My Feel Good Playlist

Music is something that has always touched me. It has the power to evoke so many emotions and memories. For those of you who don’t know, I trained as an oboe performer at a music college, before my health made it impossible to carry on. So it’s fair to say that I was quite good as a performer. Though I’m not able to play in a way that I once was and would like to, I still have a love for music. You can find out more about my experiences in my BBC Coventry & Warwickshire radio interview, on my Features page. I find music particularly helpful on a bad day, so I though I would share with you my feel good playlist!

You’ll probably notice that all of the songs listed below are performed by female artists. This is because I find these type of songs more empowering when sung by a woman.

My Feel Good Playlist: Katy Perry – Roar

With lyrics like “You held me down, but I got up” how could I not feel empowered!?! I’ve also always been a fan of tigers. I was born in the Chinese year of the Tiger, as were my Dad and big sister. I’ve always seen tigers as strong animals and to me this song embodies their strength.

My Feel Good Playlist: Taylor Swift – Mean

This is a song that I wish had been around when I was struggling with PTSD. My PTSD was caused by an abusive relationship and lyrics like “Someday I’ll be big enough so you can’t hit me” “I just want to feel okay again” “And all you’re ever gonna be is mean” would really have struck a chord with me. The lyrics make me feel understood in my experience of domestic abuse and would have helped me to see that there is an end and that I will be so much more than what he ran me down into. When I’m feeling down, I find this song really uplifting and like to think that it’s helping me to avoid a relapse in my PTSD.

My Feel Good Playlist: Destiny’s Child – Survivor

Survivor is a song that I’ve listened to for many, many years. My brother bought me a Destiny’s Child album one Christmas and it had this song on it. This was the album I listening to when I woke up at night an couldn’t get back to sleep. I was 13 years old and my basilar type migraine symptoms had just started presenting themselves. I was already used to doctors not believing me, having experienced this with my hemiplegic migraine for two years already. The song Survivor, reassured me. Doctors may not believe me. They may not help me. But whatever their responses, I would survive.

My Feel Good Playlist: Christina Aguilera – Fighter

Fighter is another song that helped me through my teenage years. This is down to the lyrics of the chorus. The verses are about being betrayed by a man, which as a teen wasn’t something I could relate to. But the chorus “‘Cause it makes me that much stronger… so thank for making me a fighter” helped me to put a positive angle on my experiences with doctors telling me I was “making it up” and “doing it for attention.” I am certainly able to fight my corner as a result of having to fight for my illnesses to be believed.

There are lots of fantastic songs that make it to my feel good playlist, so I’ve created a YouTube Playlist so you can find them all in one place. I’ll be adding to this list as I find (or remember) other songs that make me feel good.

What type of music do you put on when you want to lift your mood?