{"id":2077,"date":"2014-07-13T21:02:37","date_gmt":"2014-07-14T04:02:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.everywomanover29.com\/blog\/?p=2077"},"modified":"2016-05-31T13:18:51","modified_gmt":"2016-05-31T20:18:51","slug":"anna-clendening-anxious-singer-americas-got-talent-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.everywomanover29.com\/blog\/anna-clendening-anxious-singer-americas-got-talent-2014\/","title":{"rendered":"Anna Clendening: Anxious Singer on America’s Got Talent 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"anna<\/a><\/p>\n

Anna is a very talented 20 year old young woman who recently performed on America’s Got Talent 2014. Her singing was just beautiful and you could hear the raw emotion in her voice.<\/p>\n

Being on this big stage was quite something for her – she\u2019s been suffering from anxiety and depression since she was 16. A few months ago she was bedridden and having panic attacks. She said: \u201cmy mind had given up on me. I didn\u2019t see a future. I didn\u2019t want to be here anymore and I felt so bad about myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

She was able to turn things around dramatically with therapy and music.<\/p>\n

During her audition, judge Howie Mandel shared: \u201cI also suffer from an anxiety disorder \u2013 I have OCD.\u201d He also said: \u201cThere isn\u2019t anyone alive who doesn\u2019t need help at some time and the world is here for you.\u201d After her song, Howie was very kind and went and hugged her. He also said this: \u201clife is filled with peaks and valleys, you have experienced a lot of valleys. Tonight, young lady, you are on a peak.\u201d<\/p>\n

I would have to agree and I\u2019d like to say \u201cbravo Anna!\u201d\u00a0 Watch her performance here….<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve got three other comments on this: the stigma of mental health, the wonderful effects of music for mood and encouragement to look in to the powerful effects of food and nutrients.<\/p>\n

The stigma of mental health <\/strong><\/p>\n

I commend her for being open about her anxiety and depression. There is a great deal of stigma around mental illness but I had no idea how bad it was. I was very surprised to see all the cruel and insensitive comments on the youtube video. Here is one example:<\/p>\n

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Couldn’t leave her bed? \u00a0What a joke. \u00a0You didn’t see this kind this stuff 50 years ago. \u00a0It was called responsibility and accountability. \u00a0She was obviously validated and enabled by her parents. \u00a0Society today substantiates this crap. \u00a0It’s called life, and everybody has challenges and feeling they need to overcome, get over it. \u00a0I bet she’s drawing a nice little social security disability check, too. Its pretty sad that she has such self pity. \u00a0She is very attractive, talented, not overweight, racially advantaged, has loving parents. \u00a0She needs to visit a children’s cancer ward or burn ward and get a grip as to how truly blessed she is. \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I say this to Anna: \u201cJust ignore these naysayers. You did good and the more of us who talk about it the more awareness we\u2019ll bring.\u201d<\/p>\n

The wonderful effects of music for mood<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a 2009 paper called The effect of group music therapy on quality of life for participants living with a severe and enduring mental illness <\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

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A 10-week group music therapy project was designed to determine whether music therapy influenced quality of life and social anxiety for people with a severe and enduring mental illness living in the community. Ten one-hour weekly sessions including song singing, song writing and improvisation, culminated in each group recording original song\/s in a professional studio.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This is what they found:<\/p>\n

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music therapy gave joy and pleasure, working as a team was beneficial, participants were pleasantly surprised at their creativity, and they took pride in their song.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

A 2014 study called Possible benefits of singing to the mental and physical condition of the elderly<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>reported that the study participants felt:<\/p>\n

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refreshed, comfortable, light-hearted, relieved, and relaxed, they felt less tense and confused and their mood improved.\u00a0 The level of cortisol, a salivary stress marker, decreased after singing.\u00a0 The same tendencies were shown regardless of whether or not the subjects liked singing !\u00a0 (this is my exclamation point)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I say this to Anna: \u201cGood for you for finding music! I wish you all the best in AGT 2014!\u201d<\/p>\n

The powerful effects of food and nutrients <\/strong><\/p>\n

I would also like to encourage Anna and anyone with anxiety and depression to look in to the powerful effects of food and nutrients. Here are just a few of the topics we covered on the recent Anxiety Summit<\/a>:<\/p>\n