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The African American singer and pianist Nina Simone is pictured alone, singing against a spotlight that resembles a moon in the darkness. She has her eyes closed.

Emerging therapies

idea

Could that tingle down the spine be a way to rediscover joy?

In new research, scientists have looked into the potential benefits of giving people with depression the aesthetic chills

by Shayla Love

Sticky reminder notes are seen on a mirror and on various other items on top of a chest of drawers

The self

idea

What my mother’s sticky notes show about the nature of the self

Dementia accelerates a process we all experience, as our memories become increasingly externalised into the world around us

by Crispin Sartwell

A close-up of a man using an online betting platform on his smartphone. The phone screen lights up a darkened room

Addiction

guide

How to control your gambling

What’s fun at first can all too easily get out of hand. Learn the warning signs and use these tips to rein things in

by Luke Clark

Close-up of a closed metal door-chain on a wooden door

Worry and rumination

idea

Should you confront your worries or try to banish them?

Psychotherapists have long believed it’s a bad idea to suppress worrisome thoughts, but new research is prompting a rethink

by Shayla Love

A close up of a vibrant yellow-gold tulip flower

History of ideas

idea

I smell, therefore I am. On the philosophy of the olfactory

To truly grip us, philosophy must engage with the practical and animalistic. It’s time to stop turning its nose up at smell

by Simon Hajdini

Sex and sexuality

film

Sarah recalls how sex, religion and shame have intertwined in her mind

Directed by Lori Malépart-Traversy

Spirituality and religion

idea

UFO belief is a modern outlet for ancient spiritual yearnings

Even when it’s not explicitly religious, belief in alien visitors resembles our oldest ways of making sense of the world

by Francesco Dimitri

Difficult emotions

guide

How to enjoy your problems

Accepting your problems is one thing. To enjoy them? Well, that’s pretty much enlightenment. Here’s how to get there

by Chelsea Harvey Garner

A woman seen from behind and bathed in dawn light is looking out through a window to a forest

Altered states

idea

The small pleasures in life can produce moments of rapture

Rapture is a delight that turns us both towards the object of attention and towards oneself, resulting in a sense of freedom

by Christopher Hamilton

Emotion regulation

idea

The psychology of impatience could make waiting more tolerable

New studies on the experience of impatience suggest there’s more to it than simply how long you’ve been left hanging

by Matt Huston

Place

film

The clutter of a used bookshop forms an evocative metaphor for memory

Directed by Diego Quinderé de Carvalho

Thinkers and theories

idea

How the feminist philosopher Helene Stöcker canonised Nietzsche

Despite Nietzsche’s reputation for misogyny, his work inspired a leading women’s rights activist of the early 20th century

by Lydia Moland