One of the defining traits of humanity – other than our intelligence – is just how smart we think we are. Since the dawn of civilisation humans have believed themselves to be superior to every other life form on the planet and have acted in accordance with this world view. Humans – Not All That? …
Few experiences are so excruciating as continuing to love someone who has ceased to love you. But can you really switch off so powerful a feeling as love? People who find themselves in such a situation often have to endure the cliches of well-meaning friends, from “he was never good enough for you” to, worst …
Everyone has wasted time at some point. You can probably think of a time when you browsed the Internet or went for a run just because you didn’t want to deal with the project or conversation waiting for you. Procrastination can be a killer. If you want to live your best financial life, have functional …
First I’d like to set something straight: there is no such thing as a subconscious. This is a term used constantly, even by psychologists, but actually it’s a misnomer at best. Freud, who first postulated that there may be things going on in our brain that we aren’t aware of, originally described ‘unconscious’ thoughts not …
Benzodiazepines are a type of drug prescribed by doctors and psychiatrists in order to treat anxiety, depression and insomnia. These drugs have a mild sedative effect and can help to ‘calm the brain’ thereby reducing the severity of racing thoughts and ruminations that lead to anxiety and difficulty sleeping. Benzodiazepines are generally considered safe for …
For most of us, the idea that we form our reality for ourselves has to be accepted gradually. Such a concept contradicts most of the basic “assumptions of life” that we’ve learned in the course of growing up. The heart of any kind of inner work revolves around learning to create our reality consciously. The …
Many parents look forward to the teenage years. At last, they think, I shall be finished with dirty diapers, plastic toys, and tedious cartoons. Instead of a child to look after, they will have an adult to talk to, an equal with whom they can form a new kind of relationship. Mothers imagine going clothes …
Other than just being much tireder, the brains of insomniacs have some marked differences that may shed a little light on what’s happening and potentially how their condition can be treated. By understanding what’s going on inside the brains of insomniacs we can maybe better understand why they struggle to get to sleep and how …
If you subscribe to an evolutionary description of human psychology, then you will believe that most of our behavioral traits are actually the result of our evolutionary history. We are afraid of snakes because they would have eaten us in the wild. We are altruistic because it’s necessary for us to live in groups. And …
When Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin announced that they were “consciously uncoupling” but remained good friends, it was greeted with much sniggering and ridicule. Yet, however irritating the phrase may have been, such a calm, even affectionate, divorce is possible. Of course, there are frequently good reasons for anger and hatred; abuse, neglect, and infidelity …
