Where Freud was the arch-detective of the unconscious, Carl Jung became its high priest. Influenced by myth and religion more than by the scientific method, Carl Jung’s influential ideas represent the farther reaches of psychology, at the boundary with mysticism. The art of interpreting the unconscious reached new levels of sophistication in the work of […]

Freud did not invent the idea of the unconscious mind, but he certainly gave it substance and brought it to wide attention. His work had a profound effect on society, and there is no doubting his status as an intellectual giant of the 20th century. But what was it that led Freud to his revolutionary theories?

In the 19th century, hysteria was a common diagnosis, describing a condition in which psychological problems were transformed into dramatic physical symptoms. Doctors still study these curious and debilitating effects. The ancient Greeks thought that the womb was a free-floating organ that could move around the body, creating problems – any mysterious ailments in women

There are times when we are less alert than we would like to be. Sometimes, these feelings of lethargy can persist, making us feel unfulfilled and as if we are wasting time. However, there are ways to increase your level of alertness in almost any situation. Here are six simple techniques that you can try.

Alertness is a key aspect of consciousness. When we are not alert, we do not function at the peak of our mental ability. Maximizing alertness, therefore, helps us to function more efficiently. It can also help us to avoid potentially dangerous errors, for example, when driving, working with machines, or making vital decisions. The difference

Perception is more than just seeing. Our version of reality comes both from the raw material we pick up from our senses and from the beliefs, desires, memories, and expectations that we use to interpret this material. For this reason, the way two individuals experience the word may be very different. Most people have much

Speculation on the influence that personality and attitude can have on health crops up regularly in the media. But what are the facts behind the stories? Does stress inevitably make people ill? Are happy, fun-loving people less likely to suffer illness? Are some people condemned to ill health simply through personality? And is it possible

Conscious thinking is the surface layer of the mind. Beneath it, the unconscious brain stores knowledge, which, although it may not be consciously accessible, forms the source of our hunches and intuitions. ‘Tuning in ‘ to this knowledge involves circumventing the conscious mind and observing what emerges from the unconscious alone. Sometimes, of course, intuition

An enormous amount of research has been carried out to try to establish links between personality and health. Although there is little that anyone can do to change fundamental personality, there is much that can be done to modify self-destructive behavioral traits and reduce health risks, such as poor diet, lack of exercise, high-stress activities,

Try to imagine yourself without memory. What would be left of your identity? Memory is far more than the sum of past events and knowledge – it is what makes us what we are. The human definition of self rests on this mix of collective and private experience. Like any human ability, memory does not