When strangers interact, they underestimate how liked they are by one another. When we are vulnerable, we underestimate just how positively people view our vulnerability. When we reach out to friends, they appreciate it more than we think. One of the most effective ways I encourage people to try to make friends is by showing them that it won't be as uncomfortable as they think.
Norris clinched his maiden championship with a gutsy and well-measured drive to third in a tense Abu Dhabi finale, but it was an achievement built on a lot more than that one result alone. As Laurence Edmondson wrote on Sunday night, Norris' victory was the culmination of a season of self-doubt and rebirth, a vindication of the raw openness that he has made his calling card.
Guts typically refer to "innards," and truth and compassion live at the core of an ever-deepening relationship. Referring to someone as having "guts" typically denotes some measure of bravery. That's also true when a couple commits to truth-telling accompanied by compassion. Revealing what lives at our core takes courage, and expressing it without being offensive demands practice. It is only too easy for a shaming smirk or an amplified tone to hurt the listener.
The captivating cover photo by Fey Willbrandt sets the tone for an EP that seamlessly connects to her previous achievements. The lead single, "Ich hasse, wenn", introduced Amelie to a wider audience, making waves across various playlists, including Fresh Finds GSA. This track features alongside six other songs in the EP, showcasing her delicate arrangements and engaging storytelling that explore themes of embarking on new journeys, vulnerability, and self-discovery.
Diagnosis transforms the clinical aesthetics rooted in Anastasiia Gerasymova's upbringing within a family of doctors into sculptural fashion. Anastasiia Gerasymova is a Ukrainian stylist and sculptural artist based in London, whose work often bridges fashion, art, and personal narrative. Drawing from the visual language of the medical world, precision, sterility, and the tension between care and control, the editorial reinterprets these references through styling and form.
In childhood, he felt like he did not belong to the small cultish church of his family, a fact and internal pain he minimized. The spirit of the church did not fit, and he felt a pull to what became the shadows of sex. Pornography, prostitutes, and internet obsession drew him increasingly into a secret life. He felt an outsider, and the not belonging represented an unanswered need for security.
It feels like we are living in a time where the primary relationship skill people learn is how to protect themselves. We are trained to look for red flags, to not be "too trusting," to stay guarded, in control. And sure, some of that is necessary. But we do not realize that we have become very good at protecting ourselves...and very bad at connecting with each other.
As a couple's therapist, I am asked by many couples how they can have great, passionate sex. One of my first encounters regarding powerful sex was reading the book Passionate Marriage by sex and relationship therapist David Schnarch. He used the phrase wall-socket sex to represent the highest form of sexual connection, one that arises not from emotional fusion or validation-seeking but from two differentiated, self-validated individuals who can remain fully present, emotionally exposed, and erotically alive in each other's presence.
There's a moment in Black Panther (2018) when T'Challa stands before his father in the ancestral plane, wrestling with what kind of king-and what kind of man-he's supposed to be. He's torn between duty and doubt, between the world's expectations and his own quiet hopes. That scene captures something I've seen, and lived, in real time. Many of us were raised to believe that strength is the only language we're allowed to speak.
People often associate asking for help with weakness or a loss of agency and control. It requires a lot of vulnerability to admit when we're struggling and need a hand. Yet, no one makes it all the way through their life without having needs. At one time or another, hardship finds all of us. Whether it's an illness or injury, financial stress, career troubles, emotional pain, or loneliness, we all struggle. It's what makes us human.
This editorial traces a boyhood unbound, where gestures are authentic and clothing is exploratory. Evoked is the disrobed sensuality of the 2010s imagery, a time when being a teen meant shared playlists, blog posts and unrealistic dreams. Here, fragility is embraced and used for quiet unrest. There is no calling for comfort in a solid identity, but prolonged curiosity is satisfying enough.
While Jamaicans cowered as Hurricane Melissa approached, Leanne Archer, a research associate in climate extremes at the University of Bristol, said the hurricane was "yet another stark reminder that islands such as Jamaica face the brunt of accelerating extremes amplified by climate change, despite being among those who are the least responsible for the problem". Yet even as climate activists insist Earth is not dying, but being killed, too many are still ready to deny climate change even exists.
