This is a post written in partnership with Joanna Yu, founder of Humm.ly—we’re honored to work with anyone this dedicated to improving our mental health and well-being through the power of music and mindfulness. ~ Ed.

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We’re more burned out than ever before.

Just google “burnout” and you’ll find statements like this in countless articles and studies:

“More women are experiencing job burnout before they even turn 30,” “millennials have the highest stress levels of any age group,” and, “employee burnout has reached epidemic proportions.”

Or just speak to a few people you know and you’ll probably hear at least some of them say things like:

“I’m under a lot of stress right now,” “I’m completely burned out,” or “I just need to recharge my batteries.”

The term “burnout” was coined in the U.S.A. over 30 years ago when the psychoanalyst, Herbert Freudenberger became the first researcher to publish a paper that referenced it.

What we’re really talking about here is occupational burnout: a state of mental, emotional, and physical depletedness thought to be caused by “long-term, unresolvable job stress.”

Symptoms include anxiety, trouble concentrating, lack of motivation, lost sleep, frequent illness, exhaustion, headaches, and a persistent sense of frustration and negativity. Freudenberger said someone who is burned out “looks, acts, and seems depressed.”

Stress happens, and it can even be healthy, if our relationship to it is. But, left unchecked and unmanaged, sustained high stress levels can burn us out completely, and bring our personal and professional lives to a standstill.

“Burnout can be defined as a loss of enthusiasm, energy, idealism, perspective, and purpose; it has been described as trying to run a marathon at full speed.” ~ Kathleen A. Kendall-Tackett

There are all sorts of ways we can prevent burnout and care for ourselves if we do run into it, from meditation to connecting with family and friends, to getting out in nature. One thing I’ve found always helps me reconnect with joy and a sense of well-being when I’m feeling stressed or bordering on burned out is music.

Which is part of the story behind my journey to co-founding Humm.ly, a new wellness app—the first and only one to combine the principles of music therapy with mindfulness.

Download Humm.ly for iOS >>     Download Humm.ly for Android >>

The other part is that growing up, I witnessed my own father struggling through emotional outbursts, depression. and post traumatic stress disorder symptoms following an incident in his early 20s. I was desperate to find ways to help him and discovered that he responded to me the most when I played the piano.

Later on in my life, through my experience working in the entertainment industry, I encountered a number of artist friends who were constantly struggling with mental illnesses, and I decided to pursue music therapy as a result. During my course fieldwork, I saw how many Alzheimer’s patients had a positive reaction to her music. At the same time, I also met several founders in Silicon Valley who expressed to me how stressed they were all the time.

My inspiration for this healing platform came from seeing family, friends, and others from all walks of life in great emotional and psychological pain.

Whilst there are treatments available for mental illness, nearly two-thirds of people with a known mental disorder or mental health issues never seek help from a health professional, or do not have access to a reliable treatment plan. Stigma, discrimination, and neglect prevent care and treatment from reaching people with mental disorders, according to the World Health Organization.

This widespread mental health crisis has also cost the global economy. Eighty-seven percent of employees worldwide are not engaged at work, 78 percent of companies identify stress as a top workforce health risk, and 96 percent of senior leaders report feeling burned out. Treatment of mental disorders like anxiety and depression has been the top healthcare cost in the U.S. since 2013.

Listen:

Download Humm.ly for iOS >>     Download Humm.ly for Android >>

“Technology, while providing us many advantages, encourages us to race through our days so that we no longer know what we’d do if we were to slow down. Many of us feel cut off from life’s blessings, from our neighbors, from the wonders of nature, and from our sense of our own significance in the scheme of things. Modern life leaves us spiritually starved.” ~ Kathleen A. Kendall-Tackett

But Humm.ly uses technology to reestablish a connection to our senses and slow us down, helping us to be present and awake in the moment.

Many of the app’s features are a completely unique combination of tech and music to help us heal:

>> Over 100 episodes, in five categories: wellness, relationships, the workplace, guided imagery (GI), and autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR)—a fancy name for that tingling you get around your head and shoulders and down your spine when someone whispers in your ear—as well as “7-Day Series” programs to help us cultivate daily mindfulness habits.

>> Listeners can adjust their music experience with customizable background music, narration, and reverb sliders to help each of us find the right balance in our personal listening experience.

>> All episodes are studio recorded and produced by world-class producers and all of the content is original and musical composition quality.

>> Utilizing music therapy’s “iso-principle”—a process of matching mood with music that transitions us to a different mood state—Humm.ly can help us through various challenging emotions. If we’re feeling anxious, for example, a guided music experience can match our mood and, through a gradual change in the music, transition us to a calmer state of mind, since the emotions music evokes in us are biologically similar to our own spontaneous emotions.

>> By collecting data from Apple HealthKit and other sources, as well as historical listener patterns, the app creates customized content to provide an impactful, personalized music experience, based on the physiology behind music therapy and its impact on the brain.

“Burnout occurs when your body and mind can no longer keep up with the tasks you demand of them. Don’t try to force yourself to do the impossible. Delegate time for important tasks, but always be sure to leave time for relaxation and reflection.” ~ Del Suggs

Listen:

Download Humm.ly for iOS >>     Download Humm.ly for Android >>

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Author: Joanna Yu
Brand Content Editor: Khara-Jade Warren