These playlists are being tweaked, re-arranged, and added to frequently as new songs cross into my orbit. Feel free to send me a message if you have music to share!

This is a playlist that I listen to when I’m in a low place and not quite ready to be cheered up. Sometimes I just need to let myself feel the melancholy and pain in order to move through it, and these songs help me to feel less alone as I do. These are songs that express how it feels on the days when self-compassion doesn’t come easily (or at all), when things feel heavy, when we feel lost without direction, when mistakes have been made, unkind word have been spoken, the world feels like too much, and isolation feels both tempting and heartbreaking. These artists grapple with being brutally imperfect, struggling to do better, and feeling like it’s never enough. On my darker days, these are definitely my people. 

As you listen, you will find that there are songs that reference numbing as a coping mechanism. Please know that I am in no way advocating for numbing the hard things with alcohol, drugs, food, or any other unhealthy means. These songs are included because numbing is a very common and very human way of attempting to manage or avoid pain. And as a deeply feeling human, I’ve done my share of numbing over the course of my own life. Even the temptation to numb feels like part of the darkness. 

 Spotify – Dark Days 

Here is a collection of songs that speak to the persistent part of me that asks the existential questions: Why are we all here? Where did we come from? Why do terrible things happen? What happens when we die? What’s real?  How do we enjoy life while also holding the reality that it can all change in a matter of moments? Does anything matter? Does everything matter? 

These songs help to remind me that questions like this are part of the depth of humanity. These questions also make great art because they weave together melancholy, curiosity, longing, and meaning. When I hear these artists express what I have long philosophized, agonized, and speculated about, I feel so much less alone in the world. My college friends would tease me when I’d try to talk about these things at 2am (“here she goes again”), which, hey, I get – there is a time and a place (for most people). But as a full-fledged adult, I now understand that these are not bizarre things to consider – or even worry about. These thoughts mean we are paying attention. We are alive and awake and aware. And that's a beautiful, albeit bittersweet, thing. 

 Spotify – All the Questions 

The struggle is real and sometimes all we can do is put one foot in front of the other to get through.  These songs are validating and encouraging; they remind us to take it slowly, remember that this is all temporary, and that we can do hard things. As Christopher Robin said to his pal, Winnie the Pooh:  "You're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3eSIZTmZ6QeWs5hn7opBTE?si=f104a3c6f8174995

This one is a pick-me-up. It’s a reminder that despite the struggles and pain we all experience, we have a choice about how we move forward. It’s the getting back up after we’ve stumbled – or even crumbled. It’s putting the pieces back together, noticing the little things, feeling gratitude, and choosing to make the most of what we have.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1m21VIwbZ1cW37lkT9vxYa?si=0468e1883ff84b49

An alternate title for this one could definitely be "Smash the Patriarchy." These songs point out the reality of what being a woman in the U.S is like, challenge societal norms, celebrate the power women have, and encourage us to love ourselves and each other because of our uniqueness. I LOVE to listen to this while running, dancing, or driving.  

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2rVQVjIPhdAEnCSmVqbRAR?si=33d4167bf499452e

I started making this playlist after George Floyd's murder and have added to it over time. It is a collection of songs that validate the experiences of our diverse, and therefore oppressed, friends, family, neighbors, coworkers, and community members. It is a call for continuing to push for social justice and squash the white cis straight patriarchal BS we encounter on the daily.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6NdmEY6idGXMkCVFj7IR1n?si=09c9018216d84a99

This is a fun one! These songs encourage us to embrace who we are without regard to what others think of us. These artists know that while we’re socialized to believe that our value comes from outside of us, we find freedom in knowing the truth: those outside opinions hold us back from expressing ourselves authentically and unapologetically. 

There were other titles in the running, but ultimately this one won out because of the spirit in which it was born. When my youngest was in his fiercely independent toddler phase, and wanting to do things himself, this is what he would say: “I do my own!” This became a phrase the adults in our family held onto over the years, used when a situation calls for that fierce independence and confidence. So listen and embrace your own uninhibited confidence and freedom!

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2entl0WzKGTnpXYSoDhJ4g?si=c3675cd7c5e24680

This is a playlist I have been building and tweaking since I was pregnant with my first child. These songs speak to the miracle of loving another tiny human in an unimaginable way, the hopes we have for them, the lessons we so deeply want to teach them, and the things we want them to always remember about our love for them. My children are teenagers now and when I listen to this particular playlist (which I tend to do on their birthdays) my heart swells and tears inevitably fall. Things change so much over time and the innocence and simplicity of these songs makes my heart ache. 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4sItA7IgO2MlFEpZ65BTum?si=1be16742d4bb40fd

This is a playlist that speaks to the bittersweetness of growing up. The nostalgia of the good times, the processing of the struggles, and the heartache of leaving it behind, whether we want to or not. In my experience as a friend, family member, therapist, and human, many people grow up in families are not the most functional, and as such, I have included some songs about this particular kind of pain, alongside the ones that reflect back on the innocence and carefree moments.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7Bt9rFtiuQEWZsCWo5jHc9?si=16cd66948a2849a0

Link coming soon...