Schopenhauer on the Danger of Excessive Solitude

The German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer is well known for his defence of solitude; as he said, “A man can be himself only so long as he is alone; and if he does not love solitude, he will not love freedom, for it is only when he is alone that he is really free.” Distinct from…

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The Anatomy of Cringe

What is the reason for the modern fascination with cringe? The past decade has seen the proliferation of cringe compilation videos (which can generate millions of views), as well as the growth of specific forums where such content is shared, like the various cringe-related subreddits: r/Cringetopia (1.7 million members, at the time of writing), r/cringepics…

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Solo Travel Can Act as Self-Guided Exposure Therapy for Social Anxiety

When looking back on the time I spent travelling solo, I can see how helpful it was for overcoming some level of social anxiety. I wouldn’t have ever called this kind of anxiety debilitating, but it’s always been there in the sense of relying on alcohol to feel relaxed socially – to have the social…

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What We Know About the Benefits of CBD Oil

CBD oil has many health benefits. People use it to treat many health complications and mental disorders such as anxiety. So, what is CBD oil, and how is it made? To make CBD oil, the CBD is extracted from the cannabis plant, and mixed with a carrier oil. These are oils like coconut oil and…

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Why Does Social Anxiety Exist?

Social anxiety is a debilitating nervousness of being in social situations, which affects up to 12% of people in the UK. This makes it the most common type of anxiety disorder (for comparison, generalised anxiety disorder is present in 6% of the UK population). Common symptoms of social anxiety disorder include intense worrying about interactions…

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