Dodie Clark

Musician, poet, author, youtuber.

Not an uncommon arrangement of words for young musicians of this generation.

However, Dodie is different.

She deals on a daily basis with mental health issues.

Depersonalization, depression, and anxiety.

These three words are all apart of her life. For a lot of people, these can take them over. For Dodie, it helps her realize how important the good days are and to savour them. It reminds her that having bad days are okay, she just has to treat herself well instead of being frustrated that she has to deal with it.

Dodie has found two things that allow her to deal with the three issues that are affecting her negatively.

In 2011, Dodie joined Youtube. Since then it has been a place for her to share her music, thoughts, and how she’s doing. Evidently, Youtube has become a place for her to let everything out regarding her mental illnesses, and rough and happy times in life.

There is one video she made, ‘I am depressed today’. She shares how her bad days go and how horrible she feels, but the little things that make her slightly more content. In her intro she says “hello I’m Dodie, and I am depressed today. But that’s okay!”, making it clear she controls her depression, it doesn’t control her. In other videos she talks about dealing with problems in her life, and I have a feeling creating these videos around issues that are prominent in her life really help her cope.

Dodie has also found through music she can express how she’s feeling in a more sophisticated way, with hidden messages. Dodie recently wrote a song called ‘6/10’. This beautiful song is about an insecure girl who thinks that she isn’t worth anything in this world and everyday ,when she wakes up, she doesn’t feel like she is at her best. This song was a way for her to get her frustrating thoughts somewhere else. Through song writing, Dodie has found a way to take the negative thoughts in her head and put them to use for good.

Dodie might not even know this, but she provides a great amount of aid to her viewers trying to navigate through life. Especially to me.

Through her videos she has taught me that bad days are okay and make sure to treat yourself well. Tips for panicking and overthinking. Learn to love being too dramatic. Cutting ties with someone who impacts you negatively. How to love your insecurities. To treasure being young because soon you won’t be anymore, and so so much more.

There have been times when I’ve felt lost or lonely, but as soon as I pull up Dodie’s youtube channel and have a few good laughs or even a few good tears because I can relate to her so much, I feel refreshed.

If I ever had the chance to meet her, this is what I’d say.

‘Dodie, you have been there for me through everything. I’ve spent whole days watching your videos just because you have taught and helped me more than any counsellor or friend can. I admire you for your talents and strength so much, keep doing what you do because you are doing great things!’