Disorders and difficulties
Addiction
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The shame felt in addiction often isn’t toxic – it’s healing
The push to take shame out of recovery is well-meaning. But it overlooks the power this emotion has to motivate change
by Owen Flanagan
Worry and rumination
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What if your worry problem is really a planning problem?
Clinicians have long recognised the link between worry and planning. New research asks what this means for managing anxiety
by Paul B Sharp
Cognitive and behavioural therapies
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Instead of wrestling with self-defeating thoughts, try this
When your own thoughts discourage and undermine you, it’s easy to get tangled. A change of strategy could get you past it
by Joe Oliver & Kristy Potter
Civic life
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Disappointment is not just a feeling – it’s a political force
When political regimes fail us, don’t turn to optimism. It’s disappointment that holds the radical potential for change
by Rafael Holmberg
Grief
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The loss remains, so why does intense grief usually fade?
Grief’s ‘double vision’ beholds both the bereaved and dead. Recognising this duality helps explain our ability to move on
by Berislav Marušić
Virtues and vices
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Social comparison is driving us to despair. It doesn’t have to
In the social media age, it seems impossible not to measure ourselves against others – but we can dodge the worst pitfalls
by Wojciech Kaftański
Psychotherapy
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Think someone should see a therapist? Here’s how to bring it up
Your suggestion could be invaluable, and it doesn’t need to be perfect. These steps will help you get a caring message across
by Kathryn Gordon
Psychoanalysis and the unconscious
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Men’s anxiety about hair loss can have a deeper meaning
As a psychoanalyst, I’ve seen how reflecting on the emotional symbolism of hair loss can be therapeutic for many men
by Tom Wooldridge
Conflict and conflict resolution
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Why being snubbed can make you feel so hurt and enraged
The psychology of ostracism helps explain why you can sometimes shrug it off, yet other times feel the urge to lash out
by Christiane Büttner
Death and dying
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As a society, we’re not death phobic, we’re death complacent
Our culture is routinely diagnosed with an excessive fear of mortality. A calm look at the evidence tells a different story
by Ingemar Patrick Linden
Anxiety
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If you think you are ‘just not a math person’ then think again
Understanding how mathematics anxiety takes root points to ways to overcome it, opening up new opportunities and pastimes
by Nathan T T Lau & H Moriah Sokolowski
Difficult emotions
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Feeling nothing can be as devastating as feeling too much
Emotional ‘emptiness’ is a damaging, underexplored phenomenon. Better understanding it could help steer people to fulfilment
by Christopher J Hopwood