“In My Blood” — A Song That Stayed With Me

Shawn Mendes’ In My Blood has been one of those rare songs that didn’t just pass through my life — it settled in and stayed. As a Canadian artist, his work often catches my attention, but this song struck a deeper chord. It speaks openly about anxiety, about the moments when you feel yourself slipping, and about the stubborn strength that rises anyway. This song spoke to me.

The line that has followed me for the past few years:

“Sometimes I feel like giving up But I just can’t It isn’t in my blood”

When the song was released on March 22, 2018, I was in the thick of some of the most emotionally draining months of workplace bullying. I remember sitting at my computer with my headphones on, this song looping over and over, almost like a lifeline. It gave me something steady to hold onto when everything else felt shaken.

Even now, I still listen to it several times a week. I still cry when listening to this song…There’s something profoundly grounding in its honesty — a reminder that even when anxiety presses hard, resilience can press harder. It isn’t in my blood to give up, and this song helped me remember that.

 

Lyrics

Help me, it’s like the walls are caving in
Sometimes I feel like giving up
But I just can’t
It isn’t in my blood
Laying on the bathroom floor, feeling nothing
I’m overwhelmed and insecure, give me something
I could take to ease my mind slowly
Just have a drink and you’ll feel better
Just take her home and you’ll feel better
Keep telling me that it gets better
Does it ever?
Help me, it’s like the walls are caving in
Sometimes I feel like giving up
No medicine is strong enough
Someone help me
I’m crawling in my skin
Sometimes I feel like giving up
But I just can’t
It isn’t in my blood
It isn’t in my blood
I’m looking through my phone again, feeling anxious
Afraid to be alone again, I hate this
I’m tryna find a way to chill, can’t breathe, oh
Is there somebody who could help me?
It’s like the walls are caving in
Sometimes I feel like giving up
No medicine is strong enough
Someone help me
I’m crawling in my skin
Sometimes I feel like giving up
But I just can’t
It isn’t in my blood
It isn’t in my blood (oh)
I need somebody now
I need somebody now
Someone to help me out
I need somebody now
Help me, it’s like the walls are caving in
Sometimes I feel like giving up
But I just can’t
It isn’t in my blood
It isn’t in my blood, oh, oh
(Oh, oh, oh)
It isn’t in my blood
I need somebody now
It isn’t in my blood
I need somebody now
It isn’t in my blood