Elizondo initially took issue with the nature of the song's lyrical content, but relaxed after lead vocalist and songwriter Tyler Joseph explained the larger album concept.

Throughout the song, Joseph personifies the album's titular character, Blurryface, whose self-deprecating lyrics express self-doubt and anxiety, stressing over personal issues ranging from his music to the idea of becoming an adult.

"Stressed Out" was certified 13× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over thirteen million copies.

The song reached the top five on charts in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Ecuador, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, and Switzerland.

An accompanying music video was directed by Eshleman and primarily filmed at drummer Josh Dun's home in Columbus, Ohio.

It features a mixture of surreal visuals and existential scenes while portraying the duo riding tricycles for a playdate and attempting to relive their childhood.

"[1][4] The thematic elements of the duo's second major-label studio album and identity of Blurryface and come into focus on "Stressed Out".

[1] Their loose concept album had been about Joseph attempting to defeat the alter ego of the titular monster-image representing his insecurities and self-hatreds.

[1] He was speaking as a member of generation engulfed in college loan debt and sharing their anxieties while feigning apathy and yearning peer acceptance all over social media.

[1] For a time, record producer Mike Elizondo was worried Joseph's specificity would limit the single's reception among the larger populace.

[1] Speaking with front-man and principal songwriter Tyler Joseph, he opined that to the average listener, its lyrical content would come off as esoteric.

[11] "Stressed Out" is composed in the key of A minor,[13] while Tyler Joseph's vocal range spans one octave and four notes, from a low of E3 to a high of A4.

[1][20] His voice pines for a time prior to stress of reality, such as student loans and the pressure to get a job and find success.

[23] Philip Cosores and the staff of Consequence mentioned the song "resonates with listeners, as the two sing about 'the good 'ol days' before the stress of reality set in".

[30] Molly Lambert of MTV wrote that the song "has a haunted, music-hall feeling, and a slightly embarrassing but highly effective earnestness in its longing for a romanticized, innocent past".

She continued, saying it "genuinely stressed me out at first, with its herky-jerk from the verses into the chorus, but I eventually found myself constantly sing-saying 'My name's Blurryface and I care what you think' under my breath in all kinds of situations".

[37] Variety's Chris Willman stated the "mortal concerns" of Twenty One Pilots 2018 album Trench makes him feel "a little nostalgic", and wanted some of the "in-your-face youth angst of 'Stressed Out'".

[39] Chris Deville of Stereogum considered it as the "probably the most linear" song the group has made, and said it still manages to merge Sublime, Portishead, and ASAP Rocky.

Jason Pettigrew of Alternative Press called it a "diamond" and stated "Gen X boredom gives way to exasperated millennial neurosis" during the track.

[40] Bryony Symes from Louder Sound opined that "Stressed Out" is the group's best song to date and that the "kind of complex melody, with its slew of catchy hooks, that will get caught in a loop in your head, and have you humming along for hours after you've heard it".

[41] Writing for Cleveland.com, Anne Nickoloff and Troy Smith mentioned it was "going to be a hit right from the opening beat" and that it is as "pure of a rap-rock song the band has written, but its pop sensibility is clear.

deemed the track is a "pop culture changing of the guard fading the disenfranchisement of Generation X into the neuroses of their millennial successors, deceptively simple lyrics".

[50][51] "Stressed Out" was first released as a promotional single through Fueled by Ramen on April 28, 2015, on the Google Play Store[52] and Amazon,[53] It was later added as the second track on Twenty One Pilots' fourth studio album Blurryface on May 17, 2015.

[75][76] It peaked within the top five in Australia,[77] Austria,[78] the Belgium Flanders chart,[79] Canada,[80] Czech Republic,[81] Ecuador,[82] France,[83] Germany,[84] Ireland,[85] Israel,[86] the Netherlands,[87] New Zealand,[88] Portugal,[89] Slovakia,[90] and Switzerland.

[91] According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), "Stressed Out" was the tenth best-performing single of 2016, with 9.9 million units combined sales and track-equivalent streams worldwide.

[9] The surrealistic video retains a mixture of existential sequences and draws visual cues from fairy tales such as Alice in Wonderland.

[21] The scene then changes to Joseph and Dun lying in beds as members from their combined families who are dressed in black watch them sleep and all chant in unison "Wake up, you need to make money".

[9][21] Writing for Diffuser, Michael Haskoor described it as a "perfectly paired visual", and said it is way more "minimalist than their video for the explosive "Tear in My Heart" and seems to fit well with the song's chorus".

[99] Twenty One Pilots performed "Stressed Out" on their 2016 Emotional Roadshow World Tour in Ohio, with Joseph altering the lyrics of the first verse, which now criticize the song's success.