Soundtrack to healing: 20 songs about mental health

People are always going through something, and even when days are hard, people need to realize that better days are coming, that’s the sentiment on Jelly Roll’s 2024 single “I Am Not Okay.” He uses the song to describe how there are times when people are at their breaking point and are losing faith to see a turnaround in life. As he sings in the first verse, “I am not okay, I’m barely getting by / I’m losing track of days and losing sleep at night / I am not okay, I’m hanging on the rails / So if I say I’m fine, just know I learned to hide it well.” 

NLE Choppa describes the struggles with his mental state on his 2020 track “Depression.” In the song, he reflects on how he doesn’t always feel like himself and deals with the tests of life. Depression is affecting his everyday life as he describes on the hook, “My eyes closed, I don’t wanna see / My mind gone, I can’t sleep / I ain’t got no appetite, I can’t even eat / It’s kinda hard being me.” 

In 2017, rock band Paramore released their fifth album After Laughter, which featured the hit single “Fake Happy.” On the track, the band reflects on how people make others believe they’re okay, even when they’re not okay. As they sing in the first verse, “See, I’ve been doing a good job of making them think / I’m quite alright, better hope I don’t blink / You see, it’s easy when I’m stomping on a beat / But no one sees me when I crawl back underneath.” 

G Herbo recruited Juice WRLD, Lil Uzi Vert, and Chance the Rapper to team up on his 2020 track “PTSD” which is in reference to post-traumatic stress disorder. On the track, the four rappers detail different experiences they’ve had with their own PTSD. As they say on the hook, “I got a war zone inside of my head / I made it on my own, they said I’d be in jail or dead / I’ve seen my brothers fall over and over again / Don’t stand too close to me, I got PTSD.”

Logic is an advocate for people getting help when they need it, such as calling the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, whose phone number is the title of his 2017 single, “1-800-273-8255.” Logic teams up with Alessia Cara and Khalid to give a person’s perspective of having suicidal thoughts, but after speaking with someone, he decides he truly wants to live. Logic starts the song with, “All this other s**t I’m talking about, they think they know it / I’ve been praying for somebody to save me, no one’s heroic / And my life don’t even matter, I know it, I know it / I know I’m hurting deep down, but can’t show it.” 

Ariana Grande reflects on dealing with anxiety in her 2018 single “Breathin.” As she says in the song, “Feel my blood running, swear the sky’s falling / I know that all this s**t’s fabricated / Time goes by and I can’t control my mind / Don’t know what else to try, but you tell me every time / Just keep breathin’ and breathin’ and breathin’ and breathin.’”

In 1992, R.E.M. released their eighth album Automatic for the People, which featured their hit single “Everybody Hurts.” On the track, the band encourages people to continue living life, even when times get hard, “If you’re on your own in this life / The days and nights are long / When you think you’ve had too much / Of this life, hang on.” 

Kehlani has been pretty open about their mental health struggles and is well aware that better days are on the horizon. The singer reflected on their struggles with depression in the 2016 single “24/7,” which reassures listeners that everyone is human and it’s okay to not be good all of the time. As they start the song, “It’s okay to not be okay / To dive in your pain / And it’s alright to not be alright / To search for your life.”

“Come Back to Earth” is the perfect opening track to Mac Miller’s fifth album Swimming as it gives listeners an introduction to the album’s themes of psychological growth and self-love. As he says on the hook, “I just need a way out of my head / I’ll do anything for a way out of my head.”

In 2022, Megan Thee Stallion released her second studio album Traumazine, which featured the deep cut “Anxiety.” On the track, Megan reflects on dealing with the death of her mother and how people have some bad days, and how she wishes someone would tell her that everything will be okay. She raps the first verse saying, “I’m a bad b***h and I got bad anxiety / People call me rude ‘cause I ain’t letting them try me / Saying I’m a h** ‘cause I’m in love with my body / Issues, but nobody I could talk to about it.” 

In 2002, rock band Matchbox Twenty released their third album More Than You Think You Are, which featured their hit song “Unwell.” On the track, the band details how people aren’t always in the best mental state. As they sing on the track, “I’m not crazy, I’m just a little unwell / I know right now you can’t tell / But stay awhile and maybe then you’ll see / A different side of me.” 

In 1991, rap group Geto Boys released their hit single “Mind Playing Tricks On Me,” their highest-charting track to date. In the song, the group reflects on dealing with different mental health issues such as paranoia and suicidal thoughts. Throughout the second verse, they say, “I live by the sword / I take my boys everywhere I go because I’m paranoid / I keep looking over my shoulder and peepin’ around the corners / My mind is playing tricks on me.” 

Pop singer Selena Gomez details how people deal with the battlefield of the mind in her 2022 single “My Mind and Me.” On the track, she reflects on sometimes keeping thoughts and feelings to herself, because she doesn’t always want to burden others with possible concerns. As she sings on the hook, “My mind and me / We don’t get along sometimes / And it gets hard to breathe / But I wouldn’t change my life.” 

Eminem teamed up with Rihanna on their 2013 single “The Monster,” a song that finds the rapper detailing how fame can be crippling at times, which can affect his thoughts. As he says on the second verse, “‘Cause I need an interventionist to intervene between me and this monster / And save me from myself and all this conflict / ‘Cause everything I love’s killing me and I can quite conquer it / My OCD’s conkin’ me in the head, keep knockin.’”

Producer Marsmello teamed up with singer Demi Lovato in 2020 on their single “Ok Not To Be Ok,” which was the perfect track to coincide with Suicide Prevention Month. As Lovato sings on the track, “When you’re high on emotion and losing your focus / And you feel too exhausted to pray / Don’t get lost in the moment or give up when you’re closest / All you need is somebody to say it’s ok not to be ok.” 

In 2020, Big Sean released his fifth studio album Detroit 2, led by the single “Deep Reverance.” Teaming up with Nipsey Hussle, Sean uses the track to reflect on how life constantly tests him, and how it can put him in different mental states. As he raps in the second verse, “In high school, I learned chemistry, biology / But not how to cope with anxiety / Or how I could feel like I’m by myself on an island / With depression on all sides of me.” 

Pop singer Ingrid Michaelson has the desire to have good days on her 2008 single “Be OK.” It’s the type of uplifting and catchy tune that details how people have bad moments, and it’s important to do your best to get out of a funk. 

Rapper Joyner Lucas uses his 2019 single “ADHD” to reflect on dealing with his attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. As he says on the track, “And I been this way since day one / I don’t need no medication / No, I don’t need no drugs / Or maybe I’m different, and maybe my ADHD got me trippin’ / And maybe I’m just everything you missing.”

In Coi Leray’s 2022 single “Anxiety,” the rapper reflects on how fame and fortune can have effects on her state of mind. Leray uses the hook to rap, “Yeah, I still got anxiety, that’s why I keep it on me / Sometimes I feel like, can’t trust no one around me / There’s another side of me but I don’t even show it / ‘Cause I got way too many people eating off of me / Been through depression and I learned my lessons.” 

In 2004, pop singer Sia released her third album Colour the Small One, which featured the hit single “Breathe Me.” Sia uses the track to detail a person’s depression and who chooses to hurt themselves, but they know they need a friend to help them in their time of need. As she sings in the first verse, “Help, I have done it again / I have been here many times before / Hurt myself again today / And, the worst part is there’s no one else to blame.”