What your Fave Noah Kahan song says about your mental health

Written by Shelby Synder, LCSW

“Endin’ of August, the bugs are just starting to die”

What Your Fave Noah Kahan Song Says About Your Mental Health

By Shelby Snyder

If you’re anything like me, Noah Kahan’s new album has been on repeat since it was released in April of this year. Wondering what your favorite track says about your mental state? And some suggested therapy skills to try to help? Follow along while your friendly neighborhood therapist dissects the lyrics from a clinical POV.

If your favorite song is….

Doors

Clinical POV: whew! How’s that repressed anger treating ya? Making it hard to let anyone close? While simultaneously being terrified that they’ll leave you? We call that a fear of intimacy my friend, and it’s okay, you’re not alone.

Clinical Intervention: Check out an Anger Iceberg to become more aware of how anger often manifests as unmet needs and fears. Developing an awareness of the messages emotions try to bring us is an important part of building intimacy and closeness with ourselves and others.

Downfall

Clinical POV: I’d be willing to bet that resentment has become your middle name. I’d also be willing to bet that you’ve started subtly giving that anger away in moments it doesn’t belong to. I’m going to hold your metaphorical hand when I say this, but in therapy we’d call this being passive aggressive.

Clinical Intervention: Study the 4 communication styles. We often get stuck in cycles of passive aggression after long periods of feeling unseen, unappreciated, or unheard. Speaking our minds becomes uncomfortable or ignored, so we stop, but the pain and need to be understood doesn’t go away, it just comes out in other ways. The best way to break that cycle is to work toward becoming more assertive.

Willing and Able

Clinical POV: You and a family member share different points of view on a shared topic or situation. It’s hard not to get stuck in our own rigid narratives. But, you’re willing and able which shows us there’s hope for a path forward. That’s good news!

Clinical Intervention: Practice validation, first of yourself, then of others. An easy favorite is “It makes sense that ________” example: “It makes sense that I feel angry, my feelings are hurt.” Once you’ve done that, try validating someone else using the same phrasing. Example: “It makes sense that you’re sad, you feel excluded.” Validation is a great beginning tool for deeper understanding and empathy.

Porch Light

Clinician POV: You’re watching something or someone you love be negatively impacted by an outside force in their life. You’re holding out hope that they’ll get better but you’re starting to get tired and maybe a little angry. In spite of that, you keep extending kindness toward them in hopes that it helps. 

Clinical Intervention: Identify an unmet need of your own and meet it. Care taking and worrying about others, while often based in love and compassion, can quickly drain us of our internal resources. Use a wellness wheel or take a Rest Quiz to see where you may need some support. 

Feeling personally called out? Need more than just a blog post for this kind of support? The clinicians at Arches are here and happy to help unpack any song lyrics that call you out or land a little too close to home.