Main Character Syndrome

BIBLIOTHERAPY: CAN READING HELP TREAT YOUR DEPRESSION? , dazed

Bibliotherapy, a form of therapy that uses literature to improve mental health and overall well-being, is on the rise, with trained bibliotherapists prescribing books to clients — millennial and Gen Z women primarily, it seems — based on their individual needs. The practice aims to prov... See more

But the secondary problem is American individualism, which compels bourgeois Americans to focus what small amount of energy we have either on optimizing ourselves (exercise, skin care, “self-care”) or on our very close familial circle (that amorphous, ever-expanding activity known as “parenting” that includes everything from making Spirit Week cost... See more

The shusher, meanwhile, knows that shushing won’t have a lasting impact. The decency revolution is not coming anytime soon. But in the meantime, a stranger in a theater might appreciate that you’ve tried to protect what little peace we have left in public.

“[O]ne of the highest pleasures is to be more or less unconscious of one’s own existence, to be absorbed in interesting sights, sounds, places, and people,” Watts wrote. “Conversely, one of the greatest pains is to be self-conscious.”

Shushing was once commonplace, if a little snooty and silly. Now, however, a phone-addicted culture has made us all seemingly oblivious to just how annoying we are in public. Our ways of being annoying have worsened: People take pictures at the cinema, flash on; they watch entire movies on the train without headphones. As selfishness is normalized,... See more