Key points

"Main character energy" emerged as a trend to reclaim agency, but does it replace the work needed for healing?

Social media has turned self-healing into performance, confusing the appearance of healing with growth.

Empowerment comes from embracing your messy story, rather than a curated perfect narrative.

Having "main character energy" means acting as if your life is a movie. You're always on the verge of cinematic transformation, with a deeply aesthetic sense of self, perfectly timed lighting, and a killer soundtrack.

In part, it’s affirmation. In part, a coping strategy. In part, it’s an online presence.

The phrase exploded on social media in 2020 and quickly became the go-to term for reclaiming agency and romanticizing your own life.

You’ll see it in captions and con

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