Raves and Their Healing Abilities

Introduction to the Topic

Raving is a big part of society today among all ages, genders, and economic classes. Something about these festivals draws people into them no matter how far or expensive they are. A rave is a dance festival mainly consisting of electronic dance music. Electronic dance music consists of very futuristic sounds, very heavy bass, lights, community, and so much more. People love these rave festivals and some even claim that these events inspire healing and self-reflection due to music, community, and drugs.

Music in Rave Culture and how it Relates to Healing

Music has always allowed people to express themselves and find emotions withing themselves that they never knew they could. Music at raves allows people to experience very positive effects that affect people’s health in a positive way. These rave festivals have opened a new way of helping with mental disorders such as anxiety and depression. The Alzheimer’s Society of the United Kingdom mentioned that, “people with Alzheimer’s who listen to music and participate in dance show decreasing signs of anxiety and depression.” (Music Therapy: The Science Behind the Life Changing Effects of EDM). Raves allow people to engage in all of these activities that the United Kingdom Alzheimer's Society mentioned which means that raves help with controlling these mental disorders that people may be feeling. Another way Rave music has helped is by the sounds they are using. According to Live Science, “music with low bass along with a high melodic energy is what appears to move us most”( Music Therapy: The Science Behind the Life Changing Effects of EDM). When Live Science says “move” they do not just mean physically, they also mean emotionally. This means that this music allows you to cry, to laugh, to smile, and to feel something that was triggered due to this sound that is coming from the music.

Community of Raves and How it Can Help You

The community of these raves is anything but aggressive. There is a common slogan among people who attend these raves and that motto is “PLUR”. PLUR stands for peace, love, unity, and respect. When people go to these festivals, they are surrounded by an environment that no matter who they are, they can be themselves and have no hateful notion towards them. Damian Embra describes his struggle with coming out as bisexual, but the rave community helped him with this decision. Embra talks about how the rave experience allowed him to meet people with very open minds about his sexuality. As he kept encountering these people he began to feel proud of his sexuality and finally feel accepted with who he was.( How Rave Culture Helped Me Embrace My Bisexuality). Embra describes a very accurate idea of how the rave community is. Everyone wants to be accepted and not being accepted by people drastically impacts a person’s mental health. The rave community’s acceptance and open-mindedness is something that is healing and reliving to people because they can be who they want to be.

Drugs and the Ability to Find Yourself

Today many drugs are considered to be a danger to society. There are numerous laws that prevent people from getting drugs. Among drugs that are able to be taken psychedelics are the drug of choice when it comes to raves. Psychedelic drugs primarily consist of drugs like MDMA, Ecstasy, LSD, Magic Mushrooms, Acid, and more. These psychedelic drugs when used in moderation and correctly can prove to have a positive benefit on a person’s health. According to Science Daily, “Combined with psychotherapy, some psychedelic drugs like MDMA, psilocybin and ayahuasca may improve symptoms of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder” (Can Psychedelic Drugs Heal?). What this quote is saying is that these drugs can actually help with mental symptoms that are present in today's society. When taking these psychedelic drugs at raves people are able to feel the music in a different way and really become one with everything going on. This is something that draws people to drugs like psychedelics especially during raves. The only reason that these drugs are dangerous is because people producing and selling them fill them with other fillers that make them more dangerous when doing them. If these fillers or fake replicas were destroyed, then people at festivals would be able to become one with the music and discover something about themselves.

Conclusion

At the end of the day raves offer so much more than just a great music. There are so many ways to understand this music for more than what it is, get involved with the rave community, and finding yourself with safe use of psychedelic drugs. Raves offer a healing experience that numerous people have been able to see.

By: Jacob Fisher

Works Cited

“Can Psychedelic Drugs Heal?” ScienceDaily, ScienceDaily, 9 Aug. 2018, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180809141223.htm.

Editorial Staff, Editorial Staff. “Music Therapy: The Science Behind the Life Changing Effects of EDM.” Https://Thatdrop.com/Edm-Music-Therapy/, 2015, thatdrop.com/edm-music-therapy/.

Embra, Damian. “How Rave Culture Helped Me Embrace My Bisexuality.” Biorg, bi.org/en/articles/how-rave-culture-helped-me-embrace-my-bisexuality.