Music has a profound ability to guide us through the complexities of life, offering both solace and catharsis when words fall short. It becomes a companion, a mirror, and a map as we navigate the disintegration of our inner worlds and the loss we carry. For me, The Cure has always embodied this kind of emotional resonance. Their music feels like a journey through despair and beauty, loss and connection, toward a sense of home.

This blog explores Songs of a Lost World and Disintegration, two monumental albums by The Cure, through the lens of the Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) and my own reflections as a fan, therapist, and human. It is a story of finding echoes of safety in sound, shared experiences, and the easy cure of coming home.

In reflecting on these albums, two songs emerge as The Two Echoes of Safety: Nothing Is Forever and Lovesong. These echoes represent two distinct yet interconnected pillars: fragility and steadfastness, impermanence and enduring love. Both songs offer potent signals of safety that resonate deeply.

The Cyclic Defense Loop and the Power of Safety Signals

According to Dr. Stephen Porges’ latest work in Safe and Sound: A Polyvagal Approach for Connection, Change, and Healing, some individuals become stuck in what is known as the cyclic defense loop. This occurs when the nervous system cycles between heightened sympathetic activation and dorsal shutdown, unable to access the ventral vagal state that fosters calm and connection (Porges, 2025).

In this loop, people feel trapped in an ongoing cycle of hyperactivation followed by shutdown, resulting in emotional exhaustion. The nervous system oscillates between a fight-or-flight response and a state of disconnection and collapse. Porges emphasizes that the path out of this loop requires potent signals of safety to break the cycle. These signals, found in music, co-regulation, and expressive arts, can help restore access to ventral vagal states, encouraging calm, connection, and resilience.

The Cure’s music, particularly Nothing Is Forever and Lovesong, mirrors this process of finding stability in chaos. Nothing Is Forever acknowledges impermanence with a gentle, aching quality that feels like surrendering to the reality of loss. Meanwhile, Lovesong grounds the listener in something enduring—love as a steadfast, stabilizing presence. These two tracks together reflect the balance of vulnerability and resilience, echoing the same process of interrupting the cyclic defense loop with cues of connection and safety.

The Role of Polyvagal Theory in Music Therapy

In Polyvagal Theory, the ventral vagal state is the part of our nervous system that allows us to feel safe, connected, and grounded. This is the space where we can rest, reflect, and grow. Smith’s voice and the themes of Songs of a Lost World provide that sense of grounding even as they confront difficult truths, creating a catharsis that soothes and reassures rather than overwhelms. The album feels like a cradle of safety, offering not only emotional release but also a sense of homecoming.

The significance of Songs of a Lost World being released after such a long period also reflects an important truth in healing. Just as The Cure returned with an album that feels deeply connected to their earlier emotional core, individuals moving through healing often rediscover parts of themselves that felt long buried or forgotten. This process mirrors how cues of safety can reconnect us with parts of ourselves that had been suppressed by chronic stress or trauma.

A Call to Action: Expressive Arts Therapy and SSP in Practice

In my work with clients using Expressive Arts Therapy and the Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP), I often see similar echoes of safety. The principles align beautifully with what The Cure’s music evokes for me.

Both approaches harness rhythm, tone, and creative expression to help clients return to themselves, to ventral connection, and to a sense of peace and reflection. The powerful blend of music’s emotional depth and structured sensory engagement can create transformative moments of grounding and self-discovery.