Even with proper educational support, children with dyslexia can still be vulnerable to low self-esteem. In this week’s Guide, our experts offer practical ways for parents and caregivers to recognise early signs of self-esteem struggles and actively support a stronger sense of self
Philosophers and psychologists have puzzled over the allure of tragic art. New findings show how sadness can be a comfort. An Idea by Tara Venkatesan
Whether you are a newcomer to the neighbourhood or you’ve lived there for years, learn to look closer and deepen your connection. A Guide by Gabrielle Bendiner-Viani
Growing up under Tunisia’s hijab ban, Safa Belghith had to navigate immense pressure from a young age. She’s always felt proud of how resilient she became in response, and now works as a trauma researcher – but despite her research, she struggled to acknowledge her own trauma
Chances are you’ve procrastinated sometime this week. Perhaps you’re even procrastinating right now? You’ll be pleased to find out that not all forms of procrastination are created equal, as this Note to Self explains – and there are even positive ways to do it
In this effervescent short documentary by Art21, the Icelandic visual artist Ragnar Kjartansson explores how the changes that shaped his home country also shaped his identity as an artist – and how his ethos of ‘giving things a try’ influences his creative practice
Why do we like sad art? From ancient tragedies to Sad Girl playlists, humans have been drawn to negative feelings in art for millennia. Combining her two areas of expertise, the cognitive scientist and operatic soprano Tara Venkatesan decided to find out why
‘Wherever people use a neighbourhood, they leave traces’ writes Gabrielle Bendiner-Viani in today’s Guide, where she describes how to get to know your neighbourhood better through practices of listening, noticing and taking part
Psyche Latest videos Take a kinetic, punk-infused run with a blind marathoner Directed by Reuben Armstrong
Absolutely thrilled to have our film featured in the brilliant Psyche Magazine @psyche.co
Feels awesome that Phil’s story has crossed the pond and been spotted by a journo in New York 🤘🤪
psyche.co/videos/take-...
The capacity to be alone depends on the sense of being held psyche.co/ideas/the-ca... The overwhelm of grief and parenthood showed me what psychoanalysis assumes – we need to be held to feel safe in solitude. Psyche Idea by @elizabethdyerphd.bsky.social @psyche.co
I wrote a piece for Psyche Magazine about how intimacy makes us vulnerable, why we should seek it despite its risks, and how thinking more carefully about the nature of intimacy can enrich our understanding of our own experiences and help us to be better to each other.
Do you know that feeling when… when… That feeling when… yes, exactly, that feeling when the next word in the sentence you were just uttering magically disappears? This TED-Ed video zooms in on what’s happening inside our brains during such ‘tip-of-the-tongue’ moments
To be close to another person is to enter uncertainty: no guarantee of how you’ll be seen or whether what you reveal will be met with care, indifference, or misunderstanding. Yet as @jasminegunkel.bsky.social writes, ‘It is only through intimacy that we can be accepted in the fullness of our selves’
Delivering sincere compliments is a skill you can learn – and, done well, it’s an easy way to spread more joy in the world. A Guide by @claritygeek.bsky.social
Ever feel ‘hangry’? What about ‘hundecisive’? To address the gaps in our emotional vocabulary, the writer Hannah Seo simply invent new terms – a fun language game that actually has some science behind it, as she shares in this Note to Self @hannahseo.com
Recent research gives some credence to running subcultures that have long believed in cannabis’s ability to boost the natural ‘runner’s high’. But is it actually true? The psychology researcher Michiel van Elk embarked on a self-experiment to find out
‘Giving more compliments has brightened my life,’ the communications teacher @claritygeek.bsky.social writes in this joyful Guide on how to diver compliments. Learn how to up your compliment game with her breezy how-to, from choosing the right details to not sweating potential awkwardness
In recent years, millions of young people have turned to chatbots for mental health advice. But while they can ‘deliver a pastiche of validation’, LLMs lack the capacity to truly witness us, the psychologist and AI researcher Wasseem El Sarraj writes in this thoughtful Idea
For someone experiencing a panic attack, fear can become an all-consuming feedback loop. In this short video, clinical psychologist Dr Julie details researched-backed do’s and don’ts to dampen symptoms in the moment, and to make future attacks fewer and more manageable
Forests thrive through hidden networks of cooperation and care, reshaping how we understand nature. In this Portrait, Erica Gies traces Suzanne Simard’s journey from groundbreaking ecological discoveries to embracing Indigenous knowledge, urging us to rethink our relationship with the Earth
Does freedom or control benefit society more? In this fascinating discussion from 1972, B F Skinner, the father of radical behaviourism, debates the benefits and drawbacks of behavioural engineering with the English philosopher Geoffrey Warnock @openuniversity.bsky.social
Solitude can feel profoundly restorative. But, when overwhelmed by responsibility and grief, the psychotherapist Elizabeth Dyer found that being alone didn’t provide respite anymore. This gentle Idea proposes that for solitude to feel restorative, we need to feel held by our environment
Needles, spiders, flying, high places – specific phobias are among the most common and treatable mental disorders. Having treated specific phobias for over 20 years, the clinical psychologist Bunmi Olatunji has crafted this Psyche Guide on how to identify them and get help
The question of ‘What if?’ has been an obsession of historians since the 1990s, what they call counterfactual history. But how can we think about counterfactuals in our own lives?
For the writer Adrienne Caldwell, her autism diagnosis meant she finally belonged somewhere. Hence she felt utter shock when, years later, her psychologist suddenly ‘revoked’ his earlier assessment – because her capacity for empathy went against his understanding of autism
‘An Exercise in Perspective’ asks the question: what does the world look like when you lose your sight? Infused with vivid colour of memory, raw energy of punk rock, and the sense of release Harrison found in running, the film offers an immersive portrait of his irrepressible spirit and perception
Does being a good person actually make you happier? Or is there some tradeoff between doing good and feeling good? Jessie Sun’s psychological research gives the question an empirical test and offers a nuanced look at what it really feels like to try to live well
We’re naturally bad at predicting what will make us happy. This #InternationalDayofHappiness, we’re sharing a short video with a data-backed approach on how to build a happier life over time
