Songs That Heal: A World Mental Health Day 2025 Playlist with Journaling Ideas

Every year on 10 October, the world comes together to mark World Mental Health Day, a moment to raise awareness, share stories, and prioritise our wellbeing. Mental health is as important as physical health, and practices like therapy, journaling, and mindfulness give us practical ways to care for it. But there’s another tool we often overlook: music.

Music is a universal language for healing. It can calm anxiety, spark resilience, and remind us that we are not alone. For World Mental Health Day 2025, we’ve created a playlist of songs that explore anxiety, depression, hope, and recovery. Each track has the power to soothe, inspire, and spark reflection.

To make this playlist even more meaningful, we’ve paired the songs with journaling prompts.

World Mental Health Day Playlist 2025: Songs for Anxiety, Depression, Healing and Resilience:

1. Songs About Anxiety

We live in anxious times, and hearing artists put those feelings into words can be strangely comforting. From classic tracks to modern anthems, these songs remind us that anxiety is a shared experience and one we don’t have to face alone. Here are 5 of my favourites...

• “Breathe Me” – Sia A haunting track that captures vulnerability and the desperate need for support. Lyric focus: “Help, I have done it again / I have been here many times before.”

  👉 Journaling Prompt: Write about a time you felt stuck in a repeating pattern. What small step could you take to break the cycle?
  

• “Anxiety” – Julia Michaels feat. Selena Gomez. Honest, candid, and instantly relatable for anyone who has felt trapped in spirals of worry. Lyric focus: “My friends, they wanna take me to the movies / I tell ‘em to f** off, I’m holding hands with my depression.”*

  👉 Journaling Prompt: When has anxiety made you withdraw from others? How can you ask for a connection without pressure?
  

• “Help!” – The Beatles. Proof that even the most iconic bands wrestled with anxiety and were brave enough to sing about it.

  Lyric focus: “Help me if you can, I’m feeling down / And I do appreciate you being ‘round.”

  👉 Journaling Prompt: Who are the people you can turn to when you feel overwhelmed? How can you let them know you appreciate their support?
  

• "Anxiety" - Simple Plan. With lyrics about struggling to breathe and feeling trapped, the song is instantly relatable for anyone who has experienced panic or worry taking over. Lyric focus: “Anxiety’s killing me, sometimes I can’t breathe.”

  👉 Journaling Prompt: Describe how anxiety feels in your body. What strategies help you ground yourself in the moment?
  

• "Stressed Out" - Twenty One Pilots is a relatable anthem about the pressures of adulthood and the longing for the simplicity of childhood. Lyric focus: “Wish we could turn back time, to the good old days.”

  👉 Journaling Prompt: What do you miss about a simpler time in your life? How can you recreate that sense of safety or joy today?
  

Alongside this playlist, journaling is a proven way to process racing thoughts and make sense of anxious patterns.

Discovery Journal for Anxiety

The Discovery Journal gives you guided prompts that make it easier to identify triggers and causes of anxiety, helping you build a picture of your life; details you might otherwise miss in the chaos of living with anxiety. You can use these thoughtful prompt ideas alongside the journal guides to get started and feel empowered.

Discovery Journal - Green

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2. Songs About Depression

Depression often leaves people feeling isolated. These songs offer solidarity and validation.

• “Creep” – Radiohead A raw anthem for those who have ever felt like they did not belong. Lyric focus: “I don’t belong here.”

  👉 Journaling Prompt: Write about a time you felt out of place. What qualities make you unique, and how might they actually be your strengths?
  

• “Hurt” – Johnny Cash. Cash’s cover of Nine Inch Nails’ song resonates with deep sadness but also authenticity. Lyric focus: “I hurt myself today / to see if I still feel.”

  👉 Journaling Prompt: How do you recognise when you are hurting? What healthier ways can you express or release those feelings?
  

• "Everybody Hurts" - R.E.M Lyric focus: “When your day is long and the night is yours alone.”

  👉 Journaling Prompt: What do you tell yourself when you are going through a tough

  time? What would you say to a friend in the same situation?
  

• "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" - Green Day. This song is a haunting anthem of loneliness and isolation, perfectly capturing the feeling of walking through life on your own. Lyric focus: “I walk a lonely road.”

  👉 Journaling Prompt: When have you felt most alone? What practices or connections could make your path feel less isolating?
  

• "I Don't Wanna Be Sad" - Simple Plan is an upbeat anthem about choosing joy and refusing to stay stuck in negativity. Lyric Focus: "It starts today, I'm on my way" 👉 Journaling Prompt: What first step could you take today to move toward a lighter, happier mindset? Write about how that action might change the rest of your week.

Discovery Journal for Depression

The Discovery Journal is especially helpful for depression because it breaks through the heaviness that can make it difficult to start writing. When motivation feels low and thoughts seem tangled, the journal’s guided prompts give you an easy entry point, so you don’t have to search for the “right” words. Recognise patterns in mood, and name the emotions that often stay bottled up, shifting focus away from rumination and towards clarity, key to managing depression.

The Disruptor Kit

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3. Songs About Healing and Resilience

Songs about healing and resilience remind us that strength often grows from struggle. They celebrate survival, recovery, and the hope of brighter days ahead.

