Character Study
Women's Health US|December 2022
Learn how to embrace the starring role you play in your life without pushing others off the stage.
Lindsay Geller
Character Study

Sweat pours down my face. My thigh muscles ache as my sneakers pound the pavement. I want to give up, but I don’t. I can't. So, I put on Breathe” by Michelle Branch. By the time the chorus reaches its pinnacle—‘Tf I just breathe...everything will be all right”—I'm in a full-out sprint. I’m the star of my own early-aughts rom-com in which, after the requisite heartbreak, self-discovery, and tear-filled reunion, everything really will be all right. 

It’s both a privilege and a too-of untapped power to believe that it'll work out—happily ever after—but having faith in the outcome allows me to have faith in my ability to get there. Now, whenever I run to a song that allows me to tap into what's called main character energy,’ I feel myself increasing speed, improving form, even smiling between breaths. And all because I think, it had an audience, what would I want them to see?

I've spent enough years navel-gazing, both at the personal and the professional level, that when "main character syndrome" started trending on TikTok and Instagram in 2020, I wasn't surprised that a term had emerged to define this tendency. I only wondered why it took so long.

From a psychological perspective, main character syndrome (MCS) is an "intentional way that a person thinks of themself as the key player in their life and views it through a storytelling lens, like a movie or TV show," says clinical psychologist Ramani Durvasula, PhD, a professor emerita of psychology at California State University at Los Angeles and the author of Don't You Know Who I Am?: 

How to Stay Sane in an Era of Narcissism, Entitlement, and Incivility. In other words, to be the main character is to see everyone else as a potential sidekick or nemesis. Either way, they only matter in terms of their connection to you.

Denne historien er fra December 2022-utgaven av Women's Health US.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra December 2022-utgaven av Women's Health US.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA WOMEN'S HEALTH USSe alt
Silver Linings Playbook
Women's Health US

Silver Linings Playbook

You can learn how to become more optimistic, no matter your starting point.

time-read
6 mins  |
November - December 2024
THE RISE of the GENTLE C-SECTION
Women's Health US

THE RISE of the GENTLE C-SECTION

How a new surgical practice is transforming women's childbirth experience

time-read
4 mins  |
November - December 2024
The Next Health Tech Revolution Is Here
Women's Health US

The Next Health Tech Revolution Is Here

From smart watches to tracking apps, devices are providing valuable insights.

time-read
7 mins  |
November - December 2024
Planting New Roots
Women's Health US

Planting New Roots

Six late-bloomer lesbians\" share their stories of how they learned to live—and love—authentically.

time-read
8 mins  |
November - December 2024
GROWING FORWARD
Women's Health US

GROWING FORWARD

Country singer KELSEA BALLERINI is working harder than ever to shake (and remake) old patterns that no longer serve her. Here, she opens up about her intentional journey and shares her mental health musts.

time-read
7 mins  |
November - December 2024
"Learning to Ski at 57 Helped Me Embrace Uncertainty"
Women's Health US

"Learning to Ski at 57 Helped Me Embrace Uncertainty"

Tackling something new-and terrifying was exactly what one freshly single midlifer needed.

time-read
6 mins  |
November - December 2024
Grain Gains
Women's Health US

Grain Gains

This cozy quinoa salad paired with juicy chicken thighs clocks nearly 50 grams of protein.

time-read
1 min  |
November - December 2024
Healthy Eats, Delivered
Women's Health US

Healthy Eats, Delivered

It might be possible to say soodbye to grocery stores forever. But should you? yee

time-read
4 mins  |
November - December 2024
Shower Power
Women's Health US

Shower Power

How one writer improved her mental health by connecting with her body

time-read
4 mins  |
November - December 2024
Scent Solutions
Women's Health US

Scent Solutions

What was once a taboo subject-body odor-is now a convo more and more people are happily having.

time-read
4 mins  |
November - December 2024