Last year, a friend went through the dual blow of a liquidation and a breakup, leading to mild depression and somatization. I comforted her by saying: “Apart from life and death, nothing in life is truly major. See yourself as the protagonist of Earth Online, and everyone else as NPCs—including your ex-boyfriend, and even me.” It’s essentially adopting a third-person perspective. Later, she said she tried it—not instantly, but her pain and emotional exhaustion did ease somewhat. Just like Xiao Mao’s comment said: “Go for it!”
