Songs About Mental Health Struggles: A Songwriter's Annotated List

Songs about mental health put words to things that are hard to say: anxiety, low points, loops we can't break, and asking someone to check on us. This list annotates six well-known songs and three of our own, using what the artists have said about them. It also covers what songs can't do, and where to find support.

I'm a songwriter, and I wanted to make a list I'd actually want to read. Most lists tell you what a song is about. I wanted to say what I hear in it as someone who writes them. Our music is rooted in lived experience, and songs like these are part of how I learned to put hard things into words. I wanted to give them the credit they're due, and put a few of ours beside them.

How I chose these songs

Every song here is on the list because the artist, or a reputable publication quoting the artist, has said it's about mental health. I haven't guessed from the lyrics. Where I could, I've linked the source so you can check it yourself. The full list of sources is at the end.

This isn't a ranking, and it isn't a "best of". Some of these songs are famous, and some are much less known. I've grouped them by what they do: saying the thing out loud, reaching out, and living with a cycle that keeps coming back.

Three of the nine are ours. They're marked SWSD in their headings, so nobody mistakes them for the others. If you want to know more about us first, here's who we are. Our songs come from lived experience. The lyrics are mine, and we use AI tools in parts of the production process, which we say openly on the site.

One entry touches on drinking and self-harmful thoughts, and it has a content note above it. None of the entries describe anything graphic. Support is listed at the end of this page.

Songs about mental health struggles, said out loud

These are songs that name the feeling instead of hiding it in a metaphor. Some are loud and some are quiet, but each one says something many of us find hard to say to another person. I've put one of ours next to them, because it sits in the same place.

The Beatles, "Help!" (1965)

A huge pop song that is also a plea for support.

John Lennon later described the song as him "really crying out for help", as quoted in Happiful's list of mental health songs, which puts "Help!" at number one.

It's easy to hear "Help!" as just a sixties pop record. It was a title track and a film song, and it was a hit. Hearing it again as someone asking for help changes how it sits.

This one is close to my heart, having spent the first 21 years of my life in Merseyside. It opens straight on the chorus, so the cry for help lands before any context. The bright, driving arrangement keeps smiling while the words don't.

Source: Happiful, "20 greatest mental health songs" (updated 2 July 2021)

Listen on YouTube (official video, TheBeatlesVEVO)

Ariana Grande, "breathin" (2018)

A pop song about the physical feeling of anxiety.

BBC News reported that Ariana Grande explained the song is about not being able to get a full breath, and that it deals with anxiety. She has said she was having anxiety attacks while making the record, including one in the studio.

The song is built on that physical feeling rather than on a big explanation. Anyone who has felt it knows it starts in the body before it turns into words.

The hook is an instruction to yourself, just to keep breathing. It's repeated until it sounds like something you'd say under your breath. It doesn't try to explain the anxiety. It just gives you something to hold on to.

Source: BBC News, "Ariana Grande's Sweetener track by track" (17 August 2018)

Listen on YouTube (official video, ArianaGrandeVevo)

Mabel, "OK (Anxiety Anthem)" (2019)

An upbeat single about accepting that you won't always feel okay.

Dazed reported that the song draws on Mabel's own experiences with anxiety and depression, and that it was the hardest song for her to write.

What stands out is the tone. Plenty of songs about mental health and anxiety are slow and quiet, so this one is a useful contrast.

The production is bright and danceable, and the words say it's fine not to be fine. Putting a heavy message in a light setting is a choice. It means the song can be played anywhere, not only when you're already low.

Source: Dazed, premiere of the "OK (Anxiety Anthem)" video (16 August 2019)

Listen on YouTube (official video, MabelVEVO)

Jelly Roll, "I Am Not Okay" (2024)

A song that says "not okay" out loud, then moves toward hope without tying everything up.

Billboard reported that the song was written to bring attention to depression, and that it went to country radio in June 2024. It's Jelly Roll's song, written with Ashley Gorley, Casey Brown and Taylor Phillips. Talking to Billboard about the push and pull in the song, Jelly Roll said it's "not a linear path", and in the case of addiction, a choice you keep making.

The ending doesn't pretend the struggle is over, and that honesty is why people keep coming back to it.

The title is the hook, and it's said plainly, with no metaphor in the way. Billboard describes the verses moving step by step from the low point toward hope. So the song earns its ending instead of jumping to it.

