I’ve been handed a surprising number of armchair diagnoses by people close to me. Where did this entitlement come from?

Well-meaning conversations where strangers or friends speculate about your mental health have become an inescapable part of life in the post-therapy-speak era - (Getty Images)

At my roommate’s birthday party recently, I noticed a set of tapered dinner candles flickering dangerously in the breeze from an open window. When everyone headed upstairs to the roof, leaving the apartment empty, I suggested we blow them out. My roommate waved me off, but I decided to do it anyway — just to be safe.

Later that night, one of her friends pulled me aside.