Stress has become an inseparable feature of contemporary professional and academic life, exerting significant effects on both mental and physical health. As individuals search for accessible and meaningful coping mechanisms, music has emerged as a universal form of emotional expression and psychological restoration. This qualitative research explores how listening to music functions as a therapeutic mechanism for stress relief among professionals engaged in intellectually demanding occupations. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) and Thematic Analysis, semi-structured interviews and naturalistic listening experiments were conducted with eight participants who reported varying levels of occupational stress. Through careful interpretation of participants’ lived experiences, five central themes emerged: (1) Work-related strain and emotional overload, (2) Music as a personalized coping strategy, (3) Emotional resonance and cognitive restoration, (4) Relational harmony through shared listening, and (5) Sustained music engagement and holistic wellbeing. Findings demonstrate that music listening operates as a multidimensional coping tool—facilitating emotional regulation, cognitive focus, and interpersonal connectedness. The paper concludes with recommendations for integrating music-based wellbeing interventions into workplace and educational settings, while also outlining potential directions for future mixed-method research incorporating biometric and AI-supported approaches to emotional analysis.