Loneliness can be one of the most painful human emotions. It is not just the absence of people but the absence of connection. You can be surrounded by others and still feel unseen, unheard, or misunderstood. Loneliness is not a flaw. It is a signal. It is your inner self asking for something deeper than company. Here are five things to remember when loneliness begins to feel too heavy to carry.
Within three months, this capable professional was questioning their entire career, and the isolation bled into relationships with their partner, family, and friends. Then came the turning point: seeking help through their Employee Assistance Program, working with their GP, and finding the language to name what was happening. Today, they report stronger team bonds, restored creativity, and clarity of thought.
I have completely lost it. Bruised, battered, beat, and busted down, I've created such a fortress around me that I don't even let kindness in, that is if I even see it at all. But when I do see it, you can be sure it feels odd, and I even shut myself off to it because I'm so numb to giving or receiving kindness.
Depressingly, this seemed normal in the 00s and demanded a specific type of vigilance. As well as trying to look perfect for every date, there was also the effort of trying to be perfect: bright and funny and engaging and fragrant, but also vaguely unavailable. Endearingly kooky was OK; but I didn't want to come across as weird. Misery and anger were off limits. I never risked showing I cared. No wonder love had failed to launch.
On the small screen, Wood specialises in vulnerability the kind of characters who survive life despite having a layer of skin missing. You watch in the nail-biting hope that their courage will be enough to see them through and that the people they meet will be kind. It makes sense that Film Club, Wood's first foray into writing (with Ralph Davis), is built round another variation on this theme.
When we were supposed to be on holiday but weren't, I kept feeling a tug towards finding the positive: I can book a replacement trip; At least we have travel insurance; This'll give me something to write about. But I never felt better, just a bit depressed. And then I would bump up against the reality that this holiday really was gone: my husband's surgery required frequent agonising dressing changes, and there is a limited time window for an enjoyable break on the Belgian coast.
In his book The Narrative Brain: The Stories Our Neurons Tell, he points out that most of the Grimm brothers' fairy tales center on the vulnerability of their heroes. This vulnerability is often borne out of an earlier trauma-abandonment or orphanhood, for example-which leaves its character hypervigilant to danger and presumably with a certain level of cunning at recognizing and responding to that threat.
Connect to Communicate Emotional attunement is more important to maintaining connection than the words we use. Emotional demeanor- body language, facial expressions, eye contact, and tone of voice-is the primary mode of communication in love. Effective communication is a function of connection-caring about each other's well-being. When partners feel connected, they communicate well. Communication techniques can help you feel heard but not connected.
For some men, anger is the emotion they are most familiar with. Ask one of these men how he feels and you are likely to get a puzzled expression, unless, of course, he is angry, in which case he is often quite clear about how he feels. Some families have adapted strategies over the years to either avoid or manage men's unacknowledged anger.
Constructed from antique paper and the thorns of wild roses, Owen's sculptures suggest fortresses, reliquaries, and dreamlike towers. Their tapering forms strain upward, yet their surfaces are creased, stitched, and scarred, holding a quiet gravity. In Owen's hands, stability feels precarious, and foundations seem half-remembered, the scarred surfaces of her forms suggesting both skin and structure. Hidden recesses suggest stories of touch, damage, and sacred encounter.
Rising from my seat at the front table, a familiar acid burn crawls up my throat. It's that failure lump I've carried for the past 16 months. Today is somber. My late wife Jane's celebration of life. She died just over a month ago after a 15‑month battle with leukemia. More than 250 friends and family members fill the room, waiting for me to deliver her eulogy.
I felt like I was asking her if she wanted to make out. The Big Lebowski-the 1998 Coen-brothers movie about bowling, pot, and mistaken identity-is one of my favorites, and I was nervous about introducing it to her. I like to use Lebowski quotes as a way to assert myself while, like Jeff Bridges's character, "the Dude," not taking things too seriously.
There is something graceful, practically effortless about how the band's contrasting elements-Elizabeth Stokes's beautifully delicate vocals, Jonathan Pearce's fuzzy, catchy riffs, Tristan Deck's driving drums, and all four members' shimmering harmonies-come together to create power pop gems that simultaneously feel modern and like they'd be topping the college rock radio charts in 1989. The level of musicianship is so high, so consistent, that four albums in, you could almost take the quality of a Beths album for granted.
"Republicans are implementing a blueprint to displace democracy with a government powered by Christian nationalism and techno-fascism. Conservative estimates count at least 10 million people having their healthcare ripped away."
