Happiness
Friendship
idea
Is it better to have friends who are like you or different from you?
Studies of longterm friends offer surprising insights as to whether friends who are more or less alike tend to endure
by Christian Jarrett
Happiness
idea
As a psychiatrist, I’ve seen how chasing happiness leads to misery
My clinical work has shown me that happiness is a ghost that’s not worth pursuing – there are far wiser goals in life
by Rafa Euba
Meaning and the good life
guide
How to be a happy nihilist
Exhausted by the modern pressure to squeeze meaning out of every moment? Here’s a radical way to reset your priorities
by Wendy Syfret
Friendship
film
Fatu treks into the glamorous unknown during his first outing in makeup
Directed by Iiti Yli-Harja
Personality
idea
To improve your life, consider changing your personality
New research supports the idea that intentionally developing certain traits is not only possible, but comes with benefits
by Christian Jarrett
Emotion regulation
idea
Asking one simple question can entirely change how you feel
Positive and negative emotions respond differently to ‘affect labelling’ – the act of giving a name to your feelings
by Christian Waugh
Laughter and comedy
guide
How to laugh more
You don’t have to wait to be amused, there are ways to train yourself to enjoy the ‘cheap medicine’ of laughter every day
by Freda Gonot-Schoupinsky
Home
film
Life on Bruny Island, population 750, is suffused with trade-offs and joys
Directed by Guido Pezz
Neuroscience
idea
The fascinating science of pleasure goes way beyond dopamine
Pleasure and happiness are too important for our mental health to be reduced to the single brain chemical dopamine
by Dean Burnett
Emotions
idea
There’s something in my eye: why we happy-cry and what it does for us
Happy tears are often neglected in emotion research. But there are many types, and they have an important function
by Janis Zickfeld
Happiness
film
There’s transcendence in skating – just ask the man they call ‘Slomo’
Directed by Josh Izenberg