Popular
Psyche’s most popular Ideas, Guides and Films
Identity
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I rebuilt my self-esteem by changing the story of who I am
I once clung to a dubious family legend to help me cope with a difficult childhood. I’ve since found a better story to tell
by Patricia Olsen
Emotion regulation
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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
Worry and rumination
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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
Altered states
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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
The self
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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
Emerging therapies
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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
Virtues and vices
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The medieval notion that shows why even experts should be humble
Nicholas of Cusa and others saw the importance of ‘learned ignorance’ or recognising there is always something more to learn
by Christopher M Bellitto
Thinkers and theories
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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
Spirituality and religion
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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
History of ideas
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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
Transcendent experience
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Our days are both rough and slippery. Hope brings traction
I want to defend and buoy hope – it’s a fragile, quirky thing, but it has the power to help us act in the face of finitude
by John Lysaker
Mind and brain
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What is it like to remember all the faces you’ve ever seen?
They’ve been studied by researchers and recruited by police forces, but what’s it actually like to be a super-recogniser?
by Shayla Love