Disorders and difficulties
History and philosophy of mental health
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One woman’s six-word mantra that has helped to calm millions
Ahead of her time, yet largely ignored by psychiatry, Claire Weekes taught millions of readers how to overcome anxiety
by Judith Hoare
Love
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Love shouldn’t be blind or mad. Instead, fall rationally in love
Blind, all-consuming love goes against your interests and impedes your flourishing. Submit your love to rational scrutiny
by Berit Brogaard
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
Depression
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Depression is more than low mood – it’s a change of consciousness
Understanding depression as an altered state of consciousness, like a dream or drug trip, could help people awaken from it
by Cecily Whiteley & Jonathan Birch
Personality disorders
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What the new science of narcissism says about narcissists
What the new science of narcissism tells us about its nuances, and how to avoid its darts while gaining from its strengths
by W Keith Campbell & Carolyn Crist
Mental health
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The brain’s reading of the body’s state is key to mental health
The neural basis of ‘interoception’ – the interpretation of bodily signals – is affected in many mental health conditions
by Camilla Nord
Human nature
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Do humans really have a killer instinct or is that just manly fancy?
The killer-instinct idea achieved such cultural power because it came embedded in gripping stories about human nature
by Nadine Weidman
Mental health
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Mental disorders aren’t diseases, they’re networks of symptoms
Mental disorders are usually seen as the causes of symptoms. In the network perspective, symptoms are causes themselves
by Richard J McNally
Gender
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The reality of prostitution is not complex. It is simple
Prostitution is not sex and it’s not work. Its reality is far from complex – in fact, it’s simple. Trust me, I’ve done it
by Rachel Moran
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
Stories and literature
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The plague novel you need to read is by Bachmann, not Camus
In Ingeborg Bachmann’s Malina, the plague isn’t a biological virus, it doesn’t cause lockdowns, but it is killing us
by Lyndsey Stonebridge
Anxiety
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Anxiety isn’t a pathology. It drives us to push back the unknown
‘I’m anxious, therefore I enquire.’ Anxiety isn’t a problem to be solved; it drives philosophical enquiry and makes us human
by Samir Chopra