Stop the brain rot! 12 ways to stay sharp in a mind-frazzling world

Feel like too much low-quality screen time is making you … dumber? From focusing on your environment to ‘washing’ your brain, experts share tips on how to sharpen up and keep your mind fighting fit

How rotten is your brain?

Take our quiz to find out how bad your brain rot is

‘I thought, what the hell have I done?’: the people who moved abroad for love – and regretted it

Emigrating to be with your partner sounds wildly romantic, but what happens when the person is right and the place very much isn’t?

Marriage over, €100,000 down the drain: the AI users whose lives were wrecked by delusion

One minute, Dennis Biesma was playing with a chatbot; the next, he was convinced his sentient friend would make him a fortune. He’s just one of many people who lost control after an AI encounter

My rookie era: after my panic attacks, woodworking became the one good thing I could count on

Limb-severing machinery and loud noises awaited my frayed nerves – yet the workshop became my safe space

My depression felt creatively expansive. Now I’ve overcome it, how do I keep the meaningful parts?

Darkness can present itself as truth, writes advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith. But love, joy and awe are far richer experiences

Dissatisfaction with life in UK unchanged since Covid, official data shows

Average life satisfaction still below pre-pandemic peak despite improving economic outlook, reports ONS

Do you have a ‘competence hangover’?

It’s what happens when people, especially women, are overworked and underappreciated. Time for all the incompetent slackers to step up, writes Emma Beddington

‘She would pop up in my sexual fantasies’: what happens when you fancy your therapist?

They’re often compassionate good listeners who focus on their clients’ needs – so is it any wonder many patients find themselves with a crush? A writer, who is in exactly this position, talks to people on both sides of the couch

‘It’s the most urgent public health issue’: Dr Rangan Chatterjee on screen time, mental health – and banning social media until 18

The hit podcaster, author and former GP says a failure to regulate big tech is ‘failing a generation of children’. He explains why he quit the NHS and why he wants a ban on screen-based homework

Readers reply: can you acquire courage?

The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions ponders how to overcome fear and do what is needed

Facing meltdown? Over 75% of people suffer from burnout – here’s what you need to know

Does it only affect weak people? Is work always the cause? Burnout myths, busted by the experts

‘You think: Do I really need anyone?’ – the hidden burden of being a hyper-independent person

Self-reliance is often encouraged over asking others for help in the modern world. But doing everything yourself can be a sign that you are scared of intimacy

Exercise can be ‘frontline treatment’ for mild depression, researchers say

Biggest improvements seen in young adults and new mothers, with group activities of most benefit

My patient’s near-death experience in hospital left me with worry and guilt. This is how vicarious trauma starts

Afterwards, my team and I kept going without ever discussing the event. But something felt heavy. And because I couldn’t name it, I didn’t know how to deal with it