Author name: JOYSON JOY P

Your boss asks to see you in his office. Instant Thought: “I’m getting fired.” Your partner doesn’t text back for 2 hours. Instant Thought: “They are cheating on me.” Why does our brain always jump to the worst-case scenario? This is the Negativity Bias. It kept our ancestors alive (it’s better to mistake a stick […]

Have you ever tried to untangle a pair of headphones that have been sitting in your pocket for a week? It’s frustrating. You pull one wire, and the knot gets tighter. You try to force it, and it just becomes a hard lump. This is exactly what happens to our thoughts during periods of high

Depression and Anxiety make us feel stupid. You walk into a room and forget why. You read the same paragraph three times. You struggle to follow a conversation. This isn’t because you are losing intelligence; it’s because your Working Memory is choked. Working Memory is like the RAM in your computer—it’s the mental scratchpad where

We are often our own worst enemies. If a friend failed a test, you would say, “It’s okay, you’ll get it next time.” But if you fail a test, you tell yourself, “I’m such an idiot. I always mess things up.” This is the Self-Compassion Gap. We treat ourselves with a harshness we would never

Dr. John Gottman, the world’s leading relationship researcher, studied thousands of couples in his “Love Lab.” He found something surprising. Happy couples fight just as much as unhappy couples. They argue about money, chores, and in-laws. The difference isn’t the fight. It’s the Repair. A “Repair Attempt” is any statement or action—silly or serious—that prevents

Conversation isn’t just about words; it’s about Timing. It’s like jazz. If you come in too early, you interrupt the solo. If you come in too late, the energy dies. Some of us are “Interrupters” (often driven by ADHD or excitement)—we jump in before the sentence is finished because we are terrified we’ll forget our

Someone tells you, “You look great today!” You immediately reply, “Oh, this old shirt? I got it on sale. I look tired actually.” Someone says, “Great job on that report.” You say, “Well, the team did most of the work. I just formatted it.” Why do we do this? Why do we treat a compliment

You spill a tiny drop of coffee on your shirt. Your brain: “Everyone sees it. They are all staring. I look like a slob. This is a disaster.” Reality: Nobody noticed. And if they did, they forgot about it 3 seconds later because they were worrying about the coffee stain on their shirt. This psychological

In the first version of Social Lens, we looked at single faces. But the real world is messier than that. You walk into a cafeteria, a meeting room, or a party. There is noise. There are 20 people moving around. Your anxiety screams, “Everyone is judging me!” But statistically, that is impossible. In any group,

If I offered you $100 right now, or $110 in a year, you’d probably take the $100. Who wants to wait a whole year for ten bucks? But what if I offered you $100 now, or $200 tomorrow? Suddenly, the math changes. Most people would wait. This constant internal negotiation is called Temporal Discounting. It’s

We tend to blame our character for our bad habits. “I’m just lazy.” “I have no discipline.” But often, the problem isn’t you. It’s your room. If you sleep with your phone on your pillow, you will check it. If you keep cookies on the counter, you will eat them. This isn’t weakness; it’s biology.