Misery, failure, death and a slap in the face. Great advice for life from James Hollis

Don’t interpret What Matters Most as self-help cheesiness. This blunt and refreshing work by a follower of Jung is a radical and humbling way of thinking about psychology

Memory loss: what makes people forget who they are?

When amnesia strikes, people can forget everything about their life, including their name. But what causes memory loss? And what happens to people who lose themselves for an hour, a few months – or even for ever?

Worrying: A Literary and Cultural History review – ennui and its origins

Francis O’Gorman’s study of why we worry covers everything from medieval monastic life to modern cultural theory without really providing any answers

Why CBT is falling out of favour

‘Researchers have found that CBT is roughly half as effective in treating depression as it used to be’

Psychosis isn’t catching but burnout is a risk for many caring professionals

Staff regularly dealing with traumatic situations are at risk of mental health issues, employers must ensure they are well supported

Is life’s happiness curve really U-shaped?

Ageing doesn’t mean a steady descent into misery – evidence suggests that happiness is likely to increase as we head towards old age, but is it that simple?

Horses that heal: how equine therapy is helping people find peace of mind

Horses make great companions for psychotherapy because they can mirror and respond to human behavior. And crucially, ‘there’s no judgment with a horse’

Teen suicide rates are bleak. School- based clinics help those in crisis

One in 25 teens attempt suicide and one in eight think about doing so. Yet teens are especially ill-served by mental health services

Gossip has lost its way: it started out as a survival instinct, but has warped into the Sidebar of Shame

According to a professor of evolutionary psychology, gossip has a bigger effect on your life expectancy than anything except giving up smoking. Should you start dishing the dirt, or is it better to resign yourself to an early grave?

Why do we dream? You asked Google – here’s the answer

Every day, millions of internet users ask Google life’s most difficult questions, big and small. Our writers answer some of the commonest queries

OurChemist

Our Chemist – Health