Series / Topic map

Topic map

Psychology sits in the middle, and around it are the areas of life it helps with. This is my plan of topics for the channel. The order and wording may change as episodes come out.

How the map is organised

From the inside out: first your relationship with yourself, then with other people, then topics where a specialist's help matters most.
Within each area, topics go from the most familiar to the more specialised.
Where everyday language and science disagree, the note under the card says so.

Me and myself

How you treat yourself, what you feel and how you look after your mind and body.

Relationship with yourself
Planned
The voice inside, and whether it supports you or tears you down.
- The inner critic
- Self-respect
- Self-love
More topics17
- Self-esteem
- Self-worth
- Self-acceptance
- Self-care
- Self-forgiveness
- Inner speech
- The inner child
- Parent, Adult, Child (transactional analysis)
- Subpersonalities
- Identity: who am I
- Autonomy and trusting your own judgement
- Self-sabotage
- Perfectionism
- Praising yourself
- Boundaries with yourself
- Relationship with your body
- Being alone with yourself
Difficult states
Planned
Feelings everyone meets: what they are for and when they become a problem.
- Stress
- Anxiety
- Fears
- Phobias
- Resentment
- Burnout
- Life crises
More topics22
- Guilt
- Shame
- Apathy and anhedonia
- Irritability
- Anger and suppressed aggression
- Jealousy
- Envy
- Loneliness
- Helplessness and despair
- Anticipatory anxiety
- Disappointment
- Putting yourself down
- Impostor syndrome
- Procrastination
- Emotional numbness and dissociation
- Nostalgia
- Flashbacks
- Panic attacks
- Low mood and depression
- Chronic dissatisfaction
- The victim position
- Feeling stuck in life
Good to know. Burnout is not a medical diagnosis: in ICD-11 it is listed as an occupational phenomenon linked to chronic work stress.
Discipline
Planned
Habits and routines as a way of relying on yourself.
- Healthy habits
- Relying on yourself
- Sleep
- Nutrition
More topics14
- Discipline as self-care
- Morning and evening routines
- Daily structure and time management
- Exercise
- Hygiene: body, space, digital
- Financial discipline
- Quitting bad habits
- Discipline of thought
- Digital detox
- Finishing what you start
- Rest as a discipline
- Meditation and mindfulness
- Order in your space
- Discipline in learning
Health
Planned
How the mind and body affect each other.
- Mental health
- Contact with the body
- Psychosomatics
- Trauma and emotions held in the body
- Sleep
- Nutrition
- Hormones
More topics12
- Immunity and stress
- Chronic fatigue
- Pain as a signal
- Breathing and the nervous system
- Physical activity and mood
- Cycles and hormonal changes
- Ageing body
- Body image
- Somatic practices
- The gut-brain connection
- Health anxiety
- Prevention
Good to know. In ICD-11 the old idea of “psychosomatic illness” is closest to bodily distress disorder: real bodily symptoms with excessive distress and attention focused on them.

Me and other people

How we talk, love, fight and work with others.

Communication
Planned
What happens between people when they talk, and how to do it more consciously.
- Listening
- How to make a good impression
- Passive aggression
- Projective identification
- Influence
- Manipulation
- Negotiation and debate
- Strategic communication
More topics15
- Non-verbal communication
- Active listening
- Conflict
- Boundaries in conversation
- Assertiveness
- Empathy
- Compliments and feedback
- Small talk and networking
- Public speaking
- Talking in a crisis
- Gaslighting, belittling, DARVO
- Digital communication
- Cultural differences
- Persuasion and rhetoric
- Saying no
Family
Planned
The family we come from and how it shapes us as adults.
- Separation from parents
- Family systems
- Family roles
- Circles of closeness
- Family crises
More topics14
- Parental scripts and messages
- Adult relationship with parents
- Siblings
- Boundaries with parents and relatives
- Family secrets
- Intergenerational trauma
- Generational conflict
- Toxic family patterns
- Scapegoat and golden child roles
- Extended family
- Forgiveness in the family
- Caring for ageing parents
- Family rituals and traditions
- How your family of origin shapes your own
Partner
Planned
What makes a relationship healthy, and what breaks it.
- Healthy relationships: acceptance, support, shared values
- Arguments
- Infidelity
- Abuse and toxic partners
More topics18
- Attachment styles
- Compatibility and differences
- Crises at each stage
- Jealousy and trust
- Boundaries in a couple
- Sex and intimacy
- Money in a couple
- Breaking up
- Recovering after a breakup
- Codependency
- Love triangles
- Relationships with married people
- Expectations and reality
- Communication and love languages
- Partnership vs fusion
- Long-distance relationships
- Remarriage
- Children and the couple
Good to know. “Toxic partner” is everyday language, not a clinical term. Abuse is described by behaviour: control, humiliation, threats, violence.
Career
Planned
Work as a place where personality, boundaries and money meet.
- Personality at work
- Boundaries at work
- Relationship with your boss
- Networking
- Salary and promotion
More topics15
- Changing careers
- Burnout at work
- Colleagues
- Managing people
- Interviews and self-presentation
- Impostor syndrome at work
- Personal brand
- Work-life balance
- Leaving a job
- Toxic workplaces
- Motivation and meaning at work
- Vertical and horizontal growth
- Freelance, business or employment
- Procrastination at work
- Criticism and feedback at work

