In honor of World Mental Health Day, I wanted to post something other than just my experience – something more concrete that may be of better help to whoever might be reading this right now amidst their own struggle. Below are the names of the songs, the artists' names, and my favorite lines from them. These songs got me through some of my darkest days — they made me feel heard and they made me feel understood. I hope they can do the same for you.
1. "In My Blood," Shawn Mendes
"Help me, it's like the walls are caving in."
"Laying on the bathroom floor, feeling nothing. I'm overwhelmed and insecure, give me something I could take the easy my mind slowly."
"Keep telling me that it gets better, does it ever?"
"Feeling anxious, afraid to be alone I hate this. I'm tryna find a way to chill, can't breathe, oh is there somebody who could help me?"
"I need somebody now. Someone to help me out. I need somebody now."
2. "Hold On," Chord Overstreet
"You locked yourself in the bathroom, lying on the floor when I breakthrough, I pull you in to feel your heart, can you hear me screaming 'Please don't leave me.'"
"Long endless highways."
"Hold on, I still want you. Come back, I still need you."
3. "Hold On," Shawn Mendes
"I think too much when I'm alone."
"And my dad said, Shawn, stay with me. Everything will be alright."
"I don't know what you're going through, but there's so much life ahead of you. And it won't slow down no matter what you do, so you just gotta hold on."
4. "Before You Go," Lewis Capaldi
"When you hurt under the surface, like troubled water running cold."
"If only I'd have known you had a storm to weather."
"So, before you go, was there something I could've said to make it all stop hurting?"
"It kills me how your mind can make you feel so worthless."
5. "His Daughter," Molly Kate Kestner
"Broken hearts and scars in only places she could see, cause she just wanted, she just wanted to feel something."
"If there's a God out there please hear my prayer, I'm lost and I'm scared and I've got nowhere else to run."
"I've come a long, long way but I'm not sure I can make it much farther."
6. "Be Alright," Dean Lewis
"So I still look back at all the messages you'd sent and I know it wasn't right, but it was fucking with my head."
"It'll be alright."
7. "Iris," Goo Goo Dolls
"And I don't want the world to see me, 'cause I don't think they'd understand."
"And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming."
"Yeah, you just bleed to know you're alive."
"I just want you to know who I am."
8. "Pieces," Rob Thomas
"We leave our pieces on the ground, we see no end, we don't know how, we are lost and we're falling."
"Hold onto me, you're all I have."
9. "She Went Quietly," Charlie Winston
"There's really not so much to tell. She was 29, showing signs of doing well for herself. She never spoke of feeling sad."
"'Cause she went quietly. She didn't make a sound. With the wish not to be found."
"Just a note that wrote: 'Forgetting is easier.'"
10. "Clean," Travis Atreo
"Rain came pouring down when I was drowning, that's when I could finally breathe."
The water filled my lungs, I screamed so loud but no one heard a thing."
