“I Wanna Get Better”, performed by The Bleachers, is a song about singer Jack Antonoff’s personal experiences with grief, depression, and renewal. Through lyrics like, “I…
The song “Everything is Alright” by Motion City Soundtrack documents frontman Justin Pierre’s experience with anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Pierre recounts cleaning his…
The song “Otherside” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis narrates a story about drug use and the descent into addiction. As a young man, Macklemore struggled…
Carly Simon’s song “That’s the Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be” chronicles the painful aftermath of growing up with parents in an unhappy marriage,…
The song “The Handler” by the band Muse depicts the torment the mind undergoes when being forcibly controlled by an external force. The lyrics describe…
The song “Cut” by recording artist Plumb highlights a struggle with self-harm, and the accompanying feelings of numbness and loneliness. As a teenager, Plumb experienced…
This interesting interview offers listeners a glimpse into the process behind the articles written for the Trauma and Mental Health Report website. Contributing writer Abbi…
The R.E.M. song Everybody Hurts reaches out to those struggling with sadness, loneliness, despair, or thoughts of suicide, asking them to “Hold on”. The message…
The song “Fire and Rain” written by James Taylor depicts his fight with depression and drug addiction early in his music career, along with his…
This song describes Neil Young’s grief from watching his friend and bandmate Danny Whitten fall into heroin addiction and die from an overdose. Image Credit…
When she was 10 years old, Sarah wrote the original song “Dream Child” in memory of her young cousin who had died within of few…
“One Day at a Time” is a song by The Eagles. The band’s lead singer, Joe Walsh, wrote the lyrics to explain his struggle with…
The song ‘Too Much On My Mind’ was written by Ray Davies in 1966 and performed by The Kinks. The lyrics describe the very real…
In the 1960s, guitarist/songwriter Paul Simon and singer Art Garfunkel wrote a song about suicide. On their surface, the lyrics explain that severe loneliness and…
‘Flight’ is a song by the band Lifehouse that captures the importance of support from others, in times of difficulty and strife. The lead singer,…
In 1999, artist Mathew Good decided to write a song about his friend who was admitted to a psychiatric institution. The lyrics attempt to describe…
“The Grand Optimist” is written and performed by Dallas Green, of City and Colour. The lyrics convey a sense of losing hope—feelings often described by…
The music video for “Elastic Heart”, by Australian recording artist Sia, portrays an interpretive dance between a man and child that is meant to depict…
“You Belong”, by Alpha Rev, is a beautiful statement to those suffering from mental-health related suicide ideation, that reassures the listener of the love and…
Seven Years by Norah Jones leaves room for many interpretations. The lyrics speak of a little girl in autumn, evoking feelings of nostalgia and transition…