When a specialist matters

Topics where self-help has limits and professional help makes a real difference.

Addiction
Planned
Why addiction develops and what helps people recover.
- Why addiction develops
- Alcohol and drug addiction
- Gambling and gaming
- Nicotine
- Caffeine
- Support groups (AA, NA)
More topics12
- Stages of addiction
- Food addiction
- Phones, social media and the internet
- Love addiction
- Dependence on one person
- Codependency
- Workaholism
- Compulsive shopping
- Sex addiction
- The role of the family
- Relapse and prevention
- Rehab and life after treatment
Good to know. Gambling disorder and gaming disorder are recognised diagnoses in ICD-11. Caffeine is different: DSM-5-TR lists caffeine intoxication and withdrawal, while caffeine use disorder is still under study.
Eating disorders
Planned
Anorexia, bulimia, binge eating: what they are and how they are treated.
- What eating disorders are
- Why they develop
- How they are treated
Good to know. On my wheel they sat next to addictions, but in ICD-11 and DSM-5-TR eating disorders are a separate group, so they get their own card here.
Personality disorders
Planned
What a personality disorder is and how its understanding has changed.
- What a personality disorder is
- Borderline personality disorder (BPD)
- Narcissistic personality disorder
More topics7
- Histrionic
- Antisocial
- Dependent
- Avoidant
- Obsessive-compulsive (anankastic)
- Schizoid
- Paranoid
Good to know. ICD-11 (2022) no longer lists separate types such as narcissistic: it rates severity and describes trait domains, with a separate borderline pattern. DSM-5-TR still keeps ten types, narcissistic among them.
Other mental disorders
Planned
Conditions that are often confused with personality disorders but belong to other groups.
- ADHD
- Bipolar disorder
- Schizophrenia
- Delusional disorder
- Genetics and the psyche
More topics11
- OCD
- PTSD and complex PTSD
- Generalised anxiety disorder
- Depressive disorder
- Dissociative identity disorder
- Autism spectrum disorder (including what used to be Asperger’s)
- Schizotypal disorder
- Hypochondria
- Body dysmorphic disorder
- Munchausen syndrome
- Sleep disorders
Good to know. ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder, bipolar disorder is a mood disorder, and schizophrenia and delusional disorder are psychotic disorders. “ADD” is an outdated name: today it is ADHD with a predominantly inattentive presentation.

+More areasTopics beyond the wheel: they will join the map as the channel grows.7

Cognitive psychology
How we think, remember and decide.
- Everyday cognitive distortions
- Memory and how it misleads us
- Decision-making
Crisis and acute topics
Educational format, always with a link to help.
- Grief and loss
- Suicidal thoughts
- Domestic violence
- Bullying and cyberbullying
Media and the mind
What social media does to how we see ourselves.
- Social media and self-esteem
- Comparing yourself online
- Influencer culture
Meaning and existence
The big questions everyone meets sooner or later.
- Searching for meaning
- Fear of death and finitude
- Existential crisis
- Spirituality and psychology
Trauma and growth
What trauma is and how people can grow after it.
- Types of trauma: shock, developmental, collective
- Triggers and working with them
- Post-traumatic growth
The psychology of money
Our relationship with money and where it comes from.
- Money scripts and beliefs
- Financial anxiety
- Money and self-esteem
Sexuality
Desire and identity without myths.
- Sexual identity
- Libido and its ups and downs
- The psychology of desire

Topics about disorders and addictions are education, not diagnosis or treatment. If you are in crisis right now, see “Help now”.

Sources: WHO, ICD-11 (2022) · WHO, burn-out as an occupational phenomenon (2019) · APA, DSM-5-TR (2022)