In Sensory Deprived, Brett Gleason explains the experience of detachment from reality and self in simple yet loaded terms. The lyrics describe being suspended within absence was more of an existence to endure rather than a life lived. Gleason depicts a specific type of emotional numbing due to the reality of conflicting orders to act right this moment while perpetually doubting every single decision.

The emotional disconnection is stifling. And so is returning to everyday decision making. The concerns voiced do not seem to stem from any single emotion, but rather the circumference of emotions that exist within a void. This lack of feeling, alongside dread and self-scrutiny is what makes the song unsettling. When talking of dissociation, the distinction between describing and engaging ceases to exist.

The lyrics also convey a great deal of loneliness. Any hint of affection or any form of connection is immediately followed by self-doubt and suspicion. To be “sensory deprived” expresses perfectly how life can feel in one’s anxiety, trauma, or mental health issues. It isn’t that he’s a void of emotion, it’s that everything is slow, muted, or far away.

Gleason’s poetic prose is raw and lacking in overt dramatics. He doesn’t provide glib solutions or answers. Rather, he depicts alons with imagine the wound of navigating mental intricacy in a society hell-bent a straightjacket of imbalance- the final lines about hiding behind “sad blue eyes” evoke profound vulnerability coupled with retreat into window of safety breaching himself. Sensory Deprived perfectly captures the power of lyric writing and gives a name to the struggle of staying anchored while the world spins off its axis.