Ksplash, like you I have found that simply the action of going to a meeting puts me into a better place even before I get there, like you I get out of my head by letting the music into my head, then of course once at the meeting, knowing I am in a place that is safe & I can speak of what is going on in my head & having others who have been there share with me how they deal with it helps.
Just knowing that I am not alone in those feelings & that there is a solution for them makes a huge difference.
This morning one of my sponsee's called and we shared what was going on in both of our heads, we wound up laughing at what we are both dealing with right now, realizing that the only real problems we had were more our own perception of what was going on & not real issues.