HI,
I'M A PALLAS'S CAT

We turn on and listen to music almost automatically. One kind to wake ourselves up in the morning, another to calm down after a difficult conversation, and a third simply as background while we work. A familiar melody accompanies us on the road, during household chores, or while exercising. Sometimes it even seems harder to concentrate on work or studying without it.

But does music work the same way in all these situations? Is it possible to choose a track that is guaranteed to improve our mood and make us more effective? And why does a favorite song sometimes help us focus, while at other times it becomes a major distraction?

A new study suggests that the music itself is only part of the story. Just as important are the purpose for which we turn it on, the difficulty of the task at hand, and our ability to notice our own emotional state.

We can be very afraid of an upcoming conversation — and still begin it. We can feel anxious before a trip but not cancel it. Yet sometimes even moderate fear makes us postpone a meeting, change our route, or make efforts to avoid ever encountering what frightens us.

It may seem that the intensity of fear directly determines our behavior: the more frightened we are, the farther away we stay. But the relationship between experience and action is not that simple. Two people may rate their fear equally, yet one may quickly approach its source while the other freezes, takes a few steps, backs away, or stops at the very end.

A study by Sergio Frumento and colleagues, published on September 11, 2026, in Communications Psychology, showed that avoidance consists of different elements. To understand it, it is not enough simply to ask how afraid we are or to measure the distance at which we stop. We need to see the whole path — from the first hesitation to the final step.

We walk into a room and forget why we came. We spend several minutes looking for the phone that has been lying next to us the whole time. We reread a paragraph and cannot remember a single word. Anxiety sets in: it feels as though this did not happen before. Is our memory really getting worse?

Such lapses also happen to young, healthy people. However, a new study shows that the feeling of having an unreliable memory does not always indicate a decline in cognitive abilities themselves. Sometimes it is more closely related to how well we sleep and to our emotional state.

Most of us have probably experienced moments when something is happening inside us, but we cannot understand why. We can describe the feeling in different ways: “I feel anxious,” “I’m angry,” “I feel bad,” but it is obvious that things are not always that simple. Behind these words there may be fear, hurt, irritation, confusion — sometimes several different feelings or all of them at once, and untangling this mass of emotions can be difficult. Sometimes it is much easier not to try to describe what we are feeling, but to try to depict it instead. It might be a tangled mass of lines, a dark blot, a strange shape, or a combination of several colors that for some reason felt right together. There is no need to draw beautifully: what matters is not the result, but the opportunity to express something for which words are not enough. This simple idea lies at the heart of one approach in art therapy — working through drawing...

Most of us are familiar with the phrase, “Time heals.” And in many cases, there is some truth to it. Even after very difficult experiences, we are often able, little by little, to return to everyday life. The past cannot be changed, and memories may stay with us for a long time, but the mind gradually adapts to what has happened. Yet this is not always the case. The 2001 film K-PAX tells the story of one such unusual situation. What happens when we are unable to come to terms with what has happened? Why does the mind sometimes try to escape reality rather than face it directly? Let’s explore these questions through one of cinema’s most unusual psychological stories...

Imagine two people saying the same phrase: “I’m glad to see you.” One says it with a smile, looks you in the eye, and sounds genuinely pleased. The other says exactly the same words in a flat voice, barely looking up from their phone. Formally, both have said the same thing, yet one is easy to believe while the other may leave us wondering how sincere they really are. Why does this happen? Because during a conversation we perceive much more than the meaning of words alone. We notice intonation and facial expressions, follow someone’s gaze, gestures, posture and movements, and even pay attention to the distance they try to maintain from the person they are speaking to. All of these signals are generally referred to as nonverbal communication. Can a person’s behavior really tell us what they are thinking and feeling?...