• “Shake It Out” – Florence + The Machine. A cathartic release about leaving the past behind. Lyric focus: “And it’s hard to dance with a devil on your back / So shake him off.”

  👉 Journaling Prompt: What heavy burden are you ready to leave behind? How might releasing it create space for something new?
  

• “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” – Kelly Clarkson. A pop anthem of resilience that never fails to energise. Lyric focus: “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

  👉 Journaling Prompt: Think of a time you overcame a challenge. What strengths did you discover about yourself through that experience?
  

• "Survive" - Lewis Capaldi. A powerful reminder of resilience, capturing the raw determination to keep going even when life feels unbearable. Lyric Focus: "I swear to God, I'll survive/If it kills me to/ I'm gonna get up and try" 👉 Journaling Prompt: Think about a time you wanted to give up but chose to keep going. What gave you the strength to try again, and how can you draw on that resilience now?
  

• "Lean on me" - Bill Withers. A timeless anthem of comfort and solidarity, reminding us that healing often begins with leaning on others for support. Lyric focus: “Lean on me, when you’re not strong.”

  👉 Journaling Prompt: Who do you lean on for support? How can you also show up as a source of strength for others?
  

• "Here's to us" - Halestorm is a bold celebration of resilience, raising a glass to surviving struggles and coming out stronger together.

  Lyric Focus: “Here’s to us, here’s to love / All the times that we messed up.”

  👉 Journaling Prompt: What challenges have you overcome that deserve a toast? Write about how those experiences shaped your strength or deepened your connections with others.

Unblocker Prompt Cards for Strength

The Discovery Journal Unblocker Prompt Cards are designed to help you build resilience and uncover your inner strength when life feels challenging. Each card offers a thoughtful quote on one side and a reflective question on the other, giving you a simple but powerful way to shift perspective. When setbacks leave you feeling stuck, these prompts act as gentle nudges to recognise how far you’ve already come.

Unblocker Journal Prompts

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4. Songs That Feel Like a Warm Hug

Not all music about mental health is dramatic. Sometimes comfort comes in soft melodies and gentle lyrics.

• “Rainbow” – Kacey Musgraves. A beautiful reminder that storms do not last forever. Lyric focus: “Well, the sky has finally opened / The rain and wind stopped blowin’.”

  👉 Journaling Prompt: Write about a storm you’ve weathered in your life. What rainbow lesson, support, or moment of calm followed afterwards?

  
  

• “What a Wonderful World” - Louis Armstrong is a timeless classic that finds beauty in life’s simplest details, offering comfort and calm. Lyric focus: “I see trees of green, red roses too.”

  👉 Journaling Prompt: What small everyday details make your world feel wonderful? Write down five sensory moments that bring you peace.
  

• "Landslide" - Fleetwood Max is a reflective ballad about change and vulnerability, capturing the mix of fear and growth that comes with life’s transitions. Lyric focus: “Can I handle the seasons of my life?”

   👉 Journaling Prompt: What life changes feel most overwhelming right now? How can you reframe them as opportunities for growth?
  

• "Against the Tide" - Milow is an uplifting song about persistence, encouraging us to keep moving forward even when life feels like it’s pulling us back.

  Lyric Focus: “I’ll keep on swimming against the tide.”

  👉 Journaling Prompt: Write about a challenge where you felt like you were going against the tide. What kept you moving forward, and what did you learn from the experience?
  

• "You're the Voice" - John Farnham is an empowering anthem that calls on us to speak up, take action, and believe in the strength of our collective voices. Lyric focus: “We’re all someone’s daughter, we’re all someone’s son.”

  👉 Journaling Prompt: What does it mean to you to have a voice? How could you use yours — even in small ways — to bring comfort or positive change?

Music for Journaling and Reflection

Pairing music with writing is a powerful practice. A calming playlist can create the right environment for journaling, or lyrics can guide you and inspire. On World Mental Health Day, consider putting on lo-fi beats or acoustic tracks and using a guided tool like the Discovery Journal. The prompts in the journal encourage reflection while the music creates a soothing backdrop. Together, they turn writing into a mindful ritual.

Why Music and Mental Health Belong Together

Science backs up what we feel intuitively. Research shows that music therapy can reduce anxiety, improve mood, and even lower physical markers of stress like blood pressure. Songs activate memory and emotion centres in the brain, making them powerful tools for self-care.

For many people, songs about anxiety and depression are lifelines. They validate feelings and open up conversations that can otherwise feel impossible. On a global awareness day like 10 October, sharing playlists is a way of reminding one another that we are not alone.

World Mental Health Day is about awareness, compassion, and action. Creating a playlist may seem like a small gesture, but it brings people together through shared emotion. Music reminds us that even in our darkest moments, we are connected.

On 10 October 2025, take time to listen, reflect, and perhaps even add your own favourite tracks to the list. And if you want to deepen your reflection, consider journaling while you listen. A simple practice like writing in the Discovery Journal can transform listening into healing.

Happy World Mental Health Day, and may these songs be the soundtrack to your resilience.