In response to a CDC report that nearly one third of Americans have experienced anxiety and depression due to COVID-19, MerckManuals.com, an online medical reference, is initiating a “Keep Music in Mind” campaign to advocate for the mental health benefits of playing and listening to music.
Visitors to a newly created microsite at MerckManuals.com/KeepMusicinMind can view a series of video clips of emerging musicians who attest that music has improved their mental health and fosters a sense of community, especially during a pandemic. They discuss why and how music can be a powerful tool for expressing emotions, releasing stress, and staying positive in uncertain times.
One of the performers encapsulates this message in a ditty written specifically for the campaign. The telling lyrics: “In a battle for our happiness that rages more than ever, music makes a space in which we’re all safer together.” Another took to singing from his balcony as a way to remind neighbors that they are all in this together.
The special landing page, introduced in time for World Mental Health Day on Saturday, October 10, will be updated periodically. Follow the conversation about the ongoing campaign on social media at #KeepMusicinMind.
A collection of studies, surveys, and news reports compiled by the National Association of Music Merchants Foundation documents the health benefits of learning and playing music.
Timely Resources
The dedicated landing page will feature a creative “Quick Facts” video about mental illness, as well as in-depth essays, written by expert contributors to MerckManuals.com, on anxiety and depression. For more on these topics, visit MerckManuals.com/MentalIllness.
An infographic titled “The Ripple Effect” from the National Alliance on Mental Illness underscores that depression and anxiety disorders cost the global economy more than 1 trillion dollars in lost productivity each year.
Mental Health America provides mental health screening tools at www.MHAscreening.org.
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More than 350 medical experts currently serve as contributors to MerckManuals.com; content is reviewed by an independent editorial board and regularly updated online.
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Provided as a public service by Merck & Co., Inc., the online offering expands on the subject matter contained in The Merck Manuals, a series of medical reference books long trusted by doctors and patients alike.
The Merck Manual for doctors and pharmacists was first published in 1899. The book is now in its 20th Edition.
The Merck Manual Home Health Handbook translates the complex medical terminology contained in The Merck Manual into everyday language for a lay audience. The first edition of the consumer version was introduced in 1997.
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For more than 125 years, Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, has been inventing for life, bringing forward medicines and vaccines for many of the world’s most challenging diseases in pursuit of our mission to save and improve lives.
