“Dear Me” A Sneak Peek at a Music Video that Started in Group Therapy

“Dear Me” A Sneak Peek at a Music Video that Started in Group Therapy

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Dear younger me, you started this song back in therapy . . .

So begins the lyrics to David Thomas’ charming and upbeat song “Dear Me,” which he did, in fact, start writing as an exercise in group therapy a few years back when he was participating in an outpatient program after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

So life got hard. If you fight it, you’ll never get very far . . .

David is a talented Philadelphia-based singer/songwriter and performer, who, until COVID struck, was performing at a Center City piano bar four nights a week. The pandemic hit, and, according to David, “I went from being a rock star four nights a week to playing my keyboard in my living room,” he said.

Don’t worry, you’re doing OK.

“This summer, it really hit me. I was feeling so depressed and secluded, and I felt like I needed to start writing and saying something about what was happening,” David said. “I started writing about my journey, and mental illness.”

Dear present me, you’re just getting started to some degree. Trying to find your identity, in this little game called life . . .

I read about David’s new vein of songs in an article in The Philadelphia Inquirer that charted the progress of different artists during the pandemics. His album-in-the-works documents, in song, his mental health journey from college age to now. (Full disclosure: I also met David through a family member). I was instantly won over by the down-to-earth, positive outlook David has on life and its challenges, and after hearing a demo version of “Dear Me,” I suggested that we record his first “single” for the album, and film an exclusive video for OC87 Recovery Diaries.

Dear me, I know it feels like sometimes you’re drowning, but take it from us—you are enough. You are enough.

The filming and audio record (pursued with rigorous COVID protocol precautions) was very successful—and I’m anxious to share it with the OC87 Recovery Diaries community in the coming weeks.  In the meantime, here’s a little preview: some pics from the shoot, and a quick zoom intro to David B. Thomas, or DBT.

Dear future me, I hope that you find what you’re looking for. Even if it’s not what you wanted before. But whatever you do, do it for you.

EDITOR IN CHIEF: Gabriel Nathan | EDITOR: Glenn Holsten | DESIGN: Leah Alexandra Goldstein | PUBLISHER: Bud Clayman

See Related Recovery Stories: BIPOC Mental Health Recovery Stories, Bipolar Disorder, Depression, Mental Health Short Films

Glenn is an award-winning director who loves to create compelling documentary story experiences of all lengths for screens of all sizes. He is an avid reader, studied literature in college, and his passion for stories with strong characters and interesting narratives stems from those years. His career as a visual storyteller began at WHYY (the public television station in Philadelphia) where he worked for 15 years before becoming an independent filmmaker. In addition to his PBS documentaries about arts and culture, he has directed films about justice and human rights, and now, mental health. He was emboldened to undertake his current documentary project, Hollywood Beauty Salon, a colorful feature-length documentary about surviving mental illness and finding the courage for recovery, after his transformative experience directing OC87: The Obsessive Compulsive, Major Depression, Bipolar, Asperger’s Movie, along with Bud Clayman and Scott Johnston.