Y’all know me. I often say “mental illness ain’t no whore.” What I mean is that mental illness is not something that’ll just be over and done with after a therapy session or a few pills. It requires a lifetime of work, even when you’re doing better than you were a year ago. That said, I also realize that mental illness is one of those things that can make even the most-alert and aware person shrivel up if they’re not careful. Young Misery K’s “Anxiety is a Hoe” takes my philosophy about mental health and turns it on its head while still acknowledging that it can result in a sh*tshow.

From the beat to the lyrics to the overall flow of the song, “Anxiety” is, well, anxious AF. It speaks on what anxiety can do to a person, how it can creep in at any time and how it’s one of those things that–like all other mental illnesses–never really goes away. You just learn to manage it. As someone who is anxious AF, I empathize with this one. Ashley sometimes is the one who bears the brunt of my anxieties (mostly because she’s someone I talk to on a damn-near daily basis). I try not to do that with her–or anyone, for that matter. It’s because, as she and I both say, “we all got problems and issues.” I think it’s that mental health camaraderie that helps us all be someone to “call” on when ish gets rough–like Bryson Cole suggested in his song from a few ticks of the clock ago. Check out “Anxiety is a Hoe” and support dope music in all its forms.