Blood is Blood" is a powerful song about the importance of being yourself and not letting someone else control who you are, and there’s a powerful message there for all those people who let bullying keep them from doing what they want to do.
2. "Mama" -- U2, 1980
A heartbreaking song that has gotten over three billion plays on YouTube and one that perfectly captures the fear of having to deal with a mentally ill parent.
3. "In This Diary" -- Lana Del Rey, 2012
Lana Del Rey's song about the ups and downs of mental illness. "Sometimes I dream that I die young."
4. "A Head Full of Dreams" -- Selena Gomez, 2015
It's clear from the very beginning of Selena's song that her mom is mentally ill -- "I'm feeling kinda lonely / But I know that she's coming to get me," she sings -- and you can hear the fear of it in the way she sings the song. The imagery of going to a psychiatrist with a dream catcher as her only friend helps you to realize that she knows how out of place she is in this world and can see all the darkness around her.
5. "Shine" -- Disclosure, 2014
This one's a little hard to listen to, but you can still hear the fear of it all just by listening to the way the song is put together.
6. "Ghosts" -- The National, 2005
This one's probably not exactly what you think of when you think of the music of mental illness, but how about this -- the singer-songwriter with a mental illness.
7. "In the Dark" -- Sia, 2015
The entire album is something of a metaphor about what it's like to have bipolar disorder, but this track is particularly memorable because it's so direct.
8. "Dreams" -- Grouplove, 2015
This band, which formed at a school for kids with autism, has always been about telling honest stories about mental illness. And their song "Dreams" is about a school shooting -- but that's the point -- these stories need to be told because it's important for people to know that these things happen.
9. "Homesick" -- Jimmy Eat World, 1994
The video for this song is a must-see if you love dark comedy, and this song also has one of the more memorable stories of mental illness. This is a song about mental illness and suicide -- in that order.
10. "Black Hole" -- The Smashing Pumpkins, 1991
Speaking of Jimmy Eat World, this song is particularly hard to listen to because of Billy Corgan's vocals, but if you can make it through that, you'll hear a really powerful story about someone who is deeply haunted by mental illness.
11. "Tiny Little World" -- The Shins, 2012
The Shins are one of those bands that's always been about writing songs about the dark side of love. And that's exactly what this song is about.
12. "Tunnel" -- Alaskan, 2007
This has been getting a lot of play on the radio lately, and it's no wonder. This song is so honest and compelling that you can't help but feel moved by it.
13. "Blue Blue Satellite" -- Lykke Li, 2011
This album takes you on a journey that shows how being a woman with mental illness is a unique experience, and this song gives us a really strong illustration of that.
14. "Anxiety" -- A Perfect Circle, 2003
A Perfect Circle can be super dark sometimes -- their song "Judith" really captures a lot of the feelings that come with having anxiety attacks -- but this one's really good about showing how they've struggled with mental illness and the stigma surrounding it.
15. "Nookie" -- Limp Bizkit, 1999
This song was written by a singer-songwriter who actually had a mental illness, so there was an element of honesty to this song.
16. "Breathe In My Lungs" -- Eminem, 2000
Eminem gets a bad rap for a lot of the things he's done, but he's always been a good guy about mental illness, too -- in his song "The Way I Am" he talks about how he gets through his anxiety by singing and playing guitar.
17. "Shelter" -- Neon Trees, 2009
Neon Trees have always been about telling heartbreaking stories, and "Shelter" is another one. This was written after their guitarist's mom committed suicide, and the singer talks about how he was so overwhelmed by it that he had to leave to go into his dad's office to just cry.
18. "I Will Survive" -- Gloria Gaynor, 1979
It's hard to say exactly how much the Gaynor's version is the definitive version, but she really nails the idea of singing about what it's like to go through what you've been through and come out the other side.
19. "Breathe Me" -- Faith No More, 1992
When a band gets together and hires a bassist who didn't even realize he was bipolar until he was diagnosed a few months into working on the band's album, you know that's the real deal.
20. "Ships in the Night" -- Tori Amos, 1992
This song is particularly interesting because it was written about the aftermath of sexual abuse and domestic violence. These are two things that you'd think would never be something that anyone would write a song about and then perform on stage, but Tori has always been about being true to herself, and "Ships in the Night" proves that she is just that.
21. "Raspberry Beret" -- Prince, 1984
Prince can be a complex guy, but this song is a big part of why we fell in love with him -- he's been such an interesting guy and artist, but he never takes himself too seriously, and you know it when you hear him say in the first line of the song that he's got his heart all over his sleeve.
22. "Dirty Pretty Things" -- David Bowie, 2002
This is a really dark song from a really dark album, and as someone who can really relate to it, it's another one that goes to show that David Bowie has always been a really important part of pop culture's understanding of mental illness.
23. "Raven" -- PVRIS, 2015
PVRIS is a pretty new band -- this is only their second album, but that hasn't stopped them from giving a powerhouse performance of their song about mental illness, which is not something you hear every day.
24. "Cry" -- Evanescence, 2010
Evanescence was one of the first bands to incorporate a lot of mental illness into their lyrics, and although some people might not think it fits with their general vibe, that definitely added a lot to this song. It really captures how someone who is going through something like postpartum depression really can feel like they're being torn apart.
25. "Black and Blue" -- Paramore, 2005
"Black and Blue" is an album that was full of surprises, but this song more than most -- it's about having the "black" in your life, which to me, just seems like another way of saying depression.
26. "Just a Fire" -- Ben Folds, 2001
Ben Folds is well known for doing funny and clever stuff, but he's also a great songwriter. This song is another example of that -- a song about mental illness, but done in a way that's funny and interesting enough to make it something that we can listen to all the time without any sort of mental barriers between us and the song.
27. "The Last Night" -- Imagine Dragons, 2008
This is the first single from a band that makes incredibly catchy pop music and is a really well-produced version of what it's like to struggle with depression.
28. "When I Was a Young Man" -- The Pretenders, 1980
This song is written from the point of view of someone with mental illness. The way that Chrissie Hynde sings this song is so sad and heavy and lonely, it's hard to imagine that it came from someone who was in the middle of a major career break.
29. "Praying" -- Coldplay, 2004
This was originally written about addiction, but it became clear over time that it really resonated with a lot of people because of its connection to mental illness.
30. "Together in Electric Dreams" -- M83, 2010
M83 has been one of the most talented bands we've ever had, but especially when you look at all the music they've written -- they've always done amazing things with melodies and lyrics that you never knew you could have until they made
