Dehradun, Oct. 10 -- Grow Up, Gently
When I trained as a psychotherapist in Vienna, there were no dating apps. I met people on my cycling routes, at expat book clubs, and in long, unplanned conversations on the subway.
Nothing was a means to an end. My grandmother used to tell all her grandchildren, "Everything is happening for your own good." Today we might call it the law of attraction. Back then it was simply how we lived. A film, an ad, or a scrawl of graffiti could inspire me. A low phase was an invitation to go deeper and find out what was blocking me.
Today, among the people I work with, young, middle-aged, and everyone in between, I see escapism has moved in. It is rarely the first problem, but excessive indulgence in it is often...