Author: Ania Dimond-Koroza
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When “Chemistry” Is Actually Anxiety
You meet someone and suddenly your brain has abandoned all other responsibilities. You’re supposed to be working, but you’re thinking about them. You tell yourself you’re not going to check your phone, then check it anyway. Nothing. You put it down. Two minutes later, you check again. Still nothing. Then, finally, their name appears on…
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Your Feelings Know More Than You Think: Why Being Rational Isn’t Always Enough
Emotions are often treated as the opposite of rational thought: something to control, suppress or overcome. Yet psychological and neuroscientific research suggests a more complex relationship between emotion and cognition. Feelings can provide information about threats, values, needs and interpersonal situations before these are consciously understood. At the same time, emotions are shaped by previous…
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Happiness is a terrible goal. We’re chasing the wrong thing.
If you ask people what they want from life, happiness is usually near the top of the list. It’s one of the few ambitions that almost nobody questions. Yet psychology suggests we’ve been asking the wrong thing of ourselves all along. Happiness is often something we experience as a consequence of living well, not something…
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The ADHD Meltdown That Nobody Talks About
When people hear the word meltdown, they tend to picture autism. The image is familiar: sensory overload, bright lights, too much noise, a body pushed past its limit. But there’s another kind of meltdown that lives mostly in the shadows — the ADHD meltdown. It doesn’t look the same, it isn’t triggered the same way,…
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Why willpower is less about strength than it seems
There is a familiar explanation for behaviour change: some people have willpower, others do not. One group gets up early, sticks to routines, eats well, stays focused. The other struggles, drifts, gives in. The difference is usually treated as character. It is a neat story. It also doesn’t quite survive contact with everyday life. Because…
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Clingy or Connected? The Real Difference Between Codependency and Healthy Love
Clingy or Connected? The Real Difference Between Co-dependency and Healthy Love Ever found yourself constantly worrying about your partner’s mood, trying to fix their problems, or feeling guilty when you do something for yourself? Or maybe you’ve heard phrases like “we do everything together” or “I can’t live without them” and wondered — is that…
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Dopamine Addiction. Why the Click Myth Doesn’t Tell the Whole Story.
Everyone talks about dopamine like it’s some secret drug hidden in your phone. One click, one like, one scroll, and boom—you’re hooked. Social media is supposed to be addictive, right? But here’s the truth: it’s not that simple. The idea that every little ping from your phone floods your brain with dopamine and keeps you…
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The perfectionist who couldn’t stop proving himself
Daniel thought his relentless standards were the reason for his success. In therapy, he discovered they were also the source of much of his unhappiness. Daniel spent almost an hour rewriting an email. It wasn’t a particularly important email. Nobody’s job depended on it. No major decision would be made because of it. It was…
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Perfectionism isn’t about high standards. It’s about fear
We tend to think of perfectionists as driven people with high standards. But psychologists have long argued that perfectionism is less about excellence and more about avoiding criticism, rejection and the fear of not being good enough. There was a time when describing yourself as a perfectionist sounded almost like a humblebrag. During job interviews,…