We’re living in the age of public vulnerability, where people feel comfortable enough to put their grief on display, knowing there are fewer people to judge and more to empathise with. “Trauma dumping” has become a norm in the internet ecosystem: vulnerable oversharers talk about their pain a few scrolls away from cooking videos and dash cam-recorded accidents. More people understand what “anxiety” means, and more are learning how to live with it. Sure, therapy is still often seen as a privilege, but many of us know help is out there even if money or emotional readiness remain barriers. Still, awareness is everywhere. With how often we talk about it online, it should be, right?

So when Late Night Frequency announces a new single meant to “spread awareness” about a mental illness, framing it as a bold act feels like old news. Written by frontman Dr. Moja Salim, a practicing doctor, the track introduces the lesser-known mental disorder Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) to the public. “Instead of having to re-introduce the diagnosis over and over again to new people, putting it in a song as this beautifully simply makes sense for Dr. Moja,” the band said in a statement.

True to its intent, the band names the track without flinching: “Borderline Personality Disorder.” There’s no metaphor to decode, no poetic phrasing to soften the edges of a thorny subject. It’s direct, like seeing your health diagnosis on paper. There’s little elegance to the doctor’s handwriting. The diagnosis is stated plainly, and you watch it stare back at you.

Much of the track gives centre stage to blaring strings mingling with soft synths. There’s a hollow core to it, like it’s meant to comfort but doesn’t quite know how. Dr. Moja sings about the disorder like he’s making a medical explainer on TikTok, trying to squeeze the symptoms and explanations into a short window: “Rasa identitinya pudar / Bagai terpisah dari jiwa / Emosi roller coaster / Tahu hitam putih saja.” The lyrics attempt to empathise, but mostly feel like reading symptoms off Google’s AI Overview out loud. The band has said “70% of the lyrics are exact symptoms and signs of a BPD diagnosis” to help listeners identify their own. It’s supposed to be earnest, but comes off oversimplified. If the goal is simply to list symptoms, wouldn’t a Google search do the job more efficiently?

And just when you’re ready to write it off as a slow burner, it bursts open in its final moments — intended as a firework of happy endings. A sweeping string arrangement coats the illness, the empathy, the awareness in sparkly, weightless glitter that clings to you. You just want to shake it off.