One thought that has sat down in the doorway of your mind and will not move. Whatever else you try to reach — sleep, work, a conversation — you have to step over it first. The word never says the thought is important; it only says it is in the way, and that it has been there too long.
可以想成有一個念頭坐在你心裡的門口，怎麼趕都不走。你想去做別的事——睡覺、工作、跟人聊天——都得先從它旁邊繞過去。這個字從來沒說那個念頭有多重要，它說的是那個念頭擋在路上，而且待得太久了。
From the word’s history
From Latin obsessus, the past participle of obsideō ‘to sit on or in, to remain, to besiege’, made of ob- ‘before, in front of’ + sedeō ‘to sit’. The same family gives possess and session.
來自拉丁文 obsessus，是 obsideō（坐在…上、留著不走、圍城）的完成被動分詞，由 ob-（在前面）加 sedeō（坐）組成。possess、session 也是同一支。這正好對上今天的核心畫面：一個念頭像圍城的隊伍，坐在門口不散。
Wiktionary entry ‘obsess’ (source_ref kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:818210556:15328), etymology_text supplied in this evidence packet
登入就可以看每一支怎麼連回核心畫面。