Drumming Dooms Anxiety

My life-altering experience of 'drumming' is being written as an article to inform people with anxiety that drumming has worked incredibly fast and is long-lasting. Of course, methods of permanent cure would have to be explored to rid of its source, but I’ve found this method to be absolutely effective as a quick fix for uncontrollable tension and nervousness.

The visit of my relative with Down’s Syndrome posed a difficult time as he possesses a sharp force of will that doesn’t cease. He is fixed with needing something so badly it is repeated until the household goes utterly mad. The staff at his group home said they talk to him to no avail as he is quite fixed and nothing seems to help. As he proceeded in his rampage of nervous concourse, shamanic drumming came to mind. Change the energy and you change his state of being, I thought. So, I proceeded to put on a rattle and drum cd which starts out with whistling then drumming and rattling. After a few moments, he stopped talking, sat down and looked perplexed. A few minutes later, he closed his eyes and went silently within. His head then fell back on the couch as if he'd seeped into a sort of dream-like state. Over the next twenty minutes, we watched him lay lax and seemingly absent with overwhelming curiousity.

Upon awakening, he looked doped and confused. He didn’t know where he went. But a sudden sparkle was released through his eyes; his own precious look had returned. His once fixed and straightened eyebrows settled for softness, and his face muscles relaxed to almost make his look shift into another person’s. The woman responsible was utterly amazed having never seen such a fast transformation. It was a switch from Mr. Hyde back to Dr. Jekyll. Amazing.

He was now willing to admit he was happy and needed nothing. The hugs were generous and contrary to the unwelcoming pushes away he gave when he first arrived. He ate for the first time slowly, without the grasping energy forcing him to eat as if tomorrow would eternally hide all the food in the world. It was two long hours before the anxious energy resurfaced it’s ugly face. But if used as a treatment on a regular basis, I believe this method could prove healing and possibly replace the nerve-wrecking energy with a peace and calmness of being.

It is said, the beat of the drum resonates with the human heartbeat. Balance and center can be returned through connecting to the essence of our hearts. It can be therapeutic in allowing us to get in touch with our innerselves. According to Michael Drake, “Drum therapy is an ancient approach that uses rhythm to promote healing and self-expression. From the shamans of Mongolia to the Minianka healers of West Africa, therapeutic rhythm techniques have been used for thousands of years to create and maintain physical, mental, and spiritual health.”

This experience has opened my and other eyes to the powerful effects of drumming. It's turned me in another direction, onto the path of discovering that sound is our kin; a magical essence to renewal, balance, cleansing and peace of mind.