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Clearly conveying what you’re thinking or feeling is hard enough under the best of circumstances. But what happens when you’re feeling something you can’t explain, or even identify? That’s a problem central to mental health. Artists and creative individuals in particular struggle with the issue.
At the same time, a person’s creativity also allows them to dig deeper into their feelings and often with tremendous insight. Take, for example, the song colorblind, by Mokita. In its opening lyrics, he sings:
“Slow down
I know you wanna understand
So I’ll explain the best I can
What this pain feels like
It’s hard
‘Cause even as I’m sitting here
I would rather disappear
Than face the world outside.”
It’s a heartfelt and nearly heartbreaking look at the inner turmoil enveloping someone struggling with depression.
In a music review in Atwood Magazine by Mitch Mosk, he writes, “Depression is hard to convey to someone who doesn’t feel it, but Mokita helps us understand and feel empowered through ‘colorblind,’ an achingly bittersweet song that dives into the depths of despair, sadness, and pain.” The song, Mosk continues, ”is as close as you’re going to get to depression and anxiety without feeling it firsthand.”
The review includes an interview with Mokita, in which he says, “I wrote ‘Colorblind’ as an attempt to try and describe depression to someone who has never experienced it… I started experiencing severe depression when I was 14 years old and had no idea what it was really, until several years after going through it. It took me a long time to have the courage to be open and transparent about my battle with depression and anxiety, and songwriting has become one of the main ways that I’m able to process and even combat the sometimes crippling feelings that stem from it.”
For someone struggling with depression, or for anyone with a friend who is struggling, colorblind offers the immense comfort of knowing you’re not alone.
Read the full Atwood Magazine review here.
Listen to Mokita perform colorblind here.