Going it alone

Mankind may be tribal and sociable by nature, yet the ‘bliss of solitude’–a state previously reserved for hermits– is the key to achieving inner peace, says Laura Parker

WHEN YOU HAVE SOCIAL ANXIETY, WALKING INTO A ROOM FULL OF PEOPLE CAN MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE every eyeball in the place is boring directly into your soul, and that nothing you say will possibly be smart or

WELLBEING NOTES

...is that they have their own emotions, and sometimes seem hell-bent on sharing them with you! How can we support and listen without catching negative feelings ourselves?

MOOD-BOOSTER

I was two decades into a career as an air traffic controller, on a night shift at Gatwick airport, when I knew I couldn’t carry on. The aircraft movements had quietened right down into the early hours