Signs Of An Emotionally Abusive Relationship

The Best Articles in Psychology and Self Improvement

The Emotion Machine has 500+ articles on many topics related to psychology and self improvement. Here are the most popular articles we’ve published over the past 8 years.

Each section is separated into categories by: happiness, emotions, thinking, habits, goals, relationships, creativity, meditation, and society.

Check them out and get started on your self improvement journey!

Happiness

3 Sources of Happiness that Aren’t Tied to People or Stuff

Why It’s Worth It to Pay the Costs of Being Yourself

How Perfectionism Destroys Happiness

Reframing Your Dark Side: Embracing Your Shadow Is Key to Genuine Mental Health

5 Attitudes Wired in Happy and Successful Brains

Radical Acceptance of Life’s Never-Ending Bullshit

Happy With Less: Trying Living With One Less Desire

Unconscious Positivity: 5 Ways to Ingrain Happiness Into Your Way of Life

Emotions

The 4 Fundamental Pillars of Emotional Intelligence

How to Communicate Your Feelings Without Becoming an Emotional Manipulator

The Complete Guide to Stress

How to Create Psychological Distance Between You and Your Past

How to Completely Forgive Yourself

5 Signs You’re a Slave to Your Emotions

Question Your Feelings

7 Ways to Connect More With Your Emotional Self

How We Use Music to Manage Our Stress and Emotions

Thinking

Accepting Your Bias

How to Be a Skeptical Thinker About Facts and Statistics You Find on the Internet

Be Careful of What You Let Enter Your Mind

The Healthy Challenge of Explaining Your Beliefs

3 Types of Exaggerated Thinking That Create Unnecessary Drama

Rewriting the Story of Your Life: A Process of Self-Exploration Through Writing

Metaphors We Live By: How Metaphors Frame Our Experiences in Different Ways

The 20 Most Common Logical Fallacies We Fall Victim to Everyday

The Pragmatic Thinker: Keeping Our Beliefs Grounded in What Matters

The “Five Whys” Exercise: How to Recalibrate Yourself During Periods of Turbulence

Habits

Identify Your Habit Loops

The Power of Nudges: Insights on How to Influence Human Behavior

Creating Boundaries Between You and Your Bad Habits

The Power of a Checklist: How to Stay Disciplined and Avoid Stupid Mistakes

Organized Home, Organized Mind: Why a Tidying Marathon Can Change Your Life

Make a Complete List of Your Daily Routine

How to Maximize Your Willpower

Why You Should Believe in Hard Work Over Genes

The “Everything Counts” Mindset for Exercise

7 Simple Principles Behind a Good Night’s Sleep

Relationships

How to Become a Master of Nonverbal Communication

How to Defuse Heated Arguments Before They Spiral Out of Control

3 Reasons to Give People the Benefit of the Doubt

5 Improvisation Exercises for Improving Your Communication Skills

Good Manners in the 21st Century (And Why It’s So Hard to Be Nice in Today’s World)

9 Tips on How to Be Honest With Someone Without Being Negative

Body Language Is More Revealing Than Words: How to Read People More Clearly

How to Learn From Guilt and Improve Your Relationships

The “Over-Sharing” Epidemic: How the Internet Makes Us Devalue Our Private Lives

How to Build Thick Skin and Stop Being So Sensitive

Goals

Start Living More as Your Future Self

What Stands in the Way Becomes the Way

How to Overcome Your Fear of Success

How to Overcome Awkward Phases of Self Improvement

What Do You Live For? A 5 Minute Exercise to Discover Your Most Important Values

How to Stop Being Jealous of Other People’s Success

Systems vs. Goals: Why Sustainability Is More Important Than Temporary Success

Grit and the Need for Achievement

Creativity

How to Build a Creative Mind That Will Never Run Out of New Ideas

3 Paths Revolutionary Thinkers Take Before They Arrive at Insights

The Psychology Behind What Makes Ideas Popular

The 5 Key Stages of the Creative Process

How to Improve Your Intuition

Mnemonics: The Forgotten Art of Memory

Practice Improvisation to Become a Faster and More Creative Thinker

How to Develop Your Own Creativity in a World of Conformity

Curiosity and the Advantages of a Hungry Mind

Meditation

Breathing Meditation

3 Common Problems When First Starting Meditation

Urge Surfing: How to Overcome Addictive Behaviors

Open Mind Meditation

The Wisdom of Body Awareness

Beginner’s Mind: How to Look at Old Problems in New Ways

STOP Meditation: Daily Injections of Mindfulness

Naked Meditation

Society and Culture

How Culture Influences Our Minds in Profound Ways We Don’t Even Realize

Effective Altruism vs. Feel Good Altruism: How to Make a Bigger Difference in the World

