“Take your armor off, you’re not under attack” illustrates the key symptom of panic attacks: an overwhelming perception of fear that doesn’t relate to any real threat. The opening line, “Blow into this paper bag,” evokes someone trying to manage feelings of panic, as breathing into a paper bag has long been upheld as a helpful technique for the hyperventilation that can happen during anxiety and panic attacks. Still, the lyrics emphasize the importance of remembering that others can’t defeat you and giving your “best shot” anyway. This song helps convey the pessimism that often accompanies anxiety, or the tendency to consider things through “cynical eyes.” Even when things are actually going pretty well, you might have trouble moving forward when anxiety leaves your hands “wet with sweat” and “your head needs a rest.” Rock “Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)” by Styx (But if you’re not sure what your symptoms mean, a therapist can offer more guidance.) You might even wonder, like Armstrong, whether it’s all in your head or if your mind is “playing tricks” on you. ![]() It’s not at all uncommon to struggle with anxiety for some time before you find a way to make sense of what you’re going through. Vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong has stated he wrote this song to cope with feelings of anxiety and panic he experienced before eventually receiving a diagnosis of panic disorder. If you turned on the radio once or twice in the late ’90s and early 2000s, you’ve probably heard this song before. When nervousness and worry rages inside to the point where you’re sure everyone can see it plainly on your face, you might be surprised to realize just how unruffled you seem to others. The lyrics “a fever above my waist” and “a chill that bends” might describe the sweating and chills that often accompany anxiety, while “you’re the fiercest calm I’ve been in” seems to address anxiety directly. “Concertina” by Tori AmosĪmos has explained in interviews that this song highlights her own experience with social anxiety, or walking into a room and feeling “so uncomfortable you’re crawling out of your skin, even though nobody’s touched you.” Various possibilities play out and seem to pass you by as you struggle to find a way to escape feelings of fear, panic, and despair. This song conveys the frustration you might face when you feel as if every choice you make is the wrong one. There’s no denying that anxiety can often leave you feeling isolated and lonely, especially when you get caught up in a cycle of worry and rumination. Maybe the worry and stress you experience leaves you with a “dull pain” that never seems to recede, or your brain sometimes feels like a closet where you’ve stashed videotapes of anxiety-inducing memories, or “sordid little scenes in living color.” “Map of the Problematique” by Muse You might often feel consumed by “the things you’ve got coming,” as John Darnielle sings. Living with anxiety often means grappling with fears of what the future holds. ![]() ![]() “The Young Thousands” by the Mountain Goats James Mercer has opened up about his own experience with anxiety when discussing this song in interviews, explaining that it describes the various anxieties that can slowly wear down a relationship. Sometimes it’s just a pressing fear you live with, a “fear of all the stupid things” you could feel. ![]() “The Fear” by The ShinsĪnxiety doesn’t always have a clear trigger. You know it doesn’t help, but you still can’t stop dissecting them. She touches on physical symptoms of fear: “I got a bowling ball in my stomach / I got a desert in my mouth / Figures that my courage would choose to sell out now.”īut it’s the refrain of “Why do we crucify ourselves” that brings to mind the endless analysis of looping anxious thoughts. The opening lines, “Every finger in the room is pointing at me,” might resonate if you’ve ever entered a room feeling self-conscious, only to feel as if a spotlight has suddenly snapped on to illuminate you further. Amos’ poetic, confessional lyrics are open to many interpretations, but if you have social anxiety, you may find plenty to identify with in “Crucify.”
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