Psyche Magazine

When I first met Bill* at a Los Angeles coffee shop I frequent, I thought he was homeless. He was wearing a rumpled, food-stained shirt, and his hair was a matted-down tumbleweed that hadn’t been cut or washed in years. I was surprised to learn that this shuffling, dishevelled figure was a successful illustrator for a popular TV show. His downcast mood seemed to have changed one afternoon when I saw him glide past the palm trees in the coffee shop’s courtyard.

https://player.vimeo.com/video/1155145440 ‘You must do something to make the world more beautiful.’ The Canadian filmmaker Kelly O’Brien is known for her diaristic, poetic short documentaries that reflect on parenting and family. In Most of the Time I Can Just Be, O’Brien films her daughter Emma on a Toronto subway platform.

Confessions of a teenage fundamentalist My world was dark and scary. But beautiful things crept in, and threats of hell just couldn’t compete by Liz Boltz Ranfeld Severe joy I wanted conviction to tell me if I could be gay and Catholic.

Traditional and tech-based methods can reveal what your practice is doing – and give you the confidence to stick with it by Matt Fuchs, health and science journalist Photo by Lekcje/Getty Images Photo by Lekcje/Getty Images Matt Fuchs is an American journalist and editor whose work explores science, health and psychology.

How to find your voice Do you sometimes feel silenced or afraid to speak up? Learn to use your natural voice and be heard for who you really are by Sophie Scott How to come out of your shell You don’t have to be outgoing. But if being introverted is holding you back from the life you want, dive in for a way out by Christian Jarrett Why do we make snap judgments based on facial appearance?

https://www.youtube.com/embed/9bcDkyNM7EI In the events series Letters Live, performers read letters – old and new, original and written by others – in front of a live audience. In this video from an event at Freemasons’ Hall in London in 2016, the US actress Gillian Anderson reads a remarkable 1924 letter from the US writer and disability rights advocate Helen Keller to the New York Symphony.

A personalised alternative to antidepressants is on the way A form of personalised, at-home, brain-based treatment for depression is getting close – but is psychiatry ready for it?

Julius Kaspar, as told to Bharath Thampi The fish market at Thoothoor, Tamil Nadu in South India. Photo by Jeff Rotman/Alamy The fish market at Thoothoor, Tamil Nadu in South India. Photo by Jeff Rotman/Alamy Julius Kaspar has been hunting sharks off the southern coast of India for 37 years. He spoke to Bharath Thampi in Malayalam. Listen to this article 9 minute listen The first time I caught a shark on my own, I must have been 16 or 17.

Do networking events fill you with dread? Here’s how to manage your fears, show up, and take advantage of the opportunities by Fallon Goodman, clinical psychologist Photo by Peter Marlow/Magnum Photos Photo by Peter Marlow/Magnum Photos Fallon Goodman is a clinical psychologist and psychology professor at George Washington University in Washington, DC.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/0UDW1fuTv2g Sexual obsessive-compulsive disorder is a prevalent subtype of the condition. However, for people who experience it, it seems anything but commonplace, as distressing intrusive thoughts deeply at odds with their own moral compass lead them to wonder if they’re sexually immoral. When the condition is untreated, it can feel like they are harbouring a deep secret that can never be spoken.