Cool Course: Mind Playing Tricks on Me—Mental Health in Contemporary Music

“Oh, I feel like a failure if I don’t skip breakfast and lunch / I’m chasing a body I know that I’ll never outrun,” sings musical artist Sara Kays in “Smaller Than This,” a song about her struggles with body image.

Guided by Steinhardt Clinical Assistant Professor of Applied Psychology Karthik Gunnia, undergrads in the course Mind Playing Tricks on Me: Mental Health in Contemporary Music watched Kays’s music video together as part of a larger discussion about the prevalence of anorexia nervosa, bulimia, and binge eating—and how those illnesses are represented in music.

“It was surprising for me to hear someone sing so honestly about what it is like to have an eating disorder,” says Eve Skatrud, an Applied Psychology undergraduate who took the course this summer. “I was glad to see that people are writing and singing about illnesses that really affect a lot of people and are so overlooked.”

No prior experience or knowledge about music is required for this class, which teaches students how to analyze and critique lyrics to contemporary songs related to mental health; evaluate and discuss the impact songs about mental health have on stigma, both positive and negative; and describe and define common mental health systems, both from a clinical perspective as well as through first-hand accounts of artists’ experiences. Each class discussion centers around a themed playlist. For the classes focusing on eating disorders, the class also listened to Billie Eilish’s “idontwannabeyouanymore,” Florence and the Machine’s “Hunger,” and Beyonce’s “Pretty Hurts,” among other songs dealing with body image.

“Through listening to music, we talk a little bit about the direct relationship between the music and mental health, but it's much more about using the lyrics as a way to talk about these experiences of trauma and anxiety and other experiences,” Gunnia says.

Mining the catalogs of a range of artists such as Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Paramore, Julien Baker, Ariana Grande, Bright Eyes, Lady Gaga, Eric Clapton, Amy Winhouse, and Nirvana, Gunnia looks across genres and time periods to curate playlists for thoughtful analyses of topics including addiction, depression, PTSD, mania, and anxiety. Assigned readings about the song lyrics and how they highlight artists’ messages and personal experiences round out the syllabus, with one such article unpacking Mac Miller’s mental health struggles, for example, and another dissecting Sufjan Stevens’s journey with grief.

Gunnia was a radio DJ in college and began developing mental health- and therapy- themed playlists as a hobby related to his professional interests. When he had the chance to propose a new Steinhardt course in 2019, he saw an opportunity to provide students with enjoyable listening experiences while thinking critically about common mental health experiences.

During the semester, students apply what they’ve learned in presentations on specific songs with mental health content, providing their own interpretations supported by evidence from sources such as interviews with the musical artists discussing their songs. Additionally, they complete written assignments with song reactions and analyses.

“I really enjoyed learning about OCD in music and the artists who have written songs about it,” says Eve. “I never realized that the artist girl in red struggled with OCD and intrusive thoughts, and it was very refreshing to learn how artists sing about things they have gone through and how relatable it can be to listeners.”

In addition to teaching the clinical criteria for different disorders, Gunnia also encourages students to consider how their own experiences have shaped their understanding of mental health disorders and related stigmas.