Source: Billboard, "Makin' Tracks" (16 July 2024)

Listen on YouTube (official lyric video, Jelly Roll)

SWSD, "Through The Mist" (2026)

Our own: a spoken-word piece about questions that don't resolve.

"Through The Mist" opens our Reason or Fight EP, and it's short, just under two minutes. Our track page describes it as "a song delivered closer to speech than to song". It says the song is about "the searching that doesn't resolve. The questions you can't put down."

That's the heart of it for me. It's about living with questions that haven't got an answer yet, and carrying on anyway. The pull quote on the page is "Walking through the mist", and that's how it feels: you can't see far, but you keep moving. One line puts it bluntly: "Life is not Netflix. There is no skip button". And it ends on an instruction rather than an answer: "Keep driving. Stay in lane."

I didn't want a big chorus on this one. Some thoughts don't fit a melody, and these were among them. A tune can tidy a question up and make it feel finished, but the ones I was carrying weren't finished. So I wrote and produced them as spoken word and left them as they are, still moving.

It sits well beside Ariana Grande's and Mabel's songs, which are about a mind that won't settle.

Read the full lyric and listen on the Through The Mist track page. It's also on Spotify.

Songs about being missed, and about reaching out

Some songs are about wanting someone to notice. Others are about what we ask of the people around us, and what it costs to ask. The two here sit side by side for that reason.

Content note: one song in this section touches on drinking and self-harmful thoughts. It's marked, and you can skip it. The support box at the end of this page has helplines.

Libianca, "People (Check On Me)" (2022)

A song written at a low point, about wanting someone to ask how you really are.

Content note: the song and this entry touch on drinking and self-harmful thoughts.

BBC News reported that Libianca wrote the song in November 2022, after feeling invisible at a party. She has spoken about living with cyclothymia, and about anxiety and self-harmful thoughts.

The title says what the song wants. It isn't asking for a fix, only for someone to check.

The request sits in brackets in the title, almost like it's said quietly. The verses stay plain and close to the night itself, so the ask in the chorus doesn't need any decoration.

Source: BBC News (10 March 2023)

Listen on YouTube (official video, LibiancaVEVO)

SWSD, "State Of Mind" (2026)

Our own: a conversation with myself in the same room.

"State Of Mind" is the second track on our Reason or Fight EP. The track page puts the setting plainly: "Same walls, same faces, the same view from the hospital bed." It goes on to say the song's argument is small and difficult: "it's not the view that needs to change, it's the angle."

I wrote it as a conversation with myself about finding yourself in a situation that keeps repeating. The room doesn't shift. The walls stay where they are. The chorus keeps returning to one idea, "be kind to one another", said with the knowledge that it isn't always easy to believe. By the outro the questions have turned fully inward: "Which part of me is reasoning?"

If we could just listen, and be kind to ourselves, we might work our way through it and keep moving. The song stays in that same room on purpose. It doesn't pretend the view will change. It only asks whether the angle can.

It sits next to Libianca's song because both are about other people, and what we ask of them.

Read the full lyric and listen on the State Of Mind track page. It's also on Spotify.

Songs about cycles, and recovery that isn't a straight line

Most songs about mental health recovery skip the neat ending, and the honest ones admit things come back. These two are about loops: one of ours about a cycle you can't break, and one about the slow, daily work of staying where you are. Neither pretends the road is straight.

SWSD, "Fallin'" (2026)

Our own: the loop you can't break.

"Fallin' (Time Waits For No One)" is the third track on our Sunset Gold EP. Our track page describes it as being "about the cycles we can't break, the loops the mind runs in at thirty thousand feet, the illusion of control". The page calls it "the darkest moment in the Sunset Gold EP, and the most honest."

The detail I care about most is how it's built. In the page's words: "The chorus is built like a fall: it returns, it returns, it returns." The song doesn't climb out at the end. It keeps coming round, because that's what a cycle does. One line sums it up: "You're in that cycle that you can't break". And the title is a reminder running underneath all of it: time waits for no one.

I wanted the shape of the song to do the work. The chorus falls back to the same place every time instead of building to a release. That's the cycle. You can feel it coming, and it comes anyway.

Read the full lyric and listen on the Fallin' track page. It's also on Spotify.

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, "It Gets Easier" (2020)

A song about staying sober over time, with a hook that refuses to oversell recovery.

GRAMMY.com described the song as being about staying on the wagon rather than getting back on it, and noted Isbell has more than a decade of sobriety. I've kept to that framing here.

The title promises something, and the chorus straight away qualifies it: easier is not the same as easy. A hook that argues with itself is hard to write, and it might be the most honest line on this list.

That's the same honesty that makes "I Am Not Okay" work.

Source: GRAMMY.com, "15 Songs That Directly Address Mental Health" (2 May 2022)

Listen on YouTube (official audio, Jason Isbell Topic)

What songs can and can't do

Songs can help someone feel less alone, or find words for something hard to name. For some people, a song that sounds like where they are can feel validating. Sending one to a friend can be an easier way to start a conversation.

They aren't treatment, though. A song doesn't replace a GP, a therapist or a helpline, and none of the songs here are promised to help any particular condition. Writing a song isn't therapy either: songwriting is not music therapy, and we've written about why that difference matters.

How to listen, and a playlist

Our three songs are free to stream on Spotify, Deezer, YouTube and YouTube Music, and on our site.

All nine songs are on YouTube, and the links are under each entry. Ours are also on Spotify, linked from each of our track pages, so you can play them back to back.

If you'd like to help fund the next song, you can donate. Listening is already enough. This is only if you want to be part of how it continues. You can read our Mental Health Pledge and see where donations go, with monthly receipts.

If you're struggling right now

You are not alone. If you or someone close to you is in crisis, please reach out to a helpline.

• United Kingdom: Samaritans, 116 123. Free, 24 hours a day. (samaritans.org)
• France: 3114, free national helpline, 24 hours a day. (3114.fr)
• Elsewhere: findahelpline.com
• Emergency in the UK: call 999, or go to A&E. (NHS: where to get urgent help for mental health)

Questions people ask about songs about mental health

What are some songs about mental health?

Plenty of well-known songs deal with mental health directly. Examples backed by artist or press accounts include The Beatles' Help!, Ariana Grande's breathin, Mabel's OK (Anxiety Anthem), Jelly Roll's I Am Not Okay and Libianca's People (Check On Me). SWSD's Through The Mist, State Of Mind and Fallin' are our own.

What is the most famous song about depression?

There's no official answer, and fame depends on era and country. Happiful's list of 20 puts The Beatles' Help! first, and GRAMMY.com picks songs from across the decades. Maybe a better question is which song sounds like where you are today. Our list marks any entry that needs a content note.

Are there hopeful songs about mental health?

Yes, many sit between struggle and hope. Jelly Roll's I Am Not Okay moves toward hope without a neat ending, and Mabel's OK (Anxiety Anthem) says it's fine not to feel okay. Hopeful doesn't have to mean fixed. SWSD's State Of Mind asks for kindness while admitting the fight is still in the room.

What are some songs about mental health recovery?

Songs about recovery tend to skip the neat ending. Jason Isbell's It Gets Easier is about staying sober over time, according to GRAMMY.com, and Jelly Roll has said it's "not a linear path". SWSD's Fallin' and State Of Mind look at cycles that return.

What song can I send to someone who is struggling?

Choose something that says "I'm here" rather than "cheer up". Libianca's People (Check On Me) is about wanting someone to ask how you really are. A song isn't support, though. If you're worried about someone, ask them directly. In the UK, Samaritans is free on 116 123, day or night.

Is it okay to listen to songs about mental health when I'm struggling?

It depends on the day and the song. Some can feel validating, others heavy, and the one here with harder themes is marked. Skip anything that doesn't feel right. If a song leaves you feeling worse, stop and talk to someone. Samaritans (UK) is on 116 123, and in France you can call 3114.

Is listening to music the same as music therapy?

No. Music therapy is a structured practice led by a qualified therapist. Listening to or writing a song can be personal and meaningful, but it isn't treatment. The songs on this page aren't a substitute for a GP, therapist or helpline. More in songwriting is not music therapy.

Are SWSD's songs free, and where does the money go?

Yes, everything released under SWSD is free to stream. Donations are optional. 50% of eligible net donations, after payment processing fees and the statutory tax provision, is allocated to Mind UK and UNAFAM France.

Support SWSD

If this list helped, you can help fund the next song. Listening is enough. Donations are only if you want to be part of how the next song gets made.

Send one of these songs to someone who might need it.