How music can help you cope with mental health struggles [Video]

SALT LAKE CITY — Music is one of the ways that people cope with their mental health struggles, whether it’s by listening to music or writing their own.

On the latest Let’s Get Moving podcast episode, Host Maria Shilaos spoke with Ryan Meeks, singer-songwriter and KSL Podcast host and producer, to learn how writing music helped him navigate his mental health journey.

Below is a partial transcript of this interview as well as the full podcast.

KSL NewsRadio modified this interview for brevity and clarity.

HOST MARIA SHILAOS: Talk about how you first decided that you wanted to integrate music into your mental health.

MEEKS: It’s actually always been part of it. I started writing music at about 14 years old… I wasn’t like a popular kid in high school. Looking back—like what I know about my mental health now—I definitely had depression and anxiety back then. And [music] became my outlet… I would listen to these songs that I …