The Origin of Us: Campfires As The Bedrock of Human Civilization

The “Taste Buds” That Shape Our Morality: Why We Have Different Beliefs in Politics, Religion, and Morality

Circles of Empathy: Why We Care About People To Different Degrees

What Great Apes Teach Us About Emotions, Morality, and Civilization

I hope you enjoy these articles. Feel free to sign up to our mailing list to stay updated on new articles! :)

“If people sat outside and looked at the stars each night, I bet they’d live a lot differently. When you look into infinity, you realize there are more important things than what people do all day.”

Calvin and Hobbes (via bl-ossomed)

Love her so fucking hard that the demons have no choice but to release her soul to you.

sam.i.am

Watermelon Basil Sherbet

🐾 25 pet asks

dog - would you consider yourself loyal still to your best friend from two years ago?

cat - do you bite your nails?

hamster - what’s your favourite sport?

rabbit - favourite vegetable?

fish - when did you learn to swim?

rat - favourite children’s tale?

mouse - are you more outgoing or shy?

tortoise - how old are you?

gecko - have you ever been rock climbing?

guinea pig - how’s the relationship with your parents?

ferret - what’s one thing you cannot stop buying?

hedgehog - favourite wild animal?

gerbil - what do you like most about your physical appearance?

budgie - do you sing in the shower?

tarantula - when was the last time you hugged someone?

snake - do you enjoy horror movies?

chicken - favourite cake flavour?

chameleon - if you had the ability to change one aspect of yourself, what would it be?

frog - are you good at any sports?

stick insect - fast runner or slow runner?

centipede - how old is your oldest living relative?

snail - do you salt fries before eating them?

parrot - favourite colour?

chinchilla - night owl or early bird? or both?

crab - what’s the best thing about the beach?

One of the hardest things you will ever have to do my dear is grieve the loss of a person who is still alive.

My father’s advice #1 (via northern-proper)

Crucial Ingredients for a Great Relationship

1. Shared sense of humour; lots of laughter and fun

2. Little gestures of thoughtfulness

3. Personal space (there needs to be separateness in your togetherness)

4. Having the ability to spend hours together (simply doing routine or humdrum things)

5. Having “fairness and respect” rules in place for when you argue or fight

6. Having an attraction that goes beyond the physical; liking each other, and their personality

7. Believing that your partner has what it takes to live the life that they want to live – believing in them always, and especially when they’re down

8. Having a relationship that’s built on trust, openness, honesty and faithfulness.

Nonverbal Communication Is Just As Important

Did you know that less than 10% of what you communicate is interpreted based on what you say? Over 40% of what is spoken is interpreted by your nonverbal body language!

Body Language List 📝

Eye 👁 contact

Looking down

Looking directly at the person

Looking away

Staring too intensely

Breaking eye contact

Eye roll

Blank stare

Blinking at a normal rate or too fast

Head & Face 🙂

Head nods

Frowning

Head tilted to the side

Head in hands

Rigid face

Smiling too much or too little

Bitting lips

Exagerated facial expressions

Cold expression

Body 👫 Posture

Relaxed posture

Rigid posture

Relaxed leg position

Body is facing towards the person who is communicating

Slouching

Standing up straight, shoulders back

Clenched fists

Arms crossed

Standing with hands placed on the hips

Physically too close or distant from an individual

Exagerated or relaxed hand movements

Body turned sideways

Tone of voice

Talking too fast or too slow

Speaking too low or too high

Monotone

Using too much: umm, uh, ah, etc.

Appropriate loudness

Shaky voice

Fluid speech

Distracting 🤔 Body Movements

Playing with hair

Chewing gum

Tapping with fingers or feet

Nail biting

Drinking

Rubbing hands together

Pulling on the ear

Licking or biting your lips

Fidgeting with clothes, pockets or jewelry

Appropriate 👍🏽 Body Language

Eye contact: look directly at the person who is speaking, but do not stare overly intense. Make sure you are blinking normally.

Body posture: face the person speaking to you and slightly lean forward. Maintain a relaxed posture and keep your hands loosely clasped or on your lap.

Head & face: occasionally nod your head and use appropriate facial responses, such as, relaxed eyebrows.

Tone of voice: use appropriate loudness, and moderate the rate of your speech. Make sure to be fluid when talking and use minimal slang.