The Healing Power of Harmony: Sian Williams on Music, Psychology, and Riding the Worry Wave
Music possesses a profound ability to connect us, especially during life’s most trying moments. As broadcaster and psychologist Dr Sian Williams explains, “Music is something we can go to when things are really difficult in life.” She recounts a deeply personal experience: “When my dad was dying, we sat and listened to Welsh hymns together. He couldn’t talk, but that music connected us with each other and connected him with the country that he loved. I think that shows the power of it.”
Williams, a familiar face from her days hosting BBC Breakfast and later Channel 5 News, and currently steering the acclaimed Radio 4 show Life Changing, has a deep understanding of the science underpinning music’s impact. Her training as a counselling psychologist in 2012 has provided her with a unique perspective. “It lowers cortisol levels, which is our stress response, and it boosts the neurotransmitter in our brain called dopamine, which is one of the chemicals responsible for happiness,” she states. “As a psychologist, I know that sometimes words are hard for people to access, but music gives voice to emotions without us even realising.”
This profound connection between music and wellbeing makes her current role hosting Radio 3’s Classical Unwind a natural fit. The program masterfully blends soothing classical music with insightful conversations about mental health, perfectly aligning with Williams’ diverse skillset.
A key aspect of Classical Unwind is its commitment to making classical music accessible to everyone. Williams is particularly passionate about dispelling the notion that this genre is exclusive. “I completely get that some people think, ‘You know what? Perhaps this isn’t for me’,” she admits. “Maybe they haven’t grown up with it. But the programme doesn’t put any barriers up to people who have never listened to classical music. It doesn’t say this isn’t for you, or you’ve got to love opera, or you’ve got to understand it. I certainly don’t always. I’m personally learning about classical all the time, and I think that has been lovely, because you feel like you’re exploring it together.”
Williams’ own journey with classical music began in childhood, nurtured by her Welsh parents in East Sussex. “My grandfather was a church organist and minister,” she shares. “He absolutely adored music, and I used to sit and watch him play Beethoven and Chopin on his baby grand piano, which he’d saved up to buy. I can still feel his jacket against my body when I was sitting next to him on the piano stool, and I can still smell the pipe he used to smoke. He tried to teach me to play, bless his heart. I was not the best student.”
Like many young people, she later drifted from classical music, embracing the vibrant dance music scene of 1980s Liverpool during her time as a journalist. “As a journalist in 1980s Liverpool, it was all about dance music – I used to go to all-nighters,” she recalls with a laugh. “But I went back to classical a bit later and remembered that all are welcome – that’s what we want to say with this programme. There’s nothing here that’s going to make you feel like you’re not at home.”
After completing her English degree at Oxford Polytechnic (now Oxford Brookes), Williams honed her journalistic skills at BBC Local Radio before moving into national broadcasting. Her tenure on BBC Breakfast, from 2001 to 2012, cemented her status as a household name. However, a significant career shift occurred when the BBC planned to relocate the programme from London to Salford.
“I couldn’t go,” she states plainly. “I had five kids. They were all doing different things. It’s a programme I loved – I’d done it for 11 years. The audiences were fabulous, the team was fabulous. But I knew I couldn’t go with the programme. And there was a bit of me that thought that might be the end of my career.”
This perceived endpoint, however, marked the beginning of a new chapter. Williams reflects, “Change always equals loss. But it also equals space – and that means something new can grow.”
This period of growth saw her fulfil a long-held ambition: retraining as a psychologist. She earned a doctorate in counselling psychology and now expertly balances her broadcasting career with clinical practice, supporting patients within the NHS. Her dual expertise in broadcasting and psychology also provided the foundation for her latest book, The Power of Anxiety, a work drawing on both professional insight and her own lived experiences.
“Anxiety has been a lifelong companion for me,” she reveals. “So I’ve learned to live alongside it. The subtitle of the book is ‘how to ride the worry wave’, which comes from a quote from [American professor and mindfulness expert] Jon Kabat-Zinn. He says, ‘You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.’ And I think that’s such a powerful idea.”
A central theme of her book challenges the common perception of anxiety as something to be eradicated. “One of the myths about anxiety is that somehow we need to get rid of it,” Williams explains. “We don’t. Anxiety is incredibly important. It’s the thing that often keeps us safe. So it is not a thing to fix or fight or hide from or ignore or avoid. The question is, how do we live with it?”
Williams advocates for a multifaceted approach to managing anxiety, suggesting a range of tools from breathwork to cognitive behavioural therapy. Unsurprisingly, she champions music as a vital component of this toolkit. “Switching on some calming music can really, really help with dealing with anxiety and the things that the world throws at us,” she asserts. “A lot of people are facing things they can’t control and we live in a world that feels full of uncertainty. Music can give us an anchor – and be something that connects us to a different place.”
Sian Williams presents Classical Unwind daily on Radio 3 Unwind (9am-12pm), with episodes also available on BBC Sounds. Her book, The Power of Anxiety, is published by Allen & Unwin and retails for £14.99.
