I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokpokki

Maybe it just plays better in Korea with its BTS recommendation and possibly different norms around therapy. Here in the West being able to take part in therapy is more a point of class distinction, while social media has normalized the open and frank discussion around mental illness to the point people are falsely laying claim to neurodivergent traits for a strange sense of clout. Still there is the thrill of eavesdropping on a therapist / client conversation and, at least for me, repeated feelings of recognition. But then again the self-loathing, tendency to extremes, body dysmorphia, insecurity, and general melancholic malaise discussed here — well isn't that just the current resting state of just about everyone in our social media saturated world?

Maybe it can provide some sense of relief to those suffering from mild depression, or at least a sense of being seen. That is huge and I don't want to dismiss the value others may find. Maybe I'm oblivious, I'm the dog, drinking coffee, being engulfed in flames exclaiming “This is fine” but the book just didn't work for me.