Grande first teased the song in an Instagram post on December 31, 2017. Following the European leg of Dangerous Woman Tour and the terrorist attack at Manchester show, Grande revealed that she had "really wild dizzy spells, this feeling like I couldn't breathe", and that she "felt so upside down" and her anxiety became physical. She shared her experience with Pharrell Williams, with whom she created the song. In a later interview for "Paper", Grande said: "[Pharrell] kind of forced it out of me, because I was in a really bad place mentally. ... [Pharrell] was like, 'You have to write about it. You need to make this into music and get this shit out, and I promise it will heal you.' And it definitely helped." She also said that the song is "probably one of the most important songs [she would] ever write." Grande revealed in an interview on Beats 1 Radio that she intended the song to offer a "musical hug". She further explained that "Get Well Soon" is about "being there for each other and helping each other through scary times and anxiety" and about "personal demons and anxiety and more intimate tragedies as well", stressing that mental health is very important.