Bouncing back

A new analysis of 24 years of Australian data found a long-term trend of deteriorating mental health among adolescents and young adults is now beginning to rebound.

Stay frosty

A new study followed more than 12,000 older Australians and found that staying socially and mentally active also helps people stay physically fit in older age.

The philosophy of motherhood

The experience of motherhood shouldn’t remain cloistered from view in mothers’ groups but deserves its place in our intellectual, artistic, and public imagination.

A psychopath by any other name…

The traits associated with psychopathy, such as emotional detachment, reduced empathy, and impulsivity, clearly exist and appear in real interactions but rarely present in the clear, consistent way that diagnostic labels suggest.

How to dress for old age

A new book reflects on the emotional and spiritual aspects of ageing, and the impact of watching our parents age and becoming dependent on us just as we once depended on them.

Friends and other strangers

People tend to treat friendship as a kind of optional icing on the cake rather than the dough that holds it all together but what if this script doesn’t make us happy?

Kids need dolls, not digital devices

What’s the point of play? Is it simply a way to keep children occupied, or something more? For some, it’s about learning literacy and numeracy. For others, it’s how friendships form and relationships deepen. But it can be all of these at once, and more.

Goodbye is the hardest word

Life is short and grieving those we lose along the way is a natural part of human existence, but it remains an individual process, rather than a set of stages everyone must pass through.

Waltzing Matildas

Australia’s hosting of the Women’s Asian Cup this year has the potential to rekindle public interest in women’s football and create some more epic moments for the Matildas.

Couples therapy

Research suggests that counselling can help cut the divorce rate among newlyweds, but so does getting couples to watch romance movies together and discuss their themes with their partner.

Play away

We don’t stop playing because we get old, we get old because we stop playing.

Lingering in stillness

A new book by political writer and philosopher Byung-Chul Han explores his love for gardening, which for him is a form of silent meditation or “lingering in stillness” with every plant immersed in its own sense of time.