“Unstable” — when you know you’re struggling but still want someone to stay
Updated: Aug 27
!!! a small warning before you read: this post touches on anxiety, mental health struggles, emotional vulnerability, and references to recovery/withdrawal.
Some songs feel like they understand the part of you that you’d rather not admit exists, and Unstable is very much that song for me. It captures the contradiction of wanting to be loved while simultaneously being terrified that your own insecurities, fears, and emotional baggage will make you difficult to love. It’s vulnerable without trying too hard to be profound, which is probably why it hits so hard.
Unstable
Artist: Justin Bieber ft. The Kid LAROI
Album: Justice
Year: 2021
Pre-Chorus
I tried to scare you, scare you away
Showed you the door, you adored me anyway
When I was broken in pieces
You were my peace of mind, you were my peace of mind
There’s this guilt that comes with loving someone while feeling “unstable”–that scary thought that you’ll somehow pull them down just because you’re already down. I think that’s what makes love so vulnerable: sometimes you want to push people away because you don’t want them caught in your mess, even when what you really need is someone willing to stay.
Chorus
Yeah, you loved, yeah, you loved, yeah, you loved me when I was unstable
Never judged, never judged, never judged me when I was unable
To love myself, to trust myself
Yeah, you loved, yeah, you loved, yeah, you loved me when I was unstable
You know you’ve found your people when you can be avoidant, shut down, and try to disappear, and they still choose to sit with you through the rain. Not to fix you, but to remind you that you don’t have to carry everything alone.
Verse 2
White knuckles tryna hold my sanity (Hold my)
Not every wound is the kind that bleeds, uh, uh
Never know when my mind's gonna turn on me (Never know)
But you're the one I call for security (Oh, baby)
These memories have been toxic (Oh)
I tried to wean and get off it (Oh)
Through everything, you been my rock
I think you're the only thing I didn't get wrong
Oh, I know God was listening
Every night when I would pray
You're an angel watchin' over me (Oh)
All I need
This part is so vulnerable in the best way because it captures the kind of struggle that doesn’t always leave visible wounds. I love the shift from fighting your own mind to recognizing the person who stayed through it all as your safe place–the one thing you feel like you got right.
Favorite !
Sometimes I think I overthink (Think I)
And I start to feel anxiety (Anxie–)
There were times I couldn't even breathe (Mmm)
But you never once abandoned me (No, you never, ooh)
This is probably my favorite part of the song because it puts the entire feeling into such simple, honest words. The overthinking, the anxiety, the feeling like you can’t even breathe–and then having someone who stays anyway? Yeah.. that hits a little too close to home. There’s something so comforting about being reminded that even at your messiest, someone can still choose not to leave.
Maybe that’s why “Unstable” means so much to me–it reminds me of the times when I was struggling with my own emotions.. and felt like loving someone while trying to hold myself together was unfair to them. But I’ve learned that being a little messy doesn’t make you undeserving of love, and you don’t have to have everything figured out before someone can choose to stay. Sometimes, healing is simply learning to let people love you through the rain, too. So if you’re feeling unstable right now, I hope you remember that you’re still worthy of love, patience, and a little softness.
D.
Stream it here: SPOTIFY I APPLE MUSIC I YOUTUBE
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