Siddharth Mishra's Key Ideas from The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows
by John Koenig

The interplay between existence and imagination.

• Chrysalism captures the tranquil intimacy of being indoors during a thunderstorm. It mirrors the human tendency to seek comfort in isolation amidst chaos, reminiscent of Emily Dickinson's poetic retreat into solitude.
• Kairosclerosis unpacks the paradox of consciously experiencing joy while simultaneously intellectualizing it, leading to its erosion. This aligns with how over-documentation of happiness on social media often dulls the moment's authenticity.

Onism portrays the frustration of being confined to one body and one perspective. It parallels existential concepts like Heidegger’s "thrownness," where one is aware of being trapped in a finite existence.

Ex: Imagine standing on a train platform, watching destinations you’ll never explore. Or when scrolling through Instagram, envying lives you’ll never live—a tangible form of Onism.

The awareness that this moment will become a memory.

Navigating the self as an uncharted psychological landscape.

• Agnosthesia defines the bewilderment of not knowing your true emotions, like searching for lost keys in a foggy room. It's a modern analogue to Freud's theory of the unconscious shaping our choices.
• Liberosis, the yearning to care less, reflects society's obsession with control and perfection. Think of Marie Kondo’s method of discarding items that don't "spark joy" as a form of Liberosis in action.

Rubatosis, the unnerving awareness of your heartbeat, exposes the fragility of human life. It’s the same awareness that strikes during a near-miss accident.

Ex: A person scrolling through their favorite playlist for hours, unsure why a specific song makes them cry (Agnosthesia). Or the bittersweet decision to decline an extra work shift for self-care (Liberosis).

The feeling that the plot of your life doesn’t make sense to you anymore.

Examining relationships through emotional micro-lenses.

• Sonder, the realization that strangers lead lives as complex as your own, is a startling shift in perspective. It’s akin to the empathetic narrative style in George Saunders’ short stories.
• Jouska describes rehearsing conversations in your mind. It aligns with behavioral theories around mental simulation as a stress-response mechanism.

The Giltwrights metaphorically embody self-criticism as an imagined jury tracking every misstep, echoing Beck’s cognitive triad of negative self-perceptions.

Ex: Visualize walking through a crowded airport and realizing each traveler harbors their own epic (Sonder). Or obsessively rethinking an awkward comment from last week (Jouska).

The bittersweetness of having arrived here in the future, seeing how things turn out, but unable to tell your past self.

The anonymous yet intimate connections with strangers.

• Kenopsia, the eerie ambiance of an abandoned place, embodies humanity’s innate discomfort with absence. Post-pandemic office spaces exemplify this.
• La Cuna, the sadness of no more frontiers, critiques the diminishing allure of exploration in a hyper-mapped world. Think of how Google Earth robs some of the wonder of physical travel.

Ex: Visiting a once-bustling mall now reduced to silence (Kenopsia).

The realization that each random passerby is the main character of their own story, in which you are just an extra in the background.

Time’s fleeting and bittersweet nature.

• Énouement encapsulates the ache of knowing how life turns out but being unable to share it with your past self. This resonates with life lessons learned too late.
• Zielschmerz, the dread of pursuing a dream and exposing yourself to potential failure, is the psychological equivalent of imposter syndrome.

Ex: Reflecting on old diary entries and wishing you could advise your younger self (Énouement).

The frustration of being stuck in just one body, that inhabits only one place at a time.

Crafting purpose amidst life's chaos.

• Vemödalen, the fear that originality is impossible, critiques how digital saturation erodes uniqueness.
• Ballagàrraidh, the sense of not belonging in the wilderness, contrasts humanity’s romanticized idea of nature with its harsh reality.

Ex: Feeling lost in a sea of indistinguishable selfies on social media (Vemödalen). Or struggling during a weekend camping trip because modern comforts are absent (Ballagàrraidh).