The original optimist, Leibniz, was mocked and misunderstood. Centuries later, his worldview can help us navigate modern life ...

I always thought I could be an asocial primate. I cannot.’ How microbes helped James connect with the human-scale world ...

A ‘no pain, no gain’ mentality might make sense when striving for change – but don’t confuse discomfort and distress ...

Clinicians have long recognised the link between worry and planning. New research asks what this means for managing anxiety ...

When your own thoughts discourage and undermine you, it’s easy to get tangled. A change of strategy could get you past it ...

is a lecturer and researcher in psychology at the University of Plymouth, UK, specialising in performance coaching in sport, exploration, business, the military and healthcare. He is the co-founder of ...

is a neurosurgeon and the author of the book Gray Matters: A Biography of Brain Surgery (2024). He lives in New York City.

is a clinical psychologist and accredited therapist working as a senior fellow in the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford and at King’s College London.

Psyche is a digital magazine from Aeon Media that illuminates the human condition through psychology, philosophy and the arts.