How Songwriting Heals Mental Health, with Emma G

In this episode of Living on the B Side, host B speaks with Emma G a musician, bestselling author, and TEDx speaker on a mission to help people turn struggles into songs, reclaim their voice, and find empowerment through music. She believes that songwriting, breath, and the voice can support mental health, help us process trauma, and reconnect us with our inner compass.This episode invites slower listening, reflection, and gentle curiosity. We talk about the story behind Emma’s book “Mental Health Sounds Like This,” her journey through brain trauma and healing, and how her work with young people and adults in recovery inspired her approach, and how music can regulate our nervous system, give words to hard experiences, and help us move from pain to power. It’s for quiet, sensitive, and introverted listeners who feel overwhelmed by life, as well as anyone curious about using music and songwriting as a supportive tool for emotional wellbeing and healing.In this episode, we explore:How Emma’s lived experience (including 24 surgeries and brain trauma) led her to write “Mental Health Sounds Like This”The power of songwriting as “journaling with breath and melody” for mental health, identity, and resilienceWhy most people aren’t truly “tone deaf,” and how breathing and audiation can change our relationship with our own voiceA powerful story of an 11-year-old survivor who used songwriting to transform his trauma into a song of strengthEmma’s vision for bringing music and songwriting into schools and rehabilitation settings to proactively support mental healthConnect with the Emma GWebsite: https://www.emmagmusic.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/emmagmusicYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@emmagmusicPurchase her book Mental Health Sounds Like thisListen to Emma G’s powerful and personal story about how music has helped her growing up in the first interview on my podcast: Youth Empowerment through MusicLiving on the B Side is a podcast about the power of music — exploring how sound shapes our emotions, stories, and sense of self. Host B shares conversations and reflections for those who listen deeply and live thoughtfully.