4 Song Lyrics That Mean A Lot to Me as Someone With Depression and Anxiety

1. “I will survive and be the one who’s stronger” – Birdy, “Wild Horses”

No matter how hard things get I have to remind myself I will survive and I will be stronger. Everything I have been through, I am going through, and I will go through will make me stronger. Even on the days I am at my weakest, I am still a stronger person than I was before my mental illness diagnosis.

2. “I don’t really care if nobody else believes, ‘Cause I’ve still got a lot of fight left in me” – Rachel Platten, “Fight Song”

My depression often tells me nobody else believes in me and that people have given up on me. I am trying to teach myself on those days that I just need to believe in myself. When my brain is convincing me nobody else believes in me, this song convinces me to keep fighting, for myself.

3. “Smile like you mean it” – The Killers, “Smile Like You Mean It”

Sometimes it’s way too easy to put on a fake smile, especially when trying to convince the people around you that you’re OK. I hate doing this; it feels fake, it make me miss when I was genuinely happy. When I listen to this song I have gotten into the habit of thinking of at least one thing that make me smile. Smiling for a reason brings joy. Smiling like I mean it brings happiness, even is just for a few seconds.

4. “Where there is desire, there is gonna be a flame. Where there is a flame, someone’s bound to get burned. But just because it burns, doesn’t mean you’re gonna die. You gotta get up and try” – Pink, “Try”

I have a desire to get better, I haven’t always had this desire. Sometimes it’s easy to just let my mental illness take over my life and give in to it. My desire means it hurts even more when there are setbacks in my recovery and well-being. But getting upset or “burnt” when things do not go my way reminds me I have a desire to get better. I am grateful for that. It reminds me when things do go wrong, it isn’t the end, it’s part of the journey. And I just have to keep trying.

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