Words of hope and Anger
Penny Pepper is an author, poet and disability rights activist. Here she celebrates her successful career and speaks out against the current government’s drive to deprive disabled people of the…
Journeying home
At 70, Chris decided to begin counselling to understand himself and what he’d been through better. Accessing his hospital records was a significant and clarifying experience, and as he opened…
Who we care About is Limited – but Humans can Expand Their ‘Moral Circle’
When it feels like so many people are in need of compassion, how do we decide where to direct it? By Dr. James KirbyAssociate Professor in PsychologyThe University of Queensland By Dr. Charlie CrimstonLecturer…
How to be poor and Happy
It has been assumed for centuries that the wealthier you are, the happier your life will be. As far back as ancient Greece, Aristotle was arguing that things like material…
How I Escaped my Anxiety and Depression Through Architecture and Poetry
After social anxiety led him to introversion and silence, the brutalist architecture of London’s Barbican Estate inspired Rhael ‘LionHeart’ Cape to find liberation in poetry. Here, he writes about his…
Ways Appear
Chris threw himself into his chosen career – teaching. In the absence of a wife and family of his own, the groups of pupils he taught became, in some ways,…
The Meaning of Happiness
How do we describe what it means to be happy? In this extract from ‘The Book of Human Emotions’, cultural historian Tiffany Watt Smith charts how the definition of happiness…
Living with less for Spiritual gain
Can throwing out possessions make you happy? Some professional declutterers garner millions of followers online and preach the satisfaction of a pared-down environment. Kate Wilkinson finds this is nothing new…
Chemical highs and Psychedelic Research
Some believe psychedelic drugs could be the fast track to happiness – and new mental health research seems to suggest these compounds do have positive effects. Kate Wilkinson tracks down…
Religion and Mental Health
As a young person, Jamila Pereira relied on her religion to console her and the people in her church to support her. But during the most difficult time of her…
