Let the Music Speak: A Journey of Healing Through Sound

Kathy Mattoon
Aug 6, 2025
4 min read

Music continued to speak to my soul. And though I was just a child who didn’t yet understand the concept of healing – or even the abuse that was happening to me – music was a safe space. It didn’t require explanations. It didn’t need me to be okay. It just was, and it was everything I needed.

Music has always had the power to reach into places that words cannot. For many of us, it becomes more than background noise, it becomes a refuge, a lifeline, and a mirror to our most silent struggles. In this post, I share how music became an essential part of my healing journey, carrying me through childhood pain, adult reflection, and moments of deep soul work.

I remember growing up as a little girl, one of the big things that was a part of my life then – and still now – is the power of listening to music. I had an old record player with two detachable speakers that tucked neatly into the top when I was done. I would play records for hours, letting the music fill the air around me and the spaces inside me I didn’t yet understand.

I even found a way to run a cord out of my bedroom window into the yard, where I spent much of my childhood. Music would follow me outdoors like a companion – constant, present, speaking to my soul in ways no one else could. As technology progressed, I graduated to a portable cassette player. My generation will understand how cool this was. I was that person, sitting patiently with a finger hovering over the record button, waiting for my favorite songs to play on the radio so I could capture them and play them over and over again.

Music continued to speak to my soul. And though I was just a child who didn’t yet understand the concept of healing – or even the abuse that was happening to me – music was a safe space. It didn’t require explanations. It didn’t need me to be okay. It just was, and it was everything I needed.

Even today, as an adult, I pop in my earbuds and let the music carry me away. On days when I can’t find the words or the energy to talk, I let music speak for me. I listen to different frequencies – like Hz or 432 Hz – to calm my mind, clear my thoughts, and bring my spirit back to center. There are times when the right song finds me at the exact moment I need it, and I just sit with it, letting the tears fall or the hope rise.

Music has been more than background noise in my life – it has been therapy. It has been prayer. It has been a bridge between the silence I lived and the voice I now use to speak out. There were seasons when I couldn’t say “I’m not okay,” but I could play a song that said it for me. And there were other times when I needed to be reminded that I am strong, that I will rise–and there was a song for that too.

The healing journey is rarely linear, and some days are heavier than others. There were moments I could barely get off the floor – days when functioning felt impossible, and all I could do was let the music play and breathe through the pain. But even then, music was there. Whether it’s a worship song that lifts my spirit, a soulful ballad that lets me grieve, or a lo-fi beat that calms my racing thoughts, I turn to sound as sacred medicine. I let it hold space for me.

Let’s Build a Healing Playlist Together

I’d love to hear from you – what songs have spoken to your soul?

What melodies have carried you through hard times or brought you peace when you needed it most? Drop your favorite healing songs or go-to artists in the comments. Let’s create a space where our stories connect through sound – a community playlist built on resilience, hope, and the power of music to heal.

If you're on your own healing path, I encourage you to lean into the music that moves you. Let it carry you through the days when the words just won't come. And if you feel called to, share your favorite healing songs with me. Together, we can create a playlist that speaks not just to our pain but to our hope, our freedom, and our power to heal in truth.

Because sometimes, healing doesn’t start with a conversation. Sometimes, it starts with a song.

With love and rhythm,