Life stages

Self-knowledge and personal growth Relationships, work and leisure Values and ethical living

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Three people sitting on a colourful tiled bench; two are laughing, and one older person holds a cane and looks pensive, with greenery in the background.

Personality

idea

There’s a reason some of us find it easier to change than others

There is a personality trait we carry throughout life that explains why some of us find it easier to change than others

by Amanda J Wright

A painting of a man with his arm round a seated woman in a wooded area.

Love

idea

Working, flirting and sex: courtship in 18th-century France

Flirting, sex and affection: working-class couples courting in 18th-century France show they are not so different from today

by Julie Hardwick

Photo of two smiling women in a pool wearing floral swim caps and sunglasses using pink flamingo inflatables, with bunting flags in the background.

Friendship

guide

How to make friends as an adult

Friendships give us so much. Be bold, take the initiative, and you’ll be surprised how many people are pleased to connect

by Marisa G Franco

Monichrome drawing of a bearded man with a hat, holding a pole, facing a striped lighthouse on an island, both reflected on a calm body of water.

Poetry

film

Sail through Shakespeare’s melancholic soliloquy on life’s seven stages

Directed by Jérémie Balais and Jeffig Le Bars

Older woman sitting on beach chair; older man lying on a towel with head on a ball; colourful umbrellas and buildings in the background.

Sex and sexuality

idea

Human bodies change through life. So does our sexuality

Sexual identity is more than sexual orientation. It develops and changes as our bodies develop and change through our lives

by Jana Byars

A skull adorned with colourful flowers, butterfly, and foliage, resting on a table with a candle, scroll, and bone.

Meaning and the good life

idea

The immortalists have got it wrong – here’s why we need death

The immortalists say beating death will lead to peace. But what if mortality is our bittersweet path to love and harmony?

by Susan Cain

A boy wearing a cap and t-shirt sits alone on white stadium bleachers, looking to the side with his arms crossed.

Loneliness

guide

How to overcome the loneliness of youth

It’s extremely common to feel lonely when you’re young. Many strategies can help, the key is finding what works for you

by Lily Verity & Pamela Qualter

Mountain biker in orange gear riding at sunset on a dirt trail in a desert landscape with sandstone cliffs in the background.

Freedom and choice

film

Meandering with purpose across the US, on his mountain bike, aged 71

Directed by Brandon Watts

Death and dying

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I thought I knew everything about death. Then grief struck me

Even though I grew up in Death World, and still live there, it couldn’t prepare me for being my family’s sole survivor

by John Troyer

Two older men sitting on a red bench in a park overlooking the ocean, with trees and the sun shining through.

Ageing

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Older people are battling despair, but Erikson offers us hope

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a mental toll on older people. The psychoanalyst Erik Erikson offers a way out of our despair

by Jane Adams

Black wire sculpture of a person dancing, with a sketchy background of buildings, trees, and a street in black, blue, and red.

Parenting and families

film

When a young woman leaves home, her parents’ world literally begins to unravel

A film by Dina Velikovskaya