We’ve written about the importance of making and maintaining friendships in adulthood and the benefits of face-to-face interaction. After reading one of these articles, maybe you tried to get your friends together to do something. Perhaps you threw out a text to them, and the resulting conversation went something like this: You: Hey, that new […]
If you want insight on how to make love last, you might ask friends, family, a therapist, or a pastor for advice. You probably wouldn’t think to turn to a divorce lawyer. But my guest, James Sexton, who does that very job in New York City, says there may be few people who have a
What does it mean to act in a moral way? One of the answers the philosopher Immanuel Kant formulated to this question can be paraphrased this way: “Never treat people merely as a means to an end, but always as an end in and of themselves, too.” We all treat people as means sometimes, and
Depression is the most common mental health problem in the world. According to some surveys, about 1 in 10 American adults will experience a major depressive episode in their lifetime. Many more will experience milder forms of long-term low mood, known as dysthymia. Given these numbers, there’s a good chance someone you know and love
A friend recently sent us a post from Cup of Jo, a women’s lifestyle site that was founded close to the time Art of Manliness was, and like AoM, is one of the few blogs from blogging’s heyday that’s still around and kicking. Cup of Jo is known for its engaged readership (its mantra is
Everyone has heard about the incredible benefits that come to mind, body, and spirit from having strong relationships. The quality of our social ties has a huge impact on our physical and mental health and our overall feeling of flourishing. Yet many people still struggle to create these strong relationships in their lives, and often
Friendships are a central part of the lives of both men and women. But from personal observation, you’ve probably noticed that the dynamics of male and female friendships aren’t always the same. You may not, however, have been able to articulate what those differences are or have known what’s behind them. While there’s still a
To countenance the statistics on divorce is to recognize that happy, lasting marriages do not happen by default. In strong marriages, each spouse, rather than sinking into indifference and complacency, makes an effort to do things that leave their partner enamored and appreciative. To find out what kinds of things tend to have this effect
When we think about anxiety, we typically think of something that is generated and felt within an individual. But Murray Bowen, a psychiatrist of the mid-20th century, argued that anxiety was also created by the interactions between individuals and could spread like a contagion in a group, an idea known as “Family Systems Theory.” Here
If you’re a parent, teacher, coach, or manager who lives, loves, and works with tweens, teens, and 20s-somethings, you know that young people sometimes act in seemingly head-scratching ways, that you don’t always feel like you’re being listened to, and that it can be frustrating to try to guide them in acting towards positive ends.
