Get curated editors’ picks, peeks behind the scenes, film recommendations and more.
If you’ve ever spent countless hours thinking of a romantic interest, poring over your interactions for hints that they might reciprocate, and unable to imagine your life without them, you could be dealing with more than just a harmless crush. When these relentless romantic thoughts begin to affect everyday life, they’re considered what psychologists call a ‘limerent episode’. Unlike normal romantic feelings, limerence is a debilitating psychological disorder characterised by intrusive thinking, an intense desire for reciprocation and an over-idealisation of the ‘limerent object’. This animation from BBC Reel offers a description and very brief history of limerence, as well as some tips for helping to overcome the condition.
video
Music
‘Dun dun dun duuun!’ Why Beethoven’s Fifth sticks in the head and stirs the heart
5 minutes
video
Ageing and death
Demystifying death – a palliative care specialist’s practical guide to life’s end
4 minutes
video
Stories and literature
A French Creole folktale nearly lost to time is given new, gorgeously animated life
6 minutes
video
Computing and artificial intelligence
Struggling to learn how to do a backflip, Nikita takes on an unusual training regimen
12 minutes
video
Personality
Why cleaning up crime scenes requires a rare mix of grit and empathy
9 minutes
video
Mood and emotion
An Oceanic lullaby, ‘Gimme Shelter’ and more elucidate how music taps into our emotions
58 minutes
video
Family life
Against her father’s warnings, Debra resolves to learn about his time in Auschwitz
4 minutes
video
Mood and emotion
Moments of poetry pierce through the mundane at a small-town grocery
13 minutes
video
Personality
Why one man spent 15 years in ‘self-imposed’ island exile
7 minutes