Avril Lavigne: "Head Above Water" Avril wrote "Head Above Water" when she was first struggling through Lyme disease, which she officially announced she'd been diagnosed with in 2015. A letter posted on her website read, "I spent the last few years at home sick fighting Lyme disease. Those were the worst years of my life as I went through both physical and emotional battles." She explained that "Head Above Water" was influenced by one of the "scariest" moments where "I had accepted death and could feel my body shutting down."