? Obviously, you need to be safe. You need to be listening to hearing people around you. You want to be aware of your surroundings, but like if you can listen to music, do some of those boring tasks. It makes them a little bit more enjoyable. They certainly make some make a little less awful, if not enjoyable and Yeah, just like I said, music plays such a big part, I think we all tend to overlook it. At least I did. So I don't think I'm alone. There are a couple more things. I'm just looking at this one last piece from Flint rehab again, a great resource for any strokes are out there that have a great blog, lots of good information. I will point out that on the front blog, there is a YouTube video of somebody who is a musical therapist, and this is a good example of, and no disrespect to this and Regina is gonna sound terrible, but like, he's sitting there with a guitar playing music to somebody. And I'm just like, that is my nightmare. That's why I brushed off music therapy, because I don't want somebody sitting across me strumming a guitar. I don't care for Dave Matthews, who I loved all my life. It's just a that is uncomfortable. But I do love Dave Matthews. And I love to listen to an interview with Dave, all the DNB albums. Like, that's amazing. But I still wouldn't want Dave physically as talented and as amazing as he is, I would I would feel so uncomfortable. Having him play music in front of me while I'm in stroke coverage, you know what I mean? So like, I think to each their own, but I think that is it is probably why a lot of times I brush things off, because it makes me uncomfortable. If I'm being honest, but yeah, they bring up some good points here can improved hand function, I'd love to learn more about that. I'm not going to bore you with going through it. But I did have hand function issues, I still have trouble a little bit with the right hand and really like doing everything I used to be it's a lot stronger, it's a lot better, but it is still far from perfect. It is definitely the slower side. When it comes to typing. I think we're getting closer I say that all the time. You know, less in less, maybe less thing, but you know, helps with aphasia. The one thing I will mention that made me think about this too, is in rehab for stroke recovery. I remember we played a lot of Wii, which is a really good. I think there are a lot of video games and a lot of tools for video games that can really help both with hand function and hand eye coordination. And a little bit of spatial issues. So do not underestimate that and how that ties to music as I was thinking about. Ah, what are those music games? They were popular in like the late 2000s. I want to say like 2009 to 2012. But yeah, fun rehab has this this music glove? Yeah, what are those video games called with the all the music? Good, like Guitar Hero? Yeah. So it's not really guitar. But there's buttons all over the place on the guitar hero guitar. And I think you're you're kind of you know, different cut very much like the guitar, your hand here your hand here, but you're hitting different buttons. And it helps a lot with coordination. And I know with flint rehab, they have like a glove and like a little music app. And it's like you do this and this and this. And like it's, you know, you see the fret and the buttons coming down. And it's like when you hit a, b, c, d, all that kind of stuff. I think it's really good for hand therapy I wish that had I don't think it was a tool that was out when I first set my stroke. But that would really I think, helped open up my hand so much so that I thought about getting this glove because you could do this exercise at home. But there is something at least for me in the be having like a video game kind of thing. Where you can play it for 1015 minutes, and it's good and it's repetitive. I mean, doing this is great. But I'm not necessarily as disciplined. Doing this particular exercise for 20 minutes a day, whereas I could play a game that let's be it's the same damn thing. But because I'm bougie I want to spend $200 on a thing, but it is helpful because the game makes it a little bit more interactive. It makes it it's just again, it's the same damn exercise. But it makes it a little more enjoyable. And I think don't underestimate that. Um, you know, I always think that I was looking for a Guitar Hero type of thing. When I got out of rehab but because of the pandemic I think all video game things were like hard as crap to get a hold of in 2020. So yeah. But again, again, this Flint another Flint rehab article I'm gonna link in the show notes today but a couple more things. They point out post stroke depression music is great for that. I think it helps with anxiety, I'm not sure exactly how that would help in regards to that, but I think, you know, music affects the brain and body and elevates mood. And I think that definitely helps with depression and anxiety for different people. Obviously, there's, it's an individualized thing. And again, the mechanics whether whether it's a physical mechanics like running and walking and adjusting your gait, there is a rhythm to the music that allows you to kind of get in the flow. So don't underestimate those things. Anyways, I'm really interested in this topic, I pushed it off, I brushed it off forever. I think it is something worth looking into investigating. There are lots of tools techniques. I would love to hear your thoughts if you have specific tools or or things when it comes to music therapy. Did you also like me brush it off? Did you not really think about it? And yeah, I'd love to hear your thoughts. I think I don't have a ton of side notes as we books I'm reading Whitney Cummings book I am almost done with and I am going to look up the title of it this week because I don't think I mentioned it last week. Oh, yeah, I'm fine. And other lies. I tell myself I'm just a huge, huge, huge Whitney fan. Watch podcast episode with her and Bert gonna go on in the archives as to bears on cave. I did last week at the end of last week, I released a an episode of my other podcast love blade, the podcast, it is the first time I have done an episode of that podcast and 11 months. So that is exciting. I am excited to do that podcast. Probably get the videos up on YouTube shortly on a different channel. I like that this particular podcast law survivor, I've been in a good rhythm. Definitely taking it more seriously really want to help other survivors really want to build it out more as we go. I think I've done a really good job this year of getting into flow finding a rhythm. Taking it much more seriously, while maintaining the fun, lovable idiot personality that I have has enabled the other show. But yeah. That's all good stuff. I probably by the time this comes out, we'll release. Another another set, DJ set loose of euphoria. The first two are out two and four. I don't know why I've only gone with even numbers, but I think I'm going to do something with the odd number episodes. I just haven't figured that out yet. So yeah, you can see where the music idea for this episode has come from. And kind of motivated by and let's see other things I am thinking about our low. I don't know just like going on this week. But I I am excited about this episode. I think there are lots of things I'd love to learn more. Tell us more. Again, I'd love to hear your thoughts, tips, suggestions, anything I could do to help you have questions let me know podcast at Lobos Herrera calm. Also, if you wouldn't mind leaving a rating review on your favorite podcast app for this podcast or you can leave one right on the website podcast at lovable stryver.com. And we can so that other people learn about this show. Find this show. I am putting out a lot more clips on social media specifically on Tiktok and Instagram a little bit on Twitter. I'm having a weird thing with Twitter right now. I just I'm in a funk over there. But yeah, so I love Twitter. I love social media. It's not a lot of people love it. I enjoy it. And yeah, if you're watching this on YouTube, again, thumbs up, like like it subscribe, hit that bell. All those things I hate, but we have to do I guess as as content creators, it does help get the good podcasts in the algorithm for other people who might benefit and enjoy this show. I know it is a unique flavor not for everybody. But But yeah, wrap up episode 30 of the podcasts and I'll see you next week.