In October of 2022, we released our second Open Call: How might we view healing in mental health through art, letters, stories and poetry following the pandemic? This post will share a transcription of an email interview with Murzban Shroff, a winner of this open call who’s submission, “Therapy for Co-Morbidities,” was published in Issue 2 of the LIGHT Magazine. A special thank you to Murzban for sharing his LIGHT story with us.

Murzban Shroff – Therapy for Co-Morbidities

Q: Tell us a little about your submission and why it relates to healing in mental health. Why did you choose this medium (i.e. art, letter, story, poem)?

A: “I find poetry most effective as a medium when it comes to recognizing and confronting deep unconscious pain or trauma. And that’s what the pandemic was about: global bewilderment. On a personal level, I could remain strangely detached but yet feel, most vividly, the pain of others.”

Q: What motivated you to submit this work to our open call?

A: “The call was most timely, relevant, and even sensitive. A much-needed initiative.”

Q: What inspired this work?

A: “It was part of a series I was working on – in order to track the progression of the pandemic.”

Q: Why do you think creativity matters in public health space / in the health fields? 

A: “Because creativity or writing is essential therapy. It helps you to confront your blocks, your fears, and deal with your most covert emotions and exercise them. You go through this therapy yourself and then offer it to others: your readers.”

Q: How does your submission reflect your artistic style or personal voice?

A: “My voice in poetry is almost always unstructured, spontaneous, a kind of untouched, uncensored truth-telling.”

Q: How has LIGHT provided you with a platform or space to express yourself through creativity or process personal experiences?

A: “Given our mutual interest in public health and well-being, I would like to see this become a more vibrant and proactive collaboration, especially through channels of social media and like-minded audiences. We need LIGHT more than ever, given that power structures seem hell-bent on destroying the world and widening fissures between communities, classes, and countries. LIGHT is what we need when night descends on us, engulfs us; it’s what enables us to see ourselves and others more clearly.”

Issue 2 of the LIGHT Magazine is now available for purchase in our shop!

LIGHT is currently looking for donors and/or sponsors to help us keep our project going. If you are interested in supporting our publication, please email us at info@light4ph.org.

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