Anxiety is one of those things that’s hard to describe to someone who hasn’t felt it at its worst. The 21 songs on this page do a better job of it than most explanations.
Be sure to check out the Songs About Anxiety Playlist at the bottom of this page.
Best Songs About Anxiety
1. “Anxiety” – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
Lyric Sample: “Anxiety, how do you always get the best of me?”
Isbell’s 2017 song is about the frustration of living with an anxiety disorder, describing the way it can show up any time rather than appearing only in response to actual danger.
2. “Panic Attacks in Paradise” – Ashnikko
Lyric Sample: “I swear I’m not crying, the sun’s just bright.”
This 2021 pop song is about struggling with depression and anxiety, and how mental health issues can affect people anywhere regardless of their circumstances.
3. “Under Pressure” – Queen & David Bowie
Lyric Sample: “Pressure, pushing down on me, pressing down on you, no man ask for.”
This 1980s classic is about the crushing anxiety of modern life and what it does to people who can’t find a way to release it.
Related: “Under Pressure” Song Meaning
4. “Anxiety” – Doechii
Lyric Sample: “Anxiety, keep on tryin’ me, I feel it quietly tryna silence me.”
Doechii’s hit is about the relentlessness of anxiety and how it can creep up in response to just about anything, no matter how hard you try to shake it.
Related: “Anxiety” Song Meaning
5. “Panic Attack” – Dream Theater
Lyric Sample: “I am paralyzed, so afraid to die.”
This 2005 progressive metal track is about the rapid heartbeat, loss of control, and intense terror that come with severe anxiety. The song’s sound is meant to mirror the chaos of the experience.
6. “Free” – Florence + the Machine
Lyric Sample: “Picks me up, it puts me down a hundred times a day.”
Florence Welch wrote this 2022 indie rock song about finding that creativity and movement do what nothing else can, pushing anxiety aside long enough to feel free of it.
7. “Help” – Papa Roach
Lyric Sample: “Did someone turn the lights out, or is it just another dark cloud in my head?”
This 2017 hard rock track is all about living with mental illness and knowing you need help, where even getting out of bed feels like too big a task sometimes.
8. “Unwell” – Matchbox Twenty
Lyric Sample: “But I’m not crazy, I’m just a little unwell, I know right now you can’t tell.”
Matchbox Twenty’s 2003 hit single is about the loneliness and paranoia that people can experience, and how it’s not always obvious that they’re struggling.
9. “Overwhelmed” – Royal & the Serpent
Lyric Sample: “The light is so bright, it’s like I’m overheating.”
This 2021 alt-pop track mostly focuses on the disconnect and stress someone can feel when their anxiety takes over.
10. “Anxiety” – Megan Thee Stallion
Lyric Sample: “Issues, but nobody I could talk to about it.”
In this 2022 hip-hop song, Megan Thee Stallion raps about having anxiety as someone always in the public eye, while also connecting it to her grief over losing her mother.
11. “Breathin” – Ariana Grande
Lyric Sample: “Feel my blood runnin’, swear the sky’s fallin’.”
Grande’s 2018 song is all about managing anxiety and panic attacks, reminding herself that the only thing she has to do right now is keep breathing.
12. “Teenage Angst” – Placebo
Lyric Sample: “Since I was born I started to decay.”
The 1996 alternative rock song is about the unique social anxiety of adolescence some kids go through, where you feel like you don’t fit in and everything seems to be getting worse as you get older.
13. “Anxiety (Get Nervous)” – Pat Benatar
Lyric Sample: “I feel a little shaky, I can’t control my nerves.”
In this ’80s rock track, Benatar describes anxiety as a physical experience rather than an emotional one, with her body going haywire in ways her mind can’t explain or control.
14. “Disturbia” – Rihanna
Lyric Sample: “It’s a thief in the night to come and grab you.”
This 2008 dance-pop song is about a mental state so dark it feels like a haunted house you can’t leave, with Rihanna describing anxiety and depression as something that has moved in and won’t go.
Related: Best Songs for Halloween
15. “Panic Song” – Green Day
Lyric Sample: “Broken glass inside my head, bleeding down these thoughts of anguish.”
Green Day’s 1995 track is another song that describes the feeling of having a panic attack, where everything speeds up and the body stops cooperating with the brain.
16. “Anxiety” – Julia Michaels ft. Selena Gomez
Lyric Sample: “I got all these thoughts running through my mind.”
This 2019 acoustic pop song is about the social anxiety that makes even simple interactions, like hanging out with friends, feel like something to survive.
17. “Got the Time” – Joe Jackson
Lyric Sample: “Time, got the time tick-tick-tickin’ in my head.”
Jackson’s 1979 new wave song is about the stressful pace of modern life, where everything moves too fast and there’s never enough time to do everything you need to do.
18. “Heavy” – Linkin Park ft. Kiiara
Lyric Sample: “You say that I’m paranoid, but I’m pretty sure the world is out to get me.”
This 2017 pop-rock collaboration is about living with negative thoughts and the mental fatigue of dealing with anxiety and depression.
19. “Help I’m Alive” – Metric
Lyric Sample: “Can you hear my heart beatin’ like a hammer?”
Metric’s 2009 indie rock song is about feeling like everyone around you is waiting for you to fail, and trying to fight through that kind of anxiety.
20. “Hello Anxiety” – Bowling for Soup
Lyric Sample: “Hello, hello anxiety, it really sucks to see you.”
Bowling for Soup’s 2022 song is a more comedic take on anxiety, treating it as an unwelcome but entirely predictable houseguest, showing up right on schedule every day.
21. “In My Blood” – Shawn Mendes
Lyric Sample: “Help me, it’s like the walls are caving in.”
Mendes’ relatable 2018 track is about the moment anxiety becomes unbearable and giving up feels like the only option, but choosing to keep going anyway.
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