Difficult emotions
Love
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Why it can be sublime to love someone who doesn’t love you back
Unrequited love might be bitter and painful, but it is also the ultimate expression of your humanity. Don’t fight it
by Alexandra Gustafson
Psychoanalysis and the unconscious
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Dark feelings will haunt us until they are expressed in words
Continued mental growth requires dealing with alexithymia, or the inability to express emotions through words or images
by Tom Wooldridge
Worry and rumination
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Stuck in a loop of worrying thoughts? Here’s how to stop it
Dwelling on your difficulties might feel like problem-solving, but it can be pernicious. There are tools to stop the habit
by Megan L Rogers
Difficult emotions
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The ‘melancholic joy’ of living in our brutal, beautiful world
Beyond simple contentment or despair, there’s a ‘melancholic joy’ in looking, clear-eyed, at our brutal, beautiful world
by Brian Treanor
Emotions
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What makes hate a unique emotion – and why that matters
How does hating someone compare with anger, contempt or disgust? A clearer picture of what makes it unique is emerging
by Cristhian A Martínez
Love
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Your partner’s infidelity needn’t be a relationship catastrophe
Infidelity needn’t end a relationship: many people have affairs for reasons that have nothing to do with their partner
by Dylan Selterman
Difficult emotions
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Most anguish isn’t an illness but an evolved response to adversity
An anthropological view shows us that the root causes of depression and anxiety are usually social conflict and adversity
by Kristen Syme & Edward H Hagen
Difficult emotions
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A new approach to therapy promises to tackle neuroticism head-on
Therapy often focuses on symptoms of specific disorders. Targeting a high-risk personality trait could be more efficient
by Shannon Sauer-Zavala
Parenting and families
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It should be OK for parents to express regret about having children
Regret is common to all humans. So it’s no surprise that some parents regret having children: it shouldn’t be a taboo topic
by Jenna Abetz & Julia Moore
Laughter and comedy
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A sense of humour – even a dark one – is a moral virtue
A sense of humour is a moral virtue that can help people flourish, even in dire conditions that are conducive to unhappiness
by Mark Alfano & Mandi Astola
Mindfulness and meditation
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Meditation is like mountaineering: approach it with care
We speak of meditation as exercise, something that’s good for everyone. But, like scaling a mountain, you must use caution
by Nicholas Van Dam
Grief
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There is consolation in a philosophical approach to grief
Grief feels bad, but that doesn’t mean we’d be better without it. By highlighting what we value, it can help us adapt to loss
by Michael Cholbi