Mental Health- A Playlist

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Happy National Mental Health Awareness Month! Music is a place of solace for many of us when we’re in a bad mental state. On account of the first Saturday of May, here’s a playlist to listen to when you’re down :)

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5MU1Frq8jhfhAAfHOBBRae?si=4c849477f5fa411b

1. Scars To Your Beautiful -Alessia Cara

You should know you're beautiful just the way you are

And you don't have to change a thing

The world could change its heart

Often we change too much to be more likeable to others. But in the process, we lose our true selves and end up pleasing everyone but ourselves. In the song “Scars To Your Beautiful” Alessia Cara reminds you that you don’t need to change yourself to be beautiful.

2. If We Have Each Other -Alec Benjamin

So I'm thankful for my sister, even though sometimes we fight

When high school wasn't easy, she's the reason I survived

I know she'd never leave me and I hate to see her cry

Your loved ones are an important reason to keep going. “If We Have Each Other” is a song dedicated by Alec Benjamin to his sister. This song is quite dear to me as it inspired me to try out songwriting.

3. Beyond The Tears -Art Garfunkel

To see beyond the tears, you know I'll never hurt you

To see the sun behind the rain, feel the joy behind the pain

Your thoughts get clouded when you’re sad and it’s hard to believe that those times will pass. The song “Beyond The Tears” reminds you that there are always good times after hard ones like how there is a summer after every winter.

4. reasons to stay alive -aryy

Hold on to the things that make your heart beat faster

Live one day at a time

Do your best and know

I'm by your side

“reasons to stay alive” is a happy song highlighting all the positives in life. Besides having such uplifting lyrics, it sounds like aryy was smiling the entire time while singing the song. Just hearing her voice makes me happy.

5. Bridge Over Troubled Water -Simon & Garfunkel

Oh, when darkness comes

And pain is all around

Like a bridge over troubled water

I will lay me down

Sometimes all we need to hear is someone telling us that they’re there for us. In the song “Bridge Over Troubled Water” we are told that someone who cares about us will comfort us during difficult times. More than the lyrics, the way the song is sung is more comforting as you can hear a lot of emotions behind it. Overall, it is a really emotional song.

6. mars -YUNGBLUD

Yeah, her Mum and Dad, they couldn't understand

Why she couldn't turn it off, become a better man

All this therapy, eats away gently at the side of her mind that she never had

Since it is hard to love yourself when so many people hate a major part of you, people from the LGBTQIA+ community have higher mental illness rates than straight, cis-gendered individuals. The song “mars” is about a trans woman who wasn’t accepted as herself by the ones around her. She found acceptance from the YUNGBLUD community and music helped her accept her for herself.

7. JUST LIKE YOU -NF

I want you to know when you're alone and you feel afraid

You're not the only person in the world that isn't okay

There's millions of us just like you, like you, like you

Just like you, like you

Knowing that you aren’t the only one feeling sad helps you put things into perspective as it makes you realise that everyone deals with problems in life. This isn’t in a way that invalidates the pain you are feeling, but in a motivating way that reminds you that you will be able to overcome these issues just like so many others are able to. “JUST LIKE YOU” emphasises this point.

8. Overwhelmed (Ryan Mack Remix)

Another person telling me that I should just relax

"Calm down and take it easy everything will be okay"

Yeah sure, 'cause that's what they all say

“Overwhelmed” by Ryan Mack is a remix of the song by Royal and the Serpents which is its namesake. It is a relatable song for those who have anxiety. Even though it talks about incidents that are obvious to people without anxiety, hearing so many such incidents in one song is comforting to hear. And comforting yourself should be your main priority while feeling anxious.

9. Victoria’s Secret -Jax

I know Victoria's secret

And, girl, you wouldn't believe

She's an old man who lives in Ohio

Making money off of girls like me

Cashin' in on body issues

When Chelsea, the girl who Jax babysits, is bullied for the way she looks in a bathing suit, she sees herself in the young girl. The singer dealt with anorexia, an eating disorder when she was as old as Chelsea. Inspired by her childhood and the incident, she wrote the song “Victoria’s Secret” for Chelsea, while also exposing the million-dollar company Victoria’s Secret for setting extremely high and impossible beauty standards. Even though the song has a deep theme, it is quite humorous.