Popular
Psyche’s most popular Ideas, Guides and Films
Ageing
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Rather than fearing getting old, here’s how to embrace it
Whether you are 20 or 90, each moment of life presents an opportunity to focus on what really matters to you
by Berit Lewis
Stories and literature
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Your life is not a story: why narrative thinking holds you back
Our stories help us make sense of a chaotic world, but they can be harmful and restrictive. There’s a liberating alternative
by Karen Simecek
Grief
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Grief is not a process with five stages. It is shattered glass
The five stages describe a grief that’s knowable and controlled. An accident in my kitchen helped me find a truer metaphor
by Joshua Thomas
Decision-making
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Why small annoyances can harm us more than big disruptions
A largely forgotten psychological concept helps explain the insidiousness of minor problems – and what to do about it
by Shayla Love
Architecture
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How the buildings you occupy might be affecting your brain
Cutting-edge research in the field of neuroarchitecture is revealing the public health implications of building design
by Cleo Valentine & Heather Mitcheltree
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
The self
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What makes some of us crave self-insight more than others?
Some people have a powerful desire to understand themselves, but their path to self-knowledge is rarely straightforward
by Christoph Heine
Technology and media
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Why teenagers are deliberately seeking brain rot on TikTok
Talking to teens reveals a hidden sophistication to their media use. Rather than policing it, maybe we could learn from it
by Emilie Owens
Altered states
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William James was right about our strange inner experiences
Rather than Freud’s cynicism or Jung’s enthusiasm, we need an inquisitive approach to unusual forms of consciousness
by David Yaden
Play
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The achievement society is burning us out, we need more play
This is about more than a self-help switch – it will take structural changes to reject capitalism’s productivity obsession
by Alec Stubbs
History of emotions
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Schadenfreude: why do we find joy in the pain felt by others?
A brief history of schadenfreude – taking pleasure in the misfortune of another – from ancient China to Charlie Chaplin
by David P Barash
Psychoanalysis and the unconscious
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Three ways to get in touch with your Shadow self
Jung believed we all have a Shadow self. Facing up to it could help you live more fully and be more forgiving of others
by Ruth Williams