‘Our conversations were always about her!’ How to recognise – and escape – an emotional vampire

Do certain ‘friends’ leave you feeling drained and demotivated every time you meet? You need to have a word with them – and yourself

Anxiety can make you fear the worst, but don’t let it ruin your life

Accepting uncomfortable truths will help you embrace the joy of living

Do you tell yourself you’re happier than you are? Stop the gaslighting

Acknowledging your disappointment, rage or despair is a gift to yourself. This truth is the foundation from which a better life might grow

Being a writer and opening a restaurant are total opposites…

But in the end, Simonetta Wenkert managed to combine her two vocations

The big idea: how to use your senses to help beat depression

Our research suggests that it’s not sadness per se that leads to poor mental health, but shutting down input from the body. ‘Sense foraging’ offers a way out of the trap

My father, a handful of spoons and his journey into dementia

Looking through old cutlery was a safe haven for my dad after he became lost in ‘dementia land’

Do you strive to be in control of your life? It might be holding you back …

Beyond being in or out of control, there is an alternative – and it’s one of the building blocks to living well

A stitch in time: why clothes are such vivid reminders of the life we’ve led

What we wear tells the world who we are, but open any wardrobe and the clothes reveal deep memories of our true selves

Learning carpentry from my father helped make me the person I am

As I have learnt to shape the timber, I’ve shaped my ideas, my character

I love Springsteen and my daughter is a huge Swiftie – and that’s created a bridge between us

How our mutual love of music – and interest in each other’s tastes – brought my daughter Laila and me closer together

Linking two realms: efforts to tap real-life potential of lucid dreams advance

Scientists show it is possible to control a virtual car and switch on real-world kettle from inside a lucid dream

My dad’s dying gift to me: a love of butterflies

This small miracle was a kind of transformation in itself

‘I’m like a steamrollered cartoon character: totally flat’: the agony aunt who couldn’t feel anything at all

Like many of my letter writers, I have periods of feeling totally ‘meh’ about life. What is anhedonia and can I find a cure?

Should artists be terrified of AI replacing them?

There’s no point in panicking about AI – it’s already on its way By Rudi Zygadlo

‘Ear-marvellous’: how to enjoy the music and sounds of the world that surrounds us

A fuller appreciation of the sounds that surround us can transform your life