Joy

Photo of smiling people in festive nature-inspired costumes with leaves and flowers, outdoors against a stone building.
JOY
3

How to start having more fun

Fun isn’t frivolous – it’s vital for your wellbeing. Here’s a step-by-step plan to bring more pleasure into your busy life

by Mike Rucker

Black-and-white photo of a man walking past another dressed as a bishop on a cobblestone street at night.
DIFFICULT EMOTIONS

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

Black and white photo of a person with headphones on eyes closed hands raised appearing to enjoy music.
DIFFICULT EMOTIONS
21

How to enjoy your problems

Accepting your problems is one thing. To enjoy them? Well, that’s pretty much enlightenment. Here’s how to get there

by Chelsea Harvey Garner

Photo of a person falling near running bulls on a cobblestone street during a bull run event, with legs and hooves in motion.
HISTORY OF EMOTIONS
9

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

Photo of a crowd watching an event at night, faces lit, some taking photos, children in colourful hats by a barrier.
WONDER AND THE SUBLIME
3

How to experience more wow

Awe might seem an unobtainable luxury to many but, with the right approach, you can enjoy it daily – no mountain required

by Summer Allen

Two women seen from behind seated on a bench viewing a large four-panel painting of a cloudy sky in an art gallery.
BEAUTY AND AESTHETICS

You can be aesthetically sensitive and know nothing about art

Aesthetic sensitivity is not about being correct in your judgments of beauty, but rather how much you’re affected by it

by Guido Corradi

A man sitting on a chair in a lush garden with blooming flowers, a cobbled path, and a red garden shed in the background.
PLEASURES AND PASTIMES

A club for ‘dull men’ may just inspire you to see the unremarkable anew

Directed by Andy Oxley

Black and white photo of people playing on a beach. A woman sits on a man’s shoulders holding a ball, others move around them.
HISTORY OF EMOTIONS
3

The journeys taken by emotion words shape our inner lives

Changes to the meanings of euphoria, enthusiasm and ecstasy over time chart the ever-shifting territory of the emotions

by Tim Lomas

Photo of a sumo wrestler in traditional attire, making a facial expression, with an audience in the background.
EMOTIONS
4

There’s something in my eye: why we happy-cry and what it does for us

Happy tears are often neglected in emotion research. But there are many types, and they have an important function

by Janis Zickfeld

A person drinking next to a large poster depicting steaming coffee cups on a green background.
JOY

A way to enjoy more positive mental images

Psychologists have tested a way to seed ‘involuntary positive mental images’ in the brain. You can try it for yourself

by Christian Jarrett

Woman in a white dress standing in front of a geometric quilt in a garden setting with trees in the background.
TRADITIONAL ARTS

Beauty is woven into everyday life for the quilters of the American West

A film by Carly Jakins and Jared Jakins

Photo of a man holding a hand-drawn sketch of himself on a city street, wearing a blazer with a colourful patch.
Psyche Exclusive
PLEASURES AND PASTIMES

Bad art, good laughs – a street portraitist’s lacklustre work animates a city

Directed by Rosie Baldwin