10 songs to lower your anxiety levels (that have worked for me).

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States, affecting 40 million adults over the age of 18. While anxiety disorders are highly treatable, only 36.9% of those suffering receive treatment. 

Here are 10 songs that have helped me with my generalized anxiety disorder:

1. "Weightless' by Macaroni Union has been proven to reduce anxiety by 65%. It was specifically designed to lower your heart rate, blood pressure, and cortisol levels. It is so effective that it's dangerous to drive while listening to it because it can make you drowsy. 

2. 'Claire de Lune' by Claude Debussy is a classic. Helps me focus on the beauty of life instead of anything negative. Its origins are complex and fascinating, combining influences from poetry, the music of the Baroque period (from around 1600 to 1750), and Impressionism, a style in music following on from that in visual arts.

3. This video of a spinning seal I saw years ago left the song stuck in my head. I couldn't rest until I found it, but it was totally worth it because whenever I have to do university work I put the song in the background and somehow helps me concentrate and not get overwhelmed. 

4. The Wii Mii song soothes mostly because of nostalgia paired with the fact that it’s a song a lot of people recognize, making it dependable and reliable.

5. 'Pas de Deux' by P. Tchaikovsky. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky's Pas de Deux is a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to a composition by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky originally intended for act 3 of Swan Lake. 

6. 'Rather Sleep' by Kero Kero Bonito. Kero Kero Bonito are a British indie pop band from London. The band consists of vocalist Sarah Midori Perry and producers and multi-instrumentalists Gus Lobban & Jamie Bulled. Their name's meaning is intentionally ambiguous, with one derivation from the Japanese onomatopoeic words for frog croaks and a type of fish. The song probably deals with mental illness (possibly depression), the discomfort felt by a child while growing up and the struggle to regain the sense of innocence lost once you become an adult. The simplistic language used through the song is quite possibly a way to express the idea of the childish idealization of sleep, which in this song is an analogy for death.

7. 'L$D' by A$AP Rocky has a different vibe than anything I listen to daily. It just transports me to somewhere comforting and solitary where there's nothing expected of me, or anything to do next, just me and the music. The song is both an ode to the drug LSD (commonly known as acid) and his love affairs with women. 

8. 'K." by Cigarettes After Sex “K.” stands for Kristen, the name of the singer’s partner. The song describes the singer longing for their lover’s physical presence in a long-distance relationship, after having recently spent time together and departing from one another. The song touches on the experience and time the two of them shared, and how much the singer yearns to see her again.

9. 'Space Song' by Beach House. The song is about Victoria’s isolation from her lover. The title itself shows that Victoria is in her own space, with the lyrics displaying her longing for her former lover. However, she seems rather somber due to the fact that her former lover had never returned the same dedication to their broken relationship. With nothing but soaring and bubbly synths played on hip-hop influenced beat, Victoria’s voice is able to stand out too with beautiful songwriting.

10. 'Always Forever' by The Cults. The singer wants to be alone with him forever, nobody in their lives, just her and him alone. But he disagrees saying that “things could be better”, so they could let other people in their lives too, which makes her scared that he will leave her for someone else. 

I truly hope these songs help you the way they have helped me. If you're interested here is the full playlist on:

Youtube

Spotify

Every now and then I will be adding any other songs I find that help me lower my anxiety levels.