Please check in on your introvert friends. We might not be doing as well as you think

A new study suggests introverts are experiencing more loneliness and anxiety than extroverts due to the pandemic. As I’ve found myself, it turns out there is such a thing as too much time at home

You’ve got to laugh: why a sense of humour helps in dark times

Humour makes us more resilient, creative and resourceful – and is more important than ever during a pandemic

Gail MacColl Jarrett obituary

Other lives: American editor and author who retrained as a relationship counsellor on her move to the UK

The irresistible lure of island life

What is it about islands which so fascinates, and soothes after time spent in cities? By Gavin Francis

Dreading a dark winter lockdown? Think like a Norwegian

Studies show people living in the Arctic Circle are armed with a mindset that helps combat the long ‘polar night’. It might come in handy for us all…

My search for life on other planets kept me going when my husband died

For Sara Seager, star-gazing offered a sense of perspective when tragedy struck

The ‘serendipity mindset’: how to make your own luck

Seeing meaning in the unexpected can help turn mistakes into opportunities, says researcher Dr Christian Busch

PTSD insulated me – until I was forced to confront a terrible trauma

It was only when I started collapsing – violently, dangerously – for no apparent reason, that I began to understand the impact of being kidnapped 25 years earlier

My face blindness is embarrassing – but it tells me a lot about other people

I grew up thinking I just didn’t fit it. Now, I immediately tell people I can’t recognise faces – and their response is a good measure of kindness versus ego

Why it’s sensible to be silly

Serious times call for serious measures – such as drawing smiley faces on fruit – and what’s more, the science proves it, says Elle Hunt