Seeing “Hi Ren”: The Song That Changed My Mind About Mental Illness
Before you watch the video at the bottom, I should explain something. I’m 70, and for most of my life, I never gave much thought to mental illness. I never experienced it myself, and I never really knew anyone who did. I was always one of those “just get on with it” types. I’ll admit, I was even sceptical about things like PTSD.
Then I watched a video called “Hi Ren.” It isn’t just a song. It’s a piece of performance art so raw and gripping that it tore straight through my scepticism and made me understand something I’d never felt before.
From the very first note, I realised it wasn’t just music. It felt like stepping into someone else’s reality, a brutally honest glimpse of the kind of struggle that many people live with quietly.
I watched it once, then twice. By the third time, I was tearing up. Not because I suddenly understood psychosis or chronic illness, but because it helped me feel what it might be like when your mind turns against you, when nothing feels certain and fear becomes a constant presence.
This song isn’t just about mental health. It’s a lesson in empathy. It strips away distance and exposes something profoundly human that many of us prefer not to face. For someone like me, who has always seen mental illness from the outside, it was a powerful reminder that some battles are invisible but no less real.
I have a newfound respect for art that does more than entertain. Hi Ren made me stop, think, and soften long-held assumptions.
If, like me, you’ve never really thought deeply about mental health, give it a watch. It might just change how